Tennessee County Profiles offer valuable insights into the well-being of children & youth in communities across the state
7/30/2025 Release Date:
Contact: Jonquil Newland | jonquil.newland@tn.gov | 615-767-0140
Tennessee County Profiles offer valuable insights into the well-being of children & youth in communities across the state
County Profiles of Child Well-Being in Tennessee provide in depth county level data and rankings on child outcomes related to economic well-being, education, health and family & community.
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth has released the 2025 County Profiles of Child Well-Being in Tennessee, offering an updated look at how children are faring across the state. These county profiles highlight 57 key indicators and rank each county in critical areas that shape child development. Those indicators include economic well-being, education, health, and family and community support. Each report outlines both the strengths and areas for growth in the county and includes policy recommendations aimed at creating better outcomes for children and families.
Data is primarily from 2023. Key indicators include:
· In Tennessee, 18.9 percent of children lived below the federal poverty level in 2023. Nearly two-thirds of Tennessee counties had one in five children living below the federal poverty level.
· A large majority of Tennessee counties saw improvements in the Education domain. The most recent TCAP scores show 38.9 percent of students were proficient in reading, an increase from 37.6 the previous year. Reading proficiency varied from a high of 66.9 percent in Williamson county to a low of 18.3 percent in Lake County.
· The most common strength among counties was the percent of babies born at a low birthweight. Across the 95 counties, 12 had that as their greatest strength.
· Across all Tennessee counties, the five most frequent opportunities for improvement were in the percent of children without health insurance, the percent of children living below the poverty level, the rate of victims of abuse and neglect, the crime rate among youth age 10 to 17 and the percent of public-school kindergarteners without the full immunization series.
Comparing data across counties provide a glimpse into the varying needs of each county and the different experiences, access to resources and supports a child may have in one county compared to another. This in-depth county level data can also assist communities in identifying areas of success and where to focus resources within opportunities for improvement.
“We are committed to supporting each county in its pursuit of better outcomes for children, youth, and families,” says TCCY Executive Director Richard Kennedy. “These county profiles are a valuable resource at the state level; however, they are designed primarily to help county officials, nonprofit organizations, and local communities identify areas of success, pinpoint opportunities for improvement, and guide their priorities and funding decisions for the coming year.”
Overall, the counties that ranked in the top 10 are: Williamson, Wilson, Weakley, Sumner, Rutherford, Loudon, Trousdale, Carroll, Gibson and Blount counties. The counties with the greatest opportunity for improvement are: Sequatchie, Lauderdale, Grundy, Johnson, Haywood, Davidson, Hardeman, Madison, Shelby and Lake counties.
Release Information
After publication the County Profiles of Child Well-Being in Tennessee and additional information about data methodology can be found on the website and on TCCY’s FUTURE Data Dashboard.
About the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth
The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth is an independent, nonpartisan agency created to ensure the state’s policies and programs effectively promote and protect the health, well-being and development of children and youth.
Established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1988 as a permanent commission, TCCY is the state’s centralized informational resource and advocacy agency for timely, fact-based information to aid policymaking and coordination of resources.
Detailed data pages about the county profiles can be found on TCCY’s Data Dashboard, FUTURE. Additional information about the agency is available at www.tn.gov/tccy.
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