Hawkins County, Tennessee

Hawkins County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 53,563. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 56,196. Its is, Tennessee's second-oldest town.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,294 (500 ). 1,260 km² (487 sq mi) of it is land and 34 km² (13 sq mi) of it (2.60%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * and (southwest)
 * (west)

Major Highways

 * [[Image:US 11W.svg|20px]], Lee Highway
 * [[Image:US 11E.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Tennessee 840.svg|20px]] Primary State Highways
 * , Trail of the Lonesome Pine
 * [[Image:Secondary Tennessee 266.svg|20px]] Secondary State Highways
 * [[Image:Secondary Tennessee 266.svg|20px]] Secondary State Highways
 * [[Image:Secondary Tennessee 266.svg|20px]] Secondary State Highways

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 53,563 people, 21,936 households, and 15,925 families residing in the county. The was 42/km² (110/sq mi). There were 24,416 housing units at an average density of 19/km² (50/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.24%, 1.55% or , 0.17% , 0.23% , 0.01% , 0.23% from , and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.78% of the population were or  of any race.

Age distribution
There were 21,936 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

Income
The median income for a household in the county was $31,300, and the median income for a family was $37,557. Males had a median income of $30,959 versus $22,082 for females. The for the county was $16,073. About 12.70% of families and 15.80% of the population were below the, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 17.70% of those age 65 or over.

Miscellaneous
Hawkins County made national headlines in July of 2005 when it had three illicit meth labs explode within one week's time.