Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dandridge is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, ranked 83rd of 175 in Tennessee, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $381K, 6.3 years of the Morristown metro’s $61K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $54K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 22 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score higher on walkability. Dandridge's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns. Only 28 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Where Dandridge beats most towns.
Dandridge Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Its founding year, 1783, comes before those of 98% of the Tennessee towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 431 in 1880, 3,344 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 3 maps from 1935 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Dandridge is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dandridge, 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 Dandridge.
Dandridge draws workers from Jefferson City and beyond, fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2,869 jobs are based in Dandridge, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Dandridge for work: only 10% work in town. At 29 minutes, Dandridge’s average trip to work is against 25 minutes in Tennessee’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Dandridge grew to 2,869 in 2023, 232 more than in 2013.
| Dandridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Jefferson County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Jefferson Co High School, with 1,965 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maury Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 582 | B |
| Jefferson Co High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,965 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,946 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dandridge’s, it is less healthy than 57%, 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.
Dandridge beats the Tennessee average on 4 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 30% of Dandridge adults have been diagnosed with depression, near the Tennessee town median (29%) and above the median of U.S. towns (23%). 14% of Dandridge adults binge drink.
| Dandridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 29% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 41% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Dandridge | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.7% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13.8% | 16.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dandridge has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 29° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 6.3 years of the Morristown metro’s $61K median household income, the typical home (about $381K) costs more against local pay than in 86% of Tennessee towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The median rent in Dandridge is $799 a month. The typical Dandridge home is worth about $381,000, up 0.6% in a year, 15% above the Tennessee typical home.
| Dandridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $799 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 21.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 60% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 74 to 39 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Field of Dreams Recreational Complex, at 59 acres. Dandridge’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Dandridge | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Field of Dreams Recreational Complex | — | 59 |
| 2. Town of Dandridge Park | — | 28 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dandridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Theme parkDollywood3.1M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
Big draw33 mi MountainKuwohi
36 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
18 mi MuseumAlcatraz EastDollywood: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 2.5 · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Neyland Stadium: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kuwohi: C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., Public domain · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Alcatraz East: EricaLewHouse, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dandridge
About 2 of every 100 Dandridge residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
2,812 counted in 2010 and 3,344 in 2020; an estimated 3,947 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 18% since 2020, after 18.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 places in Dandridge on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Dandridge.
County seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States
Dandridge is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee. It had a population of 3,341 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Jefferson and Hamblen counties. It is considered a suburb of Knoxville based on its proximity to the city, and the connection between the two via Interstate 40. Dandridge bills itself as the "second oldest town in Tennessee" (behind only Jonesborough in Washington County). Most of the downtown area of Dandridge sits below the high level water mark of Douglas Lake and is protected by a levee made out of stone.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Dandridge.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dandridge | #83 | C | B | C+ | B | C− |
| Jefferson City | #80 | C | B− | C | B | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dandridge grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #83 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income 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 B.
6 notable people were born here, including Bill Bolden and Julia R. Hall.
