Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Cookeville runs its own hospital
Cookeville’s city government spent $38.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,063 per resident. It also runs a hospital ($400.6 million) and water utilities ($69.9 million), counted separately. Census Bureau figures.
What stands out about how Cookeville is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,063 per resident a year, or $2.91 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 28%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Cookeville yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Cookeville’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars), so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 10% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Cookeville reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $993 · 2024: $1,063.
full-time in March 2025 (hospital, health & welfare left out), up from 437 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,590 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.52% 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 Cookeville’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.
Tax bills are one input to Cookeville’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Cookeville →
Who’s in charge in Cookeville
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Cookeville’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cookeville-tn.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 79 residents, not counting hospital, health & welfare staff
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (35,988).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
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
Cookeville’s K–12 school district, shared with Algood, Baxter, 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.
Cookeville’s votes are counted by county
Tennessee reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cookeville 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 Cookeville 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 Cookeville.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cookeville-tn.org ↗
- 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.
How Cookeville compares with the towns next door
Cookeville’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. Neighbors that reported 2022 spent $679 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Algood | $679 | $978 |
| Cookeville | estimate | $1,590 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Cookeville’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Cookeville’s government
How much does Cookeville spend per resident?
About $1,063 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. Cookeville also runs a hospital ($400.6 million), counted separately.
What is the property tax rate in Cookeville?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,590 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.52% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cookeville-tn.org.
Who runs Cookeville’s government?
See cookeville-tn.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Cookeville yet.
How did Cookeville vote in 2024?
Tennessee counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cookeville alone. Putnam County, where 100% of Cookeville lies, voted Trump 73.1%, Harris 25.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Cookeville?
458 full-time and 653 part-time employees in March 2025 (plus 1,887 full-time hospital, health & welfare staff), with a March payroll of $18.6M (about $223.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Cookeville 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 Cookeville’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; 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 →