Macon County (Tennessee)

Macon County is a county located in the state of Tennessee in the United States. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Lafayette.

Geography

The County is located in the north of Tennessee, bordering Kentucky and has an area of 796 square kilometers without significant water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Allen County (Kentucky), Monroe County (Kentucky), Clay County, Jackson County, Smith County, Trousdale County and Sumner County.

History

Macon County was formed on January 18, 1842 from parts of Smith County and Sumner County. It was named for Nathaniel Macon, an officer in the Revolutionary War and later U.S. Senator.

Demographic data

2000

According to the census in 2000 lived in Macon County 20,386 people in 7,916 households and 5,802 families. The population density was 26 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made ​​up of 97.86 percent White, 0.22 percent African American, 0.42 percent Native American, 0.24 percent Asian, 0.07 percent of residents from the Pacific Islander and 0.77 percent from other races groups; 0.44 percent were descended from two or more races. 1.71 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 7,916 households out of which 35.0 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them. 60.7 percent were married couples living together, 8.8 percent were single mothers and 26.7 percent were non-families. 23.8 percent of all households and 10.7 percent lived in persons aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average household size was 3.00.

26.1 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 8.5 percent between 18 to 24, 29.4 percent between 25 and 44, 23.3 percent between 45 and 64 and 12.7 percent were older than 65, the average age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males statistically every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household was $ 29,867, and the median income for a family was $ 37,577. Males had a median income of $ 28,170, women $ 20,087. The per capita income was $ 15,286. 11.3 percent of families and 15.1 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.