Welcome to Athens ...
The city of Athens is located in McMinn County<1> and is the County Seat for McMinn County.
The location of Athens has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
Athens was established in 1823.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Athens has a population of 14,021 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Athens is 970 feet [296 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Athens lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel west from Athens (for example, toward Dunlap), you will leave Eastern Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).
Athens is within the boundaries of the (423) area code.
Websites for Athens ...
Official Website: www.cityofathenstn.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Athens had an population of 14,021 people. This is an increase of 4.18% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 6.06% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Athens had a population of 13,458 people (which is 25.75% of the total population of McMinn County). This makes Athens the county's most populous community.
The population of Athens represents 0.21% of the population of Tennessee (which has 6,346,105 people), making it the state's 41st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 13,458 people, the population of Athens increased 1.8% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 13,220 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Athens.
Communities Also Named Athens ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 28 communities that are also named Athens - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Athens.
Communities near Athens ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Athens.
- Jacktown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - Sweetwater
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Sweetwater is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,956 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sweetwater <5>
- Madisonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madisonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
- Madisonville is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,024 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madisonville <5>
- Etowah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Etowah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowah
- Etowah is located in McMinn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,527 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Etowah <5>
- Surprise
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Decatur
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Decatur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Decatur is located in Meigs County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <5>
- Englewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Englewood is located in McMinn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,538 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Englewood <5>
- Benton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Benton is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,247 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <5>
- Lakewood Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Tellico Plains
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico Plains
- Tellico Plains is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 909 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tellico Plains <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Athens. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Athens.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Athens. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Athens.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Athens. Our list includes 24 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Athens.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Athens ...
Looking for more information about Athens? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Athens, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Athens.
Adding Athens to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Athens in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Athens was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Athens post office opened in 1823.
We also found Athens in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Athens.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Athens: www.cityofathenstn.com/
The official website for McMinn County: www.mcminncounty.org/
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Tennessee's counties, including McMinn, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Athens. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Athens - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |