The table below provided by the American Community Survey shows an estimate of the number of residents in Tennessee who were enrolled in either college or graduate school in the year 2024. Beside those estimates is their respective margin of error. Davidson County had approximately the most residents enrolled, while Pickett County approximately had the least residents enrolled. The majority of the top ten counties have at least one university or institution either within or near that county, which would explain why their estimates are so high. There is a possibility that the estimates in some rural counties and counties without a major institution may be enrolled in online programs or are commuting to those institutions. This could explain why the estimates on these counties might be as low as they are.

County	Variable	Estimate	Margin of Error
Davidson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	53,295	2,054
Shelby County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	47,624	2,118
Knox County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	44,203	1,442
Rutherford County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	25,795	1,808
Hamilton County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	22,007	1,086
Montgomery County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	19,972	1,567
Washington County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	12,282	759
Williamson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	11,685	956
Putnam County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	8,859	652
Sumner County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	7,875	822
Madison County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	7,111	624
Bradley County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	6,935	589
Wilson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	6,846	731
Sullivan County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	6,527	607
Blount County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	4,982	520
Sevier County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,758	598
Weakley County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,656	291
Maury County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,230	548
Anderson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,124	525
Carter County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,078	342
Franklin County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	3,067	280
Jefferson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,966	420
Tipton County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,941	459
Greene County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,431	350
Claiborne County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,173	266
Robertson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,172	300
Coffee County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,151	396
Dickson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,108	387
McMinn County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,058	324
Gibson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	2,041	451
Hamblen County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,885	427
Loudon County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,858	363
Hawkins County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,849	314
Bedford County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,823	376
Giles County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,781	303
Fayette County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,777	269
Roane County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,737	292
Chester County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,698	202
Carroll County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,604	206
Lawrence County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,558	293
Rhea County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,534	346
Dyer County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,391	326
Cheatham County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,369	266
Lincoln County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,351	284
Marshall County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,325	257
Cumberland County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,269	296
Monroe County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,208	255
Obion County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,177	227
Warren County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,138	332
Henry County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,091	301
Campbell County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	1,066	269
Hardeman County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	976	203
Marion County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	928	175
Hardin County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	902	214
White County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	836	244
McNairy County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	817	223
Scott County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	815	265
Cocke County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	769	205
Lauderdale County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	764	186
Hickman County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	754	197
Humphreys County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	754	250
Henderson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	748	217
Unicoi County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	745	237
Smith County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	732	181
DeKalb County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	708	255
Macon County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	685	206
Haywood County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	677	167
Union County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	677	236
Wayne County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	668	165
Grainger County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	628	170
Overton County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	608	162
Sequatchie County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	565	203
Johnson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	531	162
Fentress County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	530	159
Polk County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	502	197
Crockett County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	500	147
Stewart County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	464	166
Morgan County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	460	153
Cannon County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	456	175
Lewis County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	451	169
Grundy County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	421	115
Meigs County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	378	145
Bledsoe County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	368	136
Benton County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	356	147
Decatur County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	334	91
Trousdale County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	315	119
Moore County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	314	129
Hancock County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	303	89
Perry County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	251	121
Houston County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	248	106
Jackson County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	226	117
Clay County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	182	75
Lake County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	157	72
Van Buren County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	133	73
Pickett County, Tennessee	DP02_0058	88	62

Code

Below is the code used to conduct the analysis.

############################################################
# STEP 1: Load Packages
############################################################

if (!require("tidycensus")) install.packages("tidycensus")
if (!require("tidyverse")) install.packages("tidyverse")
if (!require("kableExtra")) install.packages("kableExtra")

library(tidycensus)
library(tidyverse)
library(kableExtra)

############################################################
# STEP 2: Verify Census API Key
############################################################

if (!nzchar(Sys.getenv("CENSUS_API_KEY"))) {
  
  stop(
    paste(
      "\nNo Census API key was found.",
      "\n\nTo obtain a free Census API key, visit:",
      "\nhttps://api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html",
      "\n\nThen run the one-time setup code at the",
      "\ntop of this script to store your key.",
      "\n"
    )
  )
  
}

############################################################
# STEP 3: Explore 2024 Codebooks and Choose an ACS Variable
############################################################

ProfileTables  <- load_variables(2024, "acs5/profile")
# DetailedTables <- load_variables(2024, "acs5")
# SubjectTables  <- load_variables(2024, "acs5/subject")


# Replace the variable code below with the ACS variable
# you want to download.

my_variable <- "DP02_0058" # <<< CAN CHANGE THE VARIABLE CODE

# Example variables:
#
# DP05_0001  = Total population
# DP03_0062  = Median Household Income
# DP03_0128P = Poverty Rate
# DP02_0068P = Bachelor's Degree or Higher Rate
# DP05_0018  = Median Age
# DP04_0046P = Homeownership Rate
# DP04_0134  = Median Gross Rent
# DP04_0142P = Pct. renters paying 35%+ HH income in rent (GRAPI)
# DP05_0090P = Hispanic or Latino Population Percentage
# DP02_0094P = Foreign-Born Percentage
# DP03_0009P = Unemployment Rate
# DP03_0025  = Average Commute Time

############################################################
# STEP 4: Download Tennessee County Data
############################################################

mydata <- get_acs(
  geography = "county",
  state = "TN",  # <<< CAN CHANGE THE STATE
  year = 2024,
  survey = "acs5",
  variables = my_variable
)

############################################################
# STEP 5: Keep Needed Variables
############################################################

mydata <- mydata |>
  select(
    County = NAME,
    Variable = variable,
    Estimate = estimate,
    Margin_of_Error = moe
  )

############################################################
# STEP 6: Sort Results from Highest to Lowest
############################################################

mydata <- mydata |>
  arrange(desc(Estimate))

############################################################
# STEP 7: Display Results as a Table
############################################################

ResultsTable <- mydata |>
  kbl(
    col.names = c(
      "County",
      "Variable",
      "Estimate",
      "Margin of Error"
    ),
    format.args = list(big.mark = ",")
  ) |>
  kable_styling(
    bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover"),
    full_width = FALSE
  )

ResultsTable

############################################################

Report 4

Jacob Moore

2026-09-16

Code