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 2023, at 61.8%. Hancock County had the lowest, at 8.6%. The median was 17.5% and the figure for Tennessee was 30.4%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median17.595 counties
Tennessee30.4History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 61.8 %61.8Davidson CountyDavidson County: 47.3 %47.3Knox CountyKnox County: 40.2 %40.2Wilson CountyWilson County: 37.2 %37.2Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 37 %37Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 34.4 %34.4Shelby CountyShelby County: 34.2 %34.2Washington CountyWashington County: 33.5 %33.5Sumner CountySumner County: 32.6 %32.6Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 31.7 %31.7Putnam CountyPutnam County: 29.2 %29.2Loudon CountyLoudon County: 28.6 %28.6Fayette CountyFayette County: 26.9 %26.9Blount CountyBlount County: 26.8 %26.8Sullivan CountySullivan County: 26.6 %26.6Maury CountyMaury County: 26.5 %26.5Anderson CountyAnderson County: 26.3 %26.3Madison CountyMadison County: 26 %26Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 25.1 %25.1Moore CountyMoore County: 24.7 %24.7Bradley CountyBradley County: 24.6 %24.6Franklin CountyFranklin County: 23.1 %23.1Coffee CountyCoffee County: 22.9 %22.9Roane CountyRoane County: 22 %22Dyer CountyDyer County: 21.6 %21.6Weakley CountyWeakley County: 21.6 %21.6Sevier CountySevier County: 21.4 %21.4Dickson CountyDickson County: 21.4 %21.4Robertson CountyRobertson County: 21.1 %21.1Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 21 %21Marshall CountyMarshall County: 21 %21Carter CountyCarter County: 20.7 %20.7Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 20.1 %20.1Unicoi CountyUnicoi County: 20 %20DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 20 %20Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 19.3 %19.3Giles CountyGiles County: 19.2 %19.2Chester CountyChester County: 19.2 %19.2Gibson CountyGibson County: 19.1 %19.1Sequatchie CountySequatchie County: 18.9 %18.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Williamson County61.8-0.1 pts
2Davidson County47.3+1.3 pts
3Knox County40.2+1 pts
4Wilson County37.2+0.5 pts
5Hamilton County37+1.4 pts
6Rutherford County34.4+1 pts
7Shelby County34.2+0.4 pts
8Washington County33.5+0.2 pts
9Sumner County32.6+1.4 pts
10Montgomery County31.7+1.4 pts
11Putnam County29.2+1.6 pts
12Loudon County28.6+0.2 pts
13Fayette County26.9+1.2 pts
14Blount County26.8+0.8 pts
15Sullivan County26.6+0.3 pts
16Maury County26.5+0.6 pts
17Anderson County26.3+1.8 pts
18Madison County260 pts
19Cheatham County25.1+2.2 pts
20Moore County24.7+1.5 pts
21Bradley County24.6+0.8 pts
22Franklin County23.1+1.3 pts
23Coffee County22.9-0.4 pts
24Roane County22+0.1 pts
25Dyer County21.60 pts
26Weakley County21.6+1.5 pts
27Sevier County21.4+1.3 pts
28Dickson County21.4+2.1 pts
29Robertson County21.10 pts
30Jefferson County21-0 pts
31Marshall County21+0.1 pts
32Carter County20.7-0.5 pts
33Hamblen County20.1+1.2 pts
34Unicoi County20+2.8 pts
35DeKalb County20-0.4 pts
36Lincoln County19.3-0 pts
37Giles County19.2+0.3 pts
38Chester County19.2+2.8 pts
39Gibson County19.1+0.5 pts
40Sequatchie County18.9+0.3 pts
41Carroll County18.9-0.9 pts
42Henry County18.6-0.4 pts
43Cumberland County18.5+0.4 pts
44Tipton County18.5-1.2 pts
45Obion County18.1+0.8 pts
46Smith County18+1.1 pts
47Greene County17.7-0.3 pts
48McMinn County17.5+0.1 pts
49Rhea County17.4+0.3 pts
50Claiborne County17.3-1.4 pts
51Pickett County17.2-1 pts
52Cannon County16.9-0.6 pts
53Bedford County16.9-0.2 pts
54Hawkins County16.80 pts
55Marion County16.5+1.3 pts
56Humphreys County16.4-0.4 pts
57Stewart County16.2-0.6 pts
58Monroe County15.8+0.2 pts
59Crockett County15.7+0.2 pts
60Johnson County15.7+0.8 pts
61Lawrence County15.5-0.1 pts
62Fentress County15.3-1.1 pts
63Warren County15.1+1.2 pts
64Decatur County15-0.6 pts
65Grainger County14.9+0.8 pts
66Hardin County14.8-1.1 pts
67Polk County14.7+1.3 pts
68Union County14.5+1.5 pts
69Henderson County14.4+0.5 pts
70White County14.2+0.6 pts
71Van Buren County14+3.8 pts
72Morgan County13.7+1.2 pts
73Houston County13.7+2.3 pts
74Hickman County13.6+1.1 pts
75Overton County13.5-0.4 pts
76Jackson County13.5-0.4 pts
77Campbell County13.2+0.3 pts
78Haywood County13.1+0.9 pts
79Perry County12.7+2 pts
80Wayne County12.5+0.4 pts
81Benton County12.4+1.3 pts
82Grundy County12.4-1.2 pts
83Clay County12-0.3 pts
84Meigs County12+0.4 pts
85Macon County11.8+1.9 pts
85McNairy County11.8+0.3 pts
87Cocke County11.7-0.1 pts
88Hardeman County11.3+0.8 pts
89Lewis County10.9+1.6 pts
90Lauderdale County10.9+0.5 pts
91Scott County10.2-0.1 pts
92Trousdale County10.1+0.4 pts
93Lake County9.4-1.4 pts
94Bledsoe County8.8-1.5 pts
95Hancock County8.6-1.3 pts

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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Williamson County, with 61.8% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Hancock County, with 8.6% in 2023.

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