County Maps US

Rhea County, Tennessee

A county in Tennessee, ranked 45 of 95 by population.

CountyFIPS 47143

Within Tennessee
Rhea County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Dayton, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
34,844
+1,542 (+4.6%) since 2020
Land area
315.5
square miles. A further 6.2% of the total area is water
Population density
110
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Dayton
Seat of county government.
Established
1807
218 years ago
Largest city
Dayton city
Population 7,819.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Rhea County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Rhea County, Tennessee from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 693 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Rhea County ranks

Position among the 95 counties of Tennessee, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn TennesseeNationally
Population34,84445th of 951,316th of 3,144
Land area315.5 sq mi69th of 952,773rd of 3,144
Population density110 per sq mi33rd of 95851st of 3,144
Median household income$55,03362nd of 952,470th of 3,143

Full data for Rhea County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population34,844Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202033,302Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?33,235Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area315.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area21.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area336.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?110 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$55,033American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$206,000American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.0American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households13,475American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units15,451American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-149
376 births, 525 deaths
Net migration
+276
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Rhea County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Meigs CountyTennessee46 mi14,186
Bledsoe CountyTennessee34 mi15,920
Hamilton CountyTennessee11 mi390,833
Roane CountyTennessee10 mi57,395
Cumberland CountyTennessee9.0 mi66,300

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 95 counties of Tennessee

Open the interactive Tennessee county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.