Blount County, Tennessee

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 7.4% below the national average, so the nominal median of $77,365 is worth $83,548 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.1 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 44 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest private-sector industry: Manufacturing employs 9,183 workers (20.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $77,677. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 7,966 and is counted separately.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $9.1B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $91,950 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $28,896, a 3.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing concentrates at 7.80x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
• Cluster depth: 9 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 43.9% of the employment across them, the largest being goods manufacturing. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 6 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.1x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 77% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Vacancy level: 10.2% of housing units are vacant, level with the Tennessee rate of 10.2%, and down from 12.4% in 2019.
• Mostly second homes: seasonal, recreational and occasional-use units are 35.8% of vacant units, so the headline rate is not available supply.
• Genuinely available supply: units listed for rent or for sale are 11% of the vacant stock, or 1.1% of all housing units against the 10.2% headline vacancy rate. Absorbable supply for an incoming employer is thin, and the gap between the two is the redevelopment and conversion opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $53,055 can pay without cost burden (~$1,326/mo), and 36.4% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

• Succession risk is real: 25% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Healthy participation: 61% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
• Talent pipeline: 1 institution in Blount County awards 190 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Blount County shows strong potential for transportation equipment manufacturing attraction, with a 7.80x concentration and 5,108 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans transportation equipment manufacturing, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and misc. retailers, and rental and leasing services, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 43.9% of the employment across them, the largest being goods manufacturing. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.