Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Williamson County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 95 counties in 2021, at 61.9%. Macon County had the lowest, at 9%. The median was 17% and the figure for Tennessee was 29%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest61.9Williamson County
Lowest9Macon County
Median1795 counties
Tennessee29History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 61.9 %61.9Davidson CountyDavidson County: 44.4 %44.4Knox CountyKnox County: 38.8 %38.8Wilson CountyWilson County: 35.9 %35.9Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 34.1 %34.1Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 33.5 %33.5Shelby CountyShelby County: 33.3 %33.3Washington CountyWashington County: 33.1 %33.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 29.9 %29.9Sumner CountySumner County: 29.8 %29.8Loudon CountyLoudon County: 28.2 %28.2Madison CountyMadison County: 27 %27Putnam CountyPutnam County: 26.6 %26.6Sullivan CountySullivan County: 25.7 %25.7Maury CountyMaury County: 25.4 %25.4Blount CountyBlount County: 25.4 %25.4Anderson CountyAnderson County: 24.4 %24.4Fayette CountyFayette County: 23.6 %23.6Moore CountyMoore County: 23.1 %23.1Bradley CountyBradley County: 22.9 %22.9Coffee CountyCoffee County: 22.8 %22.8Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 22 %22Franklin CountyFranklin County: 21.7 %21.7Weakley CountyWeakley County: 21.3 %21.3Roane CountyRoane County: 21.2 %21.2Carroll CountyCarroll County: 20.3 %20.3Stewart CountyStewart County: 20.2 %20.2Dyer CountyDyer County: 20.2 %20.2Robertson CountyRobertson County: 20.1 %20.1Carter CountyCarter County: 19.5 %19.5DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 19.5 %19.5Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 19.2 %19.2Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 19.2 %19.2Sevier CountySevier County: 18.8 %18.8Tipton CountyTipton County: 18.7 %18.7Dickson CountyDickson County: 18.5 %18.5Claiborne CountyClaiborne County: 18.3 %18.3Giles CountyGiles County: 18.3 %18.3Gibson CountyGibson County: 18.2 %18.2Henry CountyHenry County: 18.1 %18.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Williamson County61.9
2Davidson County44.4
3Knox County38.8
4Wilson County35.9
5Hamilton County34.1
6Rutherford County33.5
7Shelby County33.3
8Washington County33.1
9Montgomery County29.9
10Sumner County29.8
11Loudon County28.2
12Madison County27
13Putnam County26.6
14Sullivan County25.7
15Maury County25.4
16Blount County25.4
17Anderson County24.4
18Fayette County23.6
19Moore County23.1
20Bradley County22.9
21Coffee County22.8
22Cheatham County22
23Franklin County21.7
24Weakley County21.3
25Roane County21.2
26Carroll County20.3
27Stewart County20.2
28Dyer County20.2
29Robertson County20.1
30Carter County19.5
31DeKalb County19.5
32Jefferson County19.2
33Lincoln County19.2
34Sevier County18.8
35Tipton County18.7
36Dickson County18.5
37Claiborne County18.3
38Giles County18.3
39Gibson County18.2
40Henry County18.1
41Hamblen County18.1
42Bedford County18
43McMinn County17.9
44Rhea County17.7
45Marshall County17.7
46Smith County17.4
47Cumberland County17.3
48Chester County17
49Greene County17
50Hawkins County16.2
51Hardin County16.2
52Unicoi County16
53Fentress County16
54Sequatchie County15.9
55Lawrence County15.9
56Pickett County15.9
57Decatur County15.8
58Humphreys County15.8
59Crockett County15.5
60Obion County15.4
61Monroe County15.3
62Cannon County15
63Grundy County14.8
64Warren County14.3
65Polk County14.2
66Grainger County14
67Marion County14
68Johnson County13.6
69Henderson County13.6
70White County13.4
71Jackson County13.2
72Houston County13.2
73Campbell County13.2
74Clay County13.1
75Overton County12.9
76Cocke County12.3
77Benton County12.1
78McNairy County12
79Haywood County11.8
79Union County11.8
81Lake County11.5
82Hardeman County11.4
82Wayne County11.4
84Morgan County11.2
85Bledsoe County11.1
86Hancock County11.1
87Meigs County10.8
88Hickman County10.1
89Van Buren County10
90Lewis County9.9
91Scott County9.7
92Trousdale County9.5
93Lauderdale County9.2
94Perry County9.1
95Macon County9

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Tennessee by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"bachelors_degree_share","level":"province","within":"Tennessee","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=bachelors_degree_share&level=province&within=Tennessee&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Williamson County, with 61.9% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Macon County, with 9% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Tennessee: more rankings