Oak GroveTN
A town of 4,626.
Is Oak Grove a good place to live?
Oak Grove is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 62nd of 175 graded towns in Tennessee, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 76% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $261K, 4.5 years of the Johnson City metro’s $58K median household income. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. 24% of residents are 65 or older in Oak Grove, above both Tennessee’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). Boone Hydroelectric Project and Finlay Alison House (Additional Documentation) is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Every workday, about 3,320 people come to Oak Grove for work
Where Oak Grove’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Oak Grove grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Oak Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Oak Grove: who provides what
Oak Grove 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 Oak Grove.
Oak Grove draws workers from Johnson City and beyond, looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Tennessee.
About one in three of Oak Grove’s working residents commute to Johnson City
3,375 jobs are based in Oak Grove, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 328 in 2013 to 3,375.
Most working residents leave Oak Grove for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Oak Grove has added 3,047 jobs, to 3,375 in 2023. 7.1% of Oak Grove residents live below the poverty line.
| Oak Grove | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Oak Grove, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
January nights average 27.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 85% of Tennessee places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Oak Grove has chilly winters and warm summers. About 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Oak Grove | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 29°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
High risk in Oak Grove, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Older than Tennessee overall
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). Oak Grove’s median age is 47 years. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Oak Grove | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.1 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Oak Grove | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.3% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.8% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.3% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.2% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.3% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Oak Grove ranks healthier than 51% of the country’s towns
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 78% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Oak Grove beats the Tennessee average on 10 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Oak Grove.
| Oak Grove | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 29% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 19% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oak Grove | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.5% | 14.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.7% | 16.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A home in Oak Grove sells for about $224K at the median
The median rent in Oak Grove is $907 a month.
| Oak Grove | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $907 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Gray Fossil Site and 9 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Grove. Close and well known come first.
37 mi Ancient siteUnited States Penitentiary
20 mi National forestCherokee National Forest35 mi Theme parkLand of Oz
33 mi TheatreBarter Theatre
38 mi Ski areaSugar Mountain Resort26 runs · 1,171 ft verticalPhoto credits
United States Penitentiary: Nyttend, Public domain · Cherokee National Forest: Ryan Rice at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barter Theatre: RebelAt (talk) (Uploads), Public domain · Sugar Mountain Resort: Mark Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Everything we know about Oak Grove
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Grove
About 3 of every 100 Oak Grove residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
About Oak Grove
CDP in Tennessee, United States
Oak Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,425 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,404 ft
Oak Grove’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Oak Grove.
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Grove | #62 | C+ | B− | — | A− | B− |
| Johnson City | #104 | C− | C− | C− | A | C |
| Spurgeon | #53 | B− | B− | — | B | B− |
Oak Grove and Spurgeon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oak Grove with a neighbor →
Questions about Oak Grove
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Oak Grove, TN a good place to live?
Oak Grove grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #62 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades B− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Oak Grove, TN expensive?
The typical home is worth about $261,000, 21% below the Tennessee typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.