20,129 people (2024 Census estimate, +8.6% since 2020)
499 square miles of land · 40 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.
3 active community water systems list Fentress County in the area they serve, reporting 24,480 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| FENTRESS COUNTY U.D. buys surface water · local government · TN0000244 | 16,845 served |
| ALLARDT WATER WORKS buys surface water · local government · TN0000010 | 4,231 served |
| JAMESTOWN WATER DEPT surface water · local government · TN0000324 | 3,404 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 127 people were held in Fentress County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 1,081 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 169.
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.
1 school district has its office in Fentress County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $28.3 million — $24 million to run schools, about $10,594 per student, plus $3.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.6 million local (mostly property tax), $15.9 million state, $8.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.5 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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Fentress County about $6.2 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.
55 bridges in Fentress County: 16 in good condition, 32 fair, and 7 poor (12.7%). “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.
| FAS 85 over EAST FORK OBEY RIVER · built 1989 | 1,981 vehicles a day |
| FAP 28 over WOLF RIVER · built 1940 | 1,438 vehicles a day |
| FAP 28 over CANEY CREEK · built 1990 | 1,154 vehicles a day |
| NFA A063 over ROTTEN FORK WOLF RIVER · built 1939 | 140 vehicles a day |
| FAS 325 over WOLF RIVER · built 1984 | 138 vehicles a day |
| NFA A196 (SA 2508) over ROCK CASTLE CREEK · built 1986 | 130 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $3.1 million of work in Fentress County in fiscal 2025, about $168 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 Fentress 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 Fentress County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Pickett County (15 mi) · Overton County (19 mi) · Morgan County (23 mi) · Scott County (24 mi) · Clinton County, KY (27 mi) · Cumberland County (29 mi).