Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,165, settled in 1892.
Algood is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, ranked 105th of 175 in Tennessee, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 63% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. A typical home there costs about $277K, 5 years of the Cookeville area’s $55K median household income. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Algood, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Algood has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Algood Methodist Church and White Plains.
3,495 counted in 2010 and 3,963 in 2020; an estimated 4,165 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Algood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 651 in 1920, 3,963 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Algood, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Algood.
Algood fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Tennessee rate.
Against the 3,146 U.S. towns with household incomes like Algood’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Tennessee it is healthier than 53% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
13% of Algood adults binge drink. Algood tracks Tennessee closely on all 31 CDC measures. 20% of Algood adults report frequent mental distress.
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Putnam County school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algood Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 718 | A− |
| White Plains AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 76 | D− |
| Algood ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 495 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
32.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.8% across Tennessee, which weighs on its C for jobs and income.
Children under 18 are 31% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (38% statewide). Algood’s median age is 36 years. Algood has grown 5% since 2020, to 4,165 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 23% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.7 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Algood | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 17.9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.5% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.6% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.8% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 22.2% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.6% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.2% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.4% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.7% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.9% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,200, single groups can be off by several points
January nights average 27.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 79% of Tennessee places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.6°.
Algood has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 29°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 1,285 in 2013 to 1,835.
Most working residents leave Algood for work: only 3% work in town. The median household income in Algood is $42,000. Since 2013, Algood has added 550 jobs, to 1,835 in 2023.
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $42,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 12% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
67.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.8% across Tennessee.
55% of households own their home in Algood. The typical Algood home is worth about $277,000, about the same as a year ago, 16% below the Tennessee typical home.
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $817 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 18.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 69% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 1.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Algood | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Algood Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Walter L Bilbrey Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
| 3. Fantasy Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Algood
About 3 of every 100 Algood residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
2 places in Algood on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Tennessee, United States
Algood is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,963 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cookeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Algood.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algood | #105 | C− | C+ | B− | B | C− |
| Cookeville | #114 | C− | C− | C | B | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Algood grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #105 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
