I thought it might be nice to provide some basic community data about Cookeville for people considering relocating here.  Cookeville is the county seat of Putnam county, and the largest town in the upper cumberland. Approximately 25,000 Upper Cumberland residents travel to Cookeville each day, as Cookeville acts as the main hub for the surrounding counties as well.

Population: Cookeville has a population of approximately 30,000. Putnam county has a population of approximately 71,000.

Climate:  The average annual temperature here is 76 degrees F.  The average high for January is 52.9 degrees F., and the average low is 37.9 degrees F.  The average high for July is 88.8 degrees F., and the average low is 67.2 degrees F.  We average 8" of snowfall per year, and the altitude here is 1,140 ft above sea level.

Taxes:  Tennessee does not have a state income tax, but we do have sales tax. The state sales tax amount is 7%, and Putnam county is 2.75%, for a grand total of 9.75% sales tax here in Putnam county.  Property tax (Rate per $100)@25% of assessed value:  Cookeville: 0.87 and Putnam county: 2.75.

Unemployment rate as of June 2009 is 10.3%.  The Median Household Income is $39,553.00, and per capita Income is $25,713.00  Putnam county has over 100 manufacturing facilities, with approximately 28% of the county's work force being employed in manufacturing jobs.  The largest manufacturers in the area are: Perdue Farms (Meat processor), Cummins Inc. (Air, Water&Oil filters), Oreck (vacuum cleaners), TUTCO (heating elements), DACCO (automotive transmission parts), and Flowserve (hydraulic valves).

Largest non-manufacturing employers in Putnam county listed in order are: Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Putnam County Board of Education, Averitt Express, State of TN, City of Cookeville, Frontier Communications, Sun Trust Bank, First Tennessee Bank, First National Bank, Jackson Bank & Trust, Wal-Mart, Putnam county.

You might also be interested to know that Cookeville continues to be ranked in the top 10 most affordable retirement places.  I will write more about this in an upcoming blog post.