Rank

928of 3,144

Washington, Tennessee

Score 6.65 / 10· population 138,420

Washington County is in East Tennessee on I-26 and I-81, with Jonesborough as its seat and Johnson City as its largest city. Sales tax in Johnson City is 9.5 percent, the state's 7 percent plus a 2.5 percent county rate. Flooding from Tropical Storm Helene in late September 2024 led to a federal disaster declaration, and 13 flood insurance claims in the county drew $1.7 million in building payments.

Sources
  • Washington County is in East Tennessee, on I-26 and I-81; its listed cities are Johnson City (72,222), Jonesborough (6,232) and Watauga tnecd.com
  • Jonesborough is the Washington County seat tennesseeencyclopedia.net
  • The 2026 combined sales tax rate in Johnson City is 9.5%: 7% state, 2.5% Washington County, 0% city avalara.com
  • Washington County was designated in FEMA DR-4832-TN, Tropical Storm Helene (incident period September 26 to 30, 2024; declared October 2, 2024), for individual and public assistance fema.gov
  • NFIP claims data: 13 flood insurance claims in Washington County with dates of loss September 26 and 27, 2024, with $1,732,710 paid on building claims fema.gov

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 President6.9
  4. Sales tax1.4
  5. Property tax7.2

Environment

  1. Air quality6.3
  2. Floods / hurricanes2.9

Private behavior

  1. Homicide rate7.5
  2. Life expectancy4.4
  3. Government employees9.2
  4. Single-parent households4.7

Neighbors