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Towns / Tennessee

Jasper, Tennessee

Jasper is a small town of about 3,600 people in Marion County, Tennessee. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Nashville, is about 100 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
3,636
up 0.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$209,000
Marion County prices up 28% since 2022
Household income
$73,013
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chattanooga area
91.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
19 miles
Chattanooga, TN
To Nashville
100 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.5% below the U.S. average in the Chattanooga metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byErlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, about 19 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNashville is about 100 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Jasper meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$209,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 28%Marion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$73,013U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,039 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.5U.S. average = 100 (the Chattanooga metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chattanooga metro area, not Jasper alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,6362020: 3,613
Median age
37.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (17%); finance, insurance and real estate (15%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (15%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN, about 19 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Jasper, run by Marion County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
84%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
29°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
42 a year
Nights at or below freezing
79 a year
Rain and melted snow
63.7 inches a year
Snow
3 inches a year
Elevation
609 feet

Weather stations: Bridgeport 5 NW (12 miles away) and Whitwell-sequatchie Vly (17 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, Nashville.

Marion County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Nickajack Hydroelectric Project.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Russell Cave National Monument12 miles
  • Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park14 miles
  • Little River Canyon National Preserve39 miles

Read about Jasper's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jasper?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Sequatchie, TN (unincorporated)359 people, 3 miles
  • New Hope, TN968 people, 5 miles
  • New England, GA (unincorporated)391 people, 13 miles
  • Wildwood, GA (unincorporated)368 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.