Rank

705of 3,144

McMinn, Tennessee

Score 6.79 / 10· population 55,678

McMinn County is on Interstate 75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga, and its largest employers are auto-supply and iron-casting plants, led by DENSO in Athens, the county seat. Census figures for 2020 to 2024 put 12 percent of its workers in government jobs, against 13.7 percent statewide, and its median property tax bill at $748 a year, about half the Tennessee median. Life expectancy was 71.3 years in 2020 to 2022, more than two years below the state's 73.5.

Sources
  • McMinn County has I-75 interstate access; Athens is the county seat tnecd.com
  • Athens and McMinn County: 52 miles from Knoxville, 49 miles from Chattanooga; highways include Interstate 75 ampub.com
  • McMinn County's largest employers are focused on manufacturing, specifically the automotive supply chain and iron component casting; DENSO (DMAT-Athens) tops the top-employers list makeitinmcminn.org
  • Government workers (local, state and federal) were 2,864 of 23,814 workers in McMinn County (12.0%) versus 459,590 of 3,362,616 in Tennessee (13.7%) (ACS 2024 5-year, 2020 to 2024) api.censusreporter.org
  • Median real estate taxes paid: McMinn County $748, Tennessee $1,442 (ACS 2024 5-year, 2020 to 2024) api.censusreporter.org
  • County Health Rankings 2025 release: life expectancy 71.3 years in McMinn County, 73.5 in Tennessee countyhealthrankings.org
  • The 2025 County Health Rankings life expectancy measure uses National Center for Health Statistics mortality data for 2020-2022 countyhealthrankings.org

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 President8.2
  4. Sales tax1.1
  5. Property tax8.4

Environment

  1. Air quality6.4
  2. Floods / hurricanes3.7

Private behavior

  1. Homicide rate6.9
  2. Life expectancy1.3
  3. Government employees8.8
  4. Single-parent households6.6

Neighbors