WHO WE ARE
• The median age of individuals in Hamilton County is 39.1 years old.• 21.8 percent of the population is under age 18.• 14.4 percent of the population is age 65 or older.• There are 14,087 more adult women than adult men in Hamilton County. Female residents comprise 52.8 percent of the adult population.• 59.3 percent of those who live in Hamilton County were born in Tennessee.
The 2010 census details the makeup of Hamilton County.
Racial diversity
• 73.9 percent of Hamilton County residents are white
• 20.2 percent of Hamilton County residents are black
• 4.5 percent are Hispanic or of Latino origin
• 6 percent speak a language other than English at home
• 4.6 percent of Hamilton County residents were born in a foreign country
Education
Among adults age 25 and older in Hamilton County:
• 4.9 percent have less than a ninth-grade education
• 16.6 percent don't have a high school diploma
• 28.8 percent have a high school diploma or equivalent but no college
• 22.8 percent have some college training but no degree
• 6.8 percent have an associate degree from college
• 27 percent have a bachelor's degree from college and, of those, 9 percent have a graduate or professional degree
Income
• The median household income -- the point at which half of all households earn more and half earn less -- was $45,408 in the 2010 census for Hamilton County
• The average household income, calculated by taking all residents' income divided by the number of workers, is much higher at $64,055 in Hamilton County.
• The median earnings for a typical worker in Hamilton County was $26,592 in the 2010 census.
• In Hamilton County, 14.7 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Source: 2010 census for Hamilton County. U.S. Bureau of Census.
TYPES OF JOBS WE HOLD
In the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area at the end of 2011:
Total employment: 233,700
Government: 37,500, or 16 percent of all jobs
Education and health services: 32,100, or 13.7 percent of all jobs
Manufacturing: 28,000, or 12 percent of all jobs
Retail trade: 24,100, or 10.3 percent of all jobs
Leisure and hospitality: 24,100, or 10.3 percent of all jobs
Professional and business services: 21,200, or 9.1 percent of all jobs
Financial activities: 17,400, or 7.5 percent of all jobs
Construction: 9,100, or 4 percent of all jobs
Wholesale trade: 8,300, or 3.5 percent of all jobs
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data for metropolitan Chattanooga, which includes Hamilton, Marion and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in Georgia.
HOW WE HEAT OUR HOMES
Among the 133,953 housing units in Hamilton County, the most common fuels used to heat local homes are:
EPB electricity: 62.8 percent
Chattanooga Gas Co. natural gas: 32.8 percent
Bottled, tank or LP gas: 2.6 percent
Fuel oil, kerosene: 0.8 percent
Source: 2010 census for Hamilton County
HOW WE GET TO WORK
The average worker in Hamilton County spends 21.2 minutes getting to work.
83.1 percent, or 129,082 workers in Hamilton County, drive to work alone.
10.1 percent, or 15,831 workers in Hamilton County, ride with someone else to work.
2 percent, or 1,483 workers, ride a CARTA bus, take a taxi cab or some other type of public transportation to work.
2.9 percent, or 4,443 workers, work at home.