Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 578.
Among 178 Tennessee towns, just 5 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Ooltewah. James County Courthouse (Additional Documentation) and Hiram Douglas House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ooltewah has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1956.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ooltewah. Close and well known come first.
24 mi MountainLookout Mountain
17 mi WaterfallRuby Falls
9 mi MuseumTennessee Valley Railroad Museum33 mi CaveEllison's Cave13 mi Theme parkLake Winnepesaukah
15 mi Zoo & aquariumTennessee AquariumLookout Mountain: Teke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ruby Falls: Oydman (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: TVSRR at English Wikipedia. Photo by Jason Trew /TVSRR, Public domain · Tennessee Aquarium: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ooltewah is unincorporated, so Hamilton 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Ooltewah.
The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 25%, against 31% across Tennessee. People 65 and older are 37% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 28% of residents (38% statewide).
Somewhere between 43% and 70% women
The Census survey reached too few of Ooltewah’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±13.6 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Ooltewah | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 0% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 2.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 29.6% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.7% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.6% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.8% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.2% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 600, single groups can be off by several points
3.1% of Ooltewah residents live below the poverty line, against 14% in Tennessee’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. The town’s mean commuting time is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Chattanooga (58%), Nashville (6%) and Cleveland (4%). For half of commuters, work is under 12 miles away.
| Ooltewah | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The going rate for rent for Ooltewah comes to $1,717 a month, above both the Tennessee town median ($947 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Home values are down 1.6% over the year to September 2026. Ooltewah: 64% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Ooltewah | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,717 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 66% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Ooltewah, the typical July afternoon high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Federal aid has come to Ooltewah households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2020. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in two thirds of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 52% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 23% to tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For adults in Ooltewah, the share who have diabetes is 13%. This Tennessee town beats the Tennessee average on 10 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. Just over a quarter of adults locally have been diagnosed with depression; 17% report frequent mental distress.
| Ooltewah | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 39% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 29% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Ooltewah | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 14.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.1% | 16.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.5% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Ooltewah
About 8 of every 100 Ooltewah residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
Where Ooltewah’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Ooltewah.
Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States
Ooltewah ( OO-tuh-wah) is an unincorporated community in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 684 at the 2020 census. Ooltewah is an enclave in the city of Collegedale, near Chattanooga.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ooltewah has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Ooltewah has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 notable people were born here, including Luther Roy and Oscar Seagle.
