Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jasper gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $259K, 3.6 years of the Chattanooga metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 73rd among Tennessee's 175 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 69% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Jasper’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, against 25 minutes in Tennessee’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. McKendree Methodist Episcopal Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Jasper beats most towns.
Where Jasper’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Jasper is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 249 in 1860, 3,612 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1895 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jasper. Close and well known come first.
19 mi MountainLookout Mountain
17 mi WaterfallRuby Falls
5 mi Park & preserveNickajack Cave31 mi CaveEllison's Cave
18 mi Zoo & aquariumTennessee Aquarium
12 mi National MonumentRussell Cave National Monument8K visitors a yearLookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ruby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Nickajack Cave: Blueway, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Aquarium: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Russell Cave National Monument: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jasper, 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 Jasper.
Jasper trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from South Pittsburg and beyond and fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally.
2,368 jobs are based in Jasper, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Jasper for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Chattanooga (30%), Kimball (6%) and South Pittsburg (5%).
| Jasper | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Marion County school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Marion Co High School, with 543 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 650 | B+ |
| Marion Co High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 543 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 54% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
30% of Jasper adults have been diagnosed with depression. Jasper beats the Tennessee average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 14% of Jasper adults binge drink.
| Jasper | 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 mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Jasper | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1980, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jasper.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (about $259K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles.
The typical Jasper home is worth about $259,000, up 0.7% in a year, 22% below the Tennessee typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jasper has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Jasper is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide). 14% of residents are 65 or older in Jasper. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Jasper | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.6 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 23% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Jasper | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 22% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.6% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.5% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.7% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.9% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
At 15.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 73% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
Jasper’s property crime rate is 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Jasper | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Jasper City Park, at 30 acres.
| Jasper | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jasper City Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Jasper; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Jasper residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
3,279 counted in 2010 and 3,612 in 2020; an estimated 3,636 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.2% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 notable people were born in Jasper.
Town in Marion County, Tennessee
Jasper is a town in and the county seat of Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. The town was formed in 1820 from lands acquired from Betsy Pack, daughter of Cherokee Chief John Lowery. Jasper is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Jasper.
Kimball has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Jasper with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Jasper grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #73 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C− for health, B for safety and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 A.
8 notable people were born here, including Peter Turney and Joseph Edgar Brown.
