Rank

1562of 3,144

Carter, Tennessee

Score 6.29 / 10· population 57,022

Carter County is mountain country in Tennessee's northeast corner, with Elizabethton as county seat; the Appalachian Trail passes through, and Cherokee National Forest covers most of its east. The Doe River, which starts near the Roan Mountain ridge on the North Carolina line, flooded in January 1998; seven people died and over 200 mobile homes were demolished. In 2024 the Watauga at Elizabethton reached 13.57 feet, its highest flood level since 1940.

Sources
  • Carter County is in the northeast corner of Tennessee; its land blends mountains, the Watauga and Doe Rivers, and valleys tennesseeencyclopedia.net
  • Elizabethton is the county seat tennesseeencyclopedia.net
  • The Appalachian Trail passes through the county, and most of eastern Carter County is within the Cherokee National Forest tennesseeencyclopedia.net
  • The upper Doe River begins near the Roan Mountain ridge along the North Carolina/Tennessee border weather.gov
  • The January 7-8, 1998 Doe River flood killed seven people in Carter County; over 200 mobile homes and 15 houses were demolished weather.gov
  • The Watauga River at Elizabethton reached 13.57 feet, the highest flood level in Elizabethton since 1940 (article dated October 1, 2024) elizabethton.com

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values

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Eleven factors

Government behavior

  1. Fraser Institute state ranking (state)8.3
  2. 2A (state)10.0
  3. GOP + LP vote for President8.1
  4. Sales tax1.1
  5. Property tax7.6

Environment

  1. Air quality6.5
  2. Floods / hurricanes2.3

Private behavior

  1. Homicide rate6.9
  2. Life expectancy3.1
  3. Government employees3.3
  4. Single-parent households3.6

Neighbors