Groundwork

Real estate · County · Tennessee

Real estate businesses in Rhea County, TN

How Rhea County, TN compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #876 of 2,229 scored counties
#47 of 77 scored counties in Tennessee

Listings
31
3 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$180.4M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,384 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
134
34% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
23.0
40% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
34,844
+4.6% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Rhea County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Rhea County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 31 real estate businesses in Rhea County. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 10%, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 23.0, 40% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Rhea County comes to about $180.4M a year: $13,384 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 34% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Rhea County was 10 in 2023. That is one for every 1,348 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 93 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Rhea County grew 4.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Rhea County scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #876 of 2,229 scored counties and #47 of 77 scored counties in Tennessee.

How Rhea County compares

The same measures for Tennessee and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Rhea County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureRhea CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households23.036.738.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)13493100
Households per official establishment1,348736414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+19.2%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.6%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,384$14,833$16,661
Median household income$55,033$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score5455

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 10
Employees, 2023
9
Annual payroll, 2023
$518K
One-person businesses, 2023
93Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
313 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
42The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Rhea County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Rhea County

Population, 2025 estimate
34,844+4.6% since 2020
Households
13,475
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
316 sq. mi.
People per square mile
108
Median household income
$55,033+30.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$75,267
Median home value
$206,000
Jobs located here
10,252
Daytime population
31,260Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rhea County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Rhea County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Rhea County marked.

Top counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Hickman County, TN8055.3620+5.0%#18 of 2,229
2Hawkins County, TN80177.2430+5.0%#19 of 2,229
3Union County, TN8067.6421+8.1%#20 of 2,229
4Fayette County, TN802112.2297+7.7%#25 of 2,229
5Smith County, TN80911.3295+5.1%#26 of 2,229
6Bedford County, TN773115.9209+9.7%#74 of 2,229
7Polk County, TN7679.4343+5.9%#81 of 2,229
8Gibson County, TN752311.3283+2.7%#104 of 2,229
9Grainger County, TN7477.2418+9.2%#119 of 2,229
10Sequatchie County, TN7469.7322+12.7%#123 of 2,229
47Rhea County, TN543123.0134+4.6%#876 of 2,229

Other business types in Rhea County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Rhea County, TN?

Rhea County has 31 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts also show 93 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Rhea County, TN spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $180.4M a year, or $13,384 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 31 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 34% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,475 households in Rhea County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Rhea County, TN compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Rhea County has 23.0 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 134, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Rhea County would have about 42, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,348 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is Rhea County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Rhea County at 34,844 people in 2025, up 4.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,475 households. The median household income in Rhea County is $55,033 a year, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 30.4% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Rhea County scores 54 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #876 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rhea County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Rhea County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rhea County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Rhea County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.