Many Rhea County families have lived here for generations, yet each year more people move to this county to enjoy the benefits of small-town living with so many amenities.

Rhea County is located between Chattanooga and Knoxville, with Chattanooga being less than an hour’s drive and Knoxville being under two hours’ drive. The county is less than a day’s drive from the entire East Coast market, as well as many of the primary Midwestern United States markets.

Nestled between the Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee River, with a temperate climate, diversified economy, low crime rate, and good schools, Rhea County combines all that is great about small town life with the convenience of nearby cities Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and Atlanta.

The weather in Rhea County is, for the most part, temperate. Summer high temperatures are usually abated by cool evening breezes. In winter, the mercury rarely drops below zero, and while some snow accumulates a few times each year, it’s not usually enough to shovel. The average annual temperature is 61 degrees. The average low temperature in January is 28 degrees, while the average high is 47 degrees. During the summer, July’s average high temperature is 89 degrees with an average low of 68 degrees. The county’s total average annual precipitation is 53.3 inches, with about 4 inches of snow a year.

According to the 2003 Census, Rhea County has a population of 29,286 and is ranked 50th among Tennessee’s 95 counties in size. Dayton, the county seat, is the largest of three municipalities with 6,371 residents. Spring City, 17 miles north of Dayton, has a population of 2,025. Graysville, six miles south of Dayton, has a population of 1,411.

Thirty-three miles from end to end and fourteen miles across, Rhea County has such a diversity of land types, residents have only to choose whether they prefer farmland, lakefront property or a house perched high on a craggy bluff.

Rhea County’s economic base is also diverse. Over the past 30 years, it has moved from an agricultural economy into an industrial and service economy. There are approximately 11,000 people employed full-time and part-time in Rhea County. La-Z-Boy Tennessee is the largest local employer with about 2,400 workers, while several dozen other industries also provide thousands of local jobs. Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, located east of Spring City, is the second major regional employer with over 900 employees.

2003 Employment Percentages by Major Industry	Tennessee	Rhea County	County Rank	Percent of State
Total Employment All Industries	2,598,417	10,690	37th	0.4%
Natural Resources and Mining	0.4%	1.1%	27th	277.3%
Construction	4.4%	2.9%	40th	65.0%
Manufacturing	15.8%	44.7%	27th	282.8%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	22.1%	11.1%	54th	50.0%
Information	1.9%	0.4%	60th	20.8%
Financial Activities	5.3%	2.1%	54th	39.3%
Professional and Business Services	11.1%	2.2%	54th	19.6%
Education and Health Services	11.5%	6.3%	49th	54.7%
Leisure and Hospitality	9.5%	7.6%	36th	79.7%
Other Services	2.7%	1.1%	53rd	41.3%
Government	15.1%	20.5%	33rd	135.6%
Federal	2.0%	7.7%	8th	389.8%
State	3.2%	0.1%	61st	2.9%
Local	10.0%	12.7%	47th	128.1%

Unemployment rates, of course, fluctuate throughout the year because of seasonal job demands, but seldom does the rate exceed 8 percent. No economy is absolutely recession-proof, but Rhea County still manages to prosper because of the diversity of its industrial base.

The Rhea Economic & Tourism Council is devoted to the economic, community and tourism development of all of Rhea County.

For more information about Rhea County, contact the Dayton Chamber of Commerce at 423-775-0361, the Spring City Chamber of Commerce at 423-365-5210, the Town of Graysville at 423-775-9242, or the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council at 423-775-6171.