Fayette County, Tennessee Demographics 2026

Population Overview

Fayette County is located in Tennessee with a total population of 42,653. It is the 37th most populous county out of 95 in Tennessee. The county encompasses 10 Census-designated places.

Age Demographics

The median age in Fayette County is 47.2 years. This is 21% higher than the state median of 38.9 years.

Economy, Income & Housing

The median household income in Fayette County is $84,764. This is 26% higher than the state median of $67,097. It is also 8% higher than the national median of $78,538. The poverty rate stands at 10.8%. This is 21% lower than the state poverty rate of 13.8%. The unemployment rate is 4.8%. This is 2% higher than the state rate of 4.7%. The median home value is $316,000. Housing costs are 23% higher than the state median of $256,800. The home-value-to-income ratio is 3.7x. 80.8% of occupied housing units are owner-occupied. This homeownership rate is 20% higher than the state average of 67.0%.

Race & Ethnicity

The largest racial or ethnic group in Fayette County is White (non-Hispanic), making up 66.1% of the population. Black or African American residents account for 26.8%. The Black or African American population is significantly higher than the state average (26.8% vs 15.7%). The Asian population (0.6%) is well below the state average of 1.8%.

Education

26.9% of residents aged 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher. This is 11% lower than the state rate of 30.4%. Nationally, 35.0% of adults hold at least a bachelor's degree. The high school graduation rate (or equivalent) is 90.9%.

Data Sources & Methodology

All figures for Fayette County come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates (2019-2023), with comparisons drawn against Tennessee and national averages from the same dataset. See our methodology page for how each metric is defined, or data.census.gov for official tables with margins of error.