Financial Literacy in Oak Ridge, TN
Oak Ridge, Tennessee is home to about 34,039 people, among the larger communities in Tennessee, ranking 24th of 342 by population. The population has grown 8.2% since 2020, a pace fast enough to reshape who lives there, from 31,461 to 34,039. The median age is 39.2.
39.4% of Oak Ridge residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That runs 22.7 points above the Tennessee average of 16.7%. Put the other way round: of the 22,079 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 13,380 — 60.6% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.
The typical household here earns $71,000 a year. That is $16,589 above the Tennessee median. About 12.9% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $233,500 — about 3.3× the median household income, a ratio that makes the arithmetic of a mortgage worth understanding before signing one.
Oak Ridge by the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Population (2024) | 34,039 |
| Change since 2020 | +8.2% |
| Median household income | $71,000 |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree | 39.4% |
| Adults 25+ with a high school diploma | 91.2% |
| Median age | 39.2 |
| Poverty rate | 12.9% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.7% |
| Median home value | $233,500 |
| Land area | 85.25 sq mi |
| Population density | 399 / sq mi |
What Tennessee teaches — and to whom
Tennessee already requires 1 semester of personal finance for a high school diploma, a rule in force since the graduating class of 2013. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Oak Ridge, is most of the people reading this.
LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.
Where to start in Oak Ridge
Know the newcomer paperwork
Oak Ridge has grown 8.2% since 2020. Fast in-migration means a lot of residents are navigating a new state's rules at once — registration and licensing deadlines, residency for tax purposes, and lease terms that differ from wherever they moved from.
Questions people ask about Oak Ridge
Do high school students in Oak Ridge, Tennessee have to take a personal finance class?
Yes. Tennessee requires 1 semester to graduate, in force since the class of 2013.
How many adults in Oak Ridge, Tennessee have a college degree?
39.4% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 60.6% are managing their finances without one.
What is the median household income in Oak Ridge, Tennessee?
$71,000, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.
Where can adults in Oak Ridge, Tennessee learn personal finance?
Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.
Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.
Browse the LearnLife catalogNearby in Tennessee
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