Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dunlap gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $270K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the Chattanooga metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C− overall, 128th of 175 graded towns in Tennessee. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $46K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Dunlap, above both Tennessee’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Dunlap has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sequatchie County Courthouse and Dunlap Coke Ovens. Only 9 of the 134 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower level of violent crime than Dunlap.
Where Dunlap beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Sequatchie County Courthouse| Widest gap | Dunlap | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.2% | 14.6% |
4,815 counted in 2010 and 5,357 in 2020; an estimated 6,089 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13.8% since 2020, after 11.3% in the decade before.
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 Dunlap is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 133 in 1880, a low of 133 in 1880, 5,357 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1936 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dunlap, 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 Dunlap.
Dunlap trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it is a long drive from an emergency room and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Tennessee (mostly cold waves).
The nearest emergency room, Erlanger Bledsoe Hospital, is 20.9 miles away in a straight line.
Among adults in Dunlap, 77% had a checkup this year. For adults here, the share who smoke cigarettes is 25%.
| Dunlap | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 29% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Dunlap | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.2% | 14.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.6% | 8.6% |
| More smokers | 24.5% | 17.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The largest public high school is Sequatchie Co High School, with 542 students. Public schools: the Sequatchie County school district. Two of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Griffith ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 786 | B+ |
| Sequatchie Co High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 542 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Tennessee towns, with expected losses of about $579 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA puts 44% of Dunlap’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 40% to inland flooding. In Dunlap, the FEMA risk score is 76 of 100. Since 2003, Dunlap has seen 21 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summer afternoons peak near 89° in July, and January nights bottom out around 30°; snowfall runs to about 3 inches a winter. Winters in Dunlap are mild and summers warm, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $270K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
Home values are up 2.6% over the year to September 2026. Dunlap’s median rent stands at $868 a month. In Dunlap, 62% of households own their home.
| Dunlap | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $868 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Trails run 1.8 miles in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is John Griswold Recreation Park, at 70 acres. Parks and preserves in Dunlap: 4, covering 98 acres.
| Dunlap | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John Griswold Recreation Park | — | 70 |
| 2. Coke Ovens Park | — | 23 |
| 3. Harris Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 2,192 in 2013 to 3,009.
About one worker in four stays in Dunlap for work. Since 2013, Dunlap has added 817 jobs, to 3,009 in 2023. The top destinations are Chattanooga (24%), Nashville (4%) and Knoxville (2%).
| Dunlap | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 15.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 73% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 105 to 37 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Dunlap, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 5.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Dunlap; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Dunlap residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
5 places in Dunlap on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Dunlap.
City in Tennessee, United States
Dunlap is a city in and the county seat of Sequatchie County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,357 at the 2020 census and 4,815 at the 2010 census. Dunlap is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dunlap grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #128 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D− for health, B for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Tom Stewart and Raymond H. Cooley.
