Buffalo Valley School · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0How is Baxter run?
Baxter’s town government spent $1.8 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, about $1,198 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Baxter didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Baxter is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $1,198 per resident a year, or $3.28 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 41%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Baxter didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Baxter yet
Every year of Baxter’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $1,238 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.57% of the home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Baxter’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Baxter’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Baxter →
Who’s in charge in Baxter
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 67 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (1,543).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Putnam County School District
Baxter’s K–12 school district, shared with Algood, Cookeville, Monterey. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $11,973 per pupil, $7,231 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Tennessee districts overall: 40% local, 44% state, 16% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Baxter’s votes are counted by county
Tennessee reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Baxter alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Putnam County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican73.1%25,554 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat25.7%8,991 votesOthers: 1.1% (394 votes).
Most votes in Putnam County: Donald J Trump
Tennessee: Trump 64.2%, Harris 34.5%
100% of Baxter lies in Putnam County. Every 2024 race in Putnam County is on the county’s page.
Putnam County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Baxter.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Tennessee HouseState representatives
- 3Tennessee SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Tennessee
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Baxter’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Baxter’s government
How much does Baxter spend per resident?
About $1,198 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Baxter didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $2.5 million.
What is the property tax rate in Baxter?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,238 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.57% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Baxter’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Baxter yet.
How did Baxter vote in 2024?
Tennessee counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Baxter alone. Putnam County, where 100% of Baxter lies, voted Trump 73.1%, Harris 25.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Baxter?
23 full-time and 17 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $83,229 (about $998,748 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Baxter in the state legislature?
State Senate District 15 (Paul Bailey) and State House District 42 (Ryan Williams). The House district also covers two neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Baxter’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Baxter, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →