GrayTN
A town of 2,237. Public schools that outperform most of Tennessee.
Is Gray a good place to live?
Gray’s best subject grades are an A− for schools and a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. 0.9% of working residents work locally in Gray, below both the Tennessee town median (12%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Only 23 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score lower on history. Gray has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Gray stand out
Where Gray beats most towns.
How Gray grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Gray is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Gray: who provides what
Gray is unincorporated, so Washington County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Gray.
On state tests, Gray’s schools beat 76% of Tennessee districts
Its one school is below. Enrollment at Gray’s public school: 512 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 512 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Fewer middle-aged adults than Tennessee overall
Just over a quarter of Gray residents are under 18, against 22% in Tennessee’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Adults 35 to 64 are 27% of residents (38% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). The share of adults 25 and older in Gray who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 37%.
| Gray | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 23% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.1 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 93% are men (TN 48%).
| Gray | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 20.7% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.4% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.5% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.5% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.1% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 6.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.5% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.3% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,200, single groups can be off by several points
Top of a low hazard risk in Gray: inland flooding
On expected storm and flood damage, Gray sits below 71% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Gray break down as 71% from inland flooding and 9% from earthquakes. Federal aid has come to Gray households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Gray
Summer afternoons peak near 87° in July, and January nights bottom out around 27°; snowfall runs to about 5 inches a winter. Gray brings chilly winters and warm summers.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in three of Gray’s working residents commute to Johnson City
Most people who work leave Gray to do it: just 1% work in town. Jobs based in Gray grew to 545 in 2023, 75 more than in 2013. In Gray, the typical journey to work is 29 minutes. The median commute is under 9 miles.
| Gray | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 14% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A home in Gray is worth about $304K, on Zillow’s estimate
Home values are up 1.1% over the year to September 2026. For households in Gray, the share who live in a home they own is 72%.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Gray is less healthy than 52% of U.S. towns
Against the Tennessee average, Gray comes out ahead on 8 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 1. In Gray, 10% of adults worry about having enough food.
| Gray | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Gray | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.9% | 13.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Gray
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Gray
About 10 of every 100 Gray residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
Gray’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Gray.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gray | — | — | B+ | — | A− | B− |
| Johnson City | #104 | C− | C− | C− | A | C |
| Spurgeon | #53 | B− | B− | — | B | B− |
Gray has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Gray and Spurgeon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gray with a neighbor →
Questions about Gray
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Gray, TN a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Tennessee.
Is Gray, TN expensive?
Not for the area. That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($57,762 across the Johnson City, TN metro 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+.