Humboldt, Tennessee

Humboldt, Tennessee
—  City  —
Location of Humboldt, Tennessee
Coordinates: 35°49′21″N 88°54′40″W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Counties	Gibson, Madison
Area
• Total	9.7 sq mi (25.0 km2)
• Land	9.7 sq mi (25.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	364 ft (111 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,452
• Density	870/sq mi (340/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	38343
Area code(s)	731
FIPS code	47-36460
GNIS feature ID	1288697
Website	http://www.humboldttnchamber.org/

Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 in 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jackson, Tennessee-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area. It is Gibson County's largest city.^{[citation needed]}

History

Downtown Humboldt in 1901

The city is named for German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.

Geography

Humboldt is located at 35°49′21″N 88°54′40″W (35.822564, -88.911138). Most of the city lies in Gibson County, with only a small portion extending into Madison County. In the 2000 census, 9,442 of the city's 9,467 residents (99.7%) lived in Gibson County and 25 (0.3%) in Madison County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.7 square miles (25.0 km²), of which, 9.7 square miles (25.0 km²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,467 people, 3,864 households, and 2,538 families residing in the city. The population density was 980.0 people per square mile (378.4/km²). There were 4,243 housing units at an average density of 439.2 per square mile (169.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.06% White, 43.00% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 1.00% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.

There were 3,864 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,351, and the median income for a family was $32,845. Males had a median income of $30,848 versus $20,890 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,433. About 16.1% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Airport

The city-owned Humboldt Municipal Airport is located in Gibson County.

Media

Cable

Cable TV is supplied through a locally owned business called Infostructure Inc.

Newspaper

The local newspaper is called the Humboldt Chronicle(http://hchronicle.net).

Television

W45CK Channel 45 is a Unity Broadcasting Network station.

Special events

Since 1934, the city has hosted the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival, held the first full week of May.

Notable natives

• Doug Atkins - Football player
• T.G. Sheppard - Country music singer
• Jesse Hill Ford - Writer & playwright
• Dale Sommers - Radio personality
• Wyatt Prunty - Poet
• Samuel Cole Williams - Historian
• Murray Warmath - College football coach
• Lew Jetton - Musician, television personality