57,434 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.9% since 2020)
341 square miles of land · 168 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
9 active community water systems list Carter County in the area they serve, reporting 58,880 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ELIZABETHTON WATER DEPT buys surface water · local government · TN0000221 | 32,490 served |
| FIRST U.D. OF CARTER COUNTY groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · TN0000094 | 9,143 served |
| SOUTH ELIZABETHTON U.D. buys surface water · local government · TN0000646 | 6,244 served |
| HAMPTON UTILITY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · TN0000282 | 4,354 served |
| SIAM UTILITY DISTRICT buys surface water · local government · TN0000633 | 3,319 served |
| NORTH ELIZABETHTON WATER CO-OP buys surface water · local government · TN0000223 | 1,555 served |
| ROAN MOUNTAIN UTILITY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · TN0000584 | 1,226 served |
| WATAUGA RIVER REG WATER AUTH surface water · local government · TN0008278 | 353 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 252 people were held in Carter County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 701 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 336.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Carter County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $58.9 million — $54.9 million to run schools, about $11,526 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15 million local (mostly property tax), $32.3 million state, $13 million federal.
Spent $36.7 million — $33.8 million to run schools, about $12,343 per student, plus $2.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14 million local (mostly property tax), $17.5 million state, $6.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Carter County about $15.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
194 bridges in Carter County: 81 in good condition, 86 fair, and 27 poor (13.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FAP 67 over POWDER BRANCH · built 1986 | 24,080 vehicles a day |
| FAP 67 over DOE RIVER · built 1929 | 22,653 vehicles a day |
| FAP 67 over LAUREL CREEK · built 1929 | 7,310 vehicles a day |
| FAU 06022 over GAP CREEK · built 1948 | 2,752 vehicles a day |
| NFA A746 over LAUREL FORK CREEK · built 1941 | 2,460 vehicles a day |
| FAP 159 over ELK RIVER · built 2012 | 2,132 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $30.9 million of work in Carter County in fiscal 2025, about $548 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-29. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-24. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State: elections calendar · Tennessee Secretary of State: registration deadline FAQ · Tennessee Secretary of State: GoVoteTN
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Carter County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Carter County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Sullivan County (18 mi) · Avery County, NC (19 mi) · Johnson County (19 mi) · Mitchell County, NC (19 mi) · Washington County (21 mi) · Unicoi County (21 mi).