15,974 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
734 square miles of land · 22 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.
4 active community water systems list Wayne County in the area they serve, reporting 12,894 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WAYNESBORO WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TN0000736 | 5,534 served |
| CLIFTON WATER DEPT surface water · local government · TN0000119 | 4,110 served |
| COLLINWOOD WATER DEPT groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · TN0000127 | 3,131 served |
| WAYNE CO. B.P.U. #3 buys surface water · local government · TN0000934 | 119 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 131 people were held in Wayne County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 1,222 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 149.
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 Wayne County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $28.3 million — $25.7 million to run schools, about $11,880 per student, plus $2.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.2 million local (mostly property tax), $17.3 million state, $6.3 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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wayne County about $9.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
274 bridges in Wayne County: 155 in good condition, 104 fair, and 15 poor (5.5%). “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.
| NATCHEZ TRACE PARK over COUNTY ROAD · built 1950 | 960 vehicles a day |
| NATCHEZ TRACE PARK over COUNTY ROAD · built 1950 | 960 vehicles a day |
| FAS 203 over BEAR CREEK · built 1962 | 436 vehicles a day |
| NFA 1786 (SA 9110) over FLIPPO BRANCH · built 1970 | 368 vehicles a day |
| NFA 1765 (SA 9107) over HOLLY CREEK · built 1960 | 346 vehicles a day |
| NFA 915 (SA 9102) over BRANCH · built 1972 | 322 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $7.6 million of work in Wayne County in fiscal 2025, about $471 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Hardin County (21 mi) · Lawrence County (24 mi) · Lauderdale County, AL (25 mi) · Lewis County (27 mi) · Perry County (29 mi) · Decatur County (30 mi).