Census-designated place Cosby is a census-designated place in Tennessee, in Cocke County. A census-designated place is an unincorporated community that the Census Bureau defines for statistics; it has no city government of its own.
The median owner-occupied home in Cosby had a real-estate tax bill of $1,052 (± $263) a year, compared with $1,400 in Tennessee and $2,969 nationwide. The median home value was $160,300 (± $42,532), compared with $256,800 in Tennessee and $303,400 nationwide.
| Measure | Cosby | Tennessee | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 521 ± 254 | 6,986,082 | 332,387,540 |
| Median annual property tax bill (homeowners) | $1,052 ± $263rough guide only: the margin of error is 25% of the estimate | $1,400 ± $7 | $2,969 ± $3 |
| Median home value | $160,300 ± $42,532rough guide only: the margin of error is 27% of the estimate | $256,800 ± $1,438 | $303,400 ± $362 |
| Median household income | Census does not publish this figure for this place | $67,097 ± $360 | $78,538 ± $176 |
| Property tax as a share of home value (calculated) | 0.66% ± 0.24 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 36% of the estimate | 0.55% ± under 0.01 points | 0.98% ± under 0.01 points |
| Homes lived in by their owners | Too imprecise to report (estimate 76.1%, margin of error ± 39.3 points) | 67.0% ± 0.4 points | 65.0% ± 0.3 points |
| Owner households headed by someone 65 or older | 64.9% ± 26.6 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 41% of the estimate | 32.9% ± 0.1 points | 32.6% ± 0.2 points |
| Owners spending 30% or more of income on housing costs | Too imprecise to report (estimate 50.5%, margin of error ± 30.3 points) | 18.2% ± 0.3 points | 22.2% ± 0.1 points |
How to read these numbers
- These are estimates from a survey, not a count. The American Community Survey asks a sample of households. The ± figure is the Census Bureau’s margin of error: the true value is very likely within that range of the estimate. Small places have large margins.
- “Too imprecise to report” means the margin of error is at least half of the estimate, so printing the number would suggest accuracy that does not exist. A “rough guide only” note means the margin is a quarter to a half of the estimate.
- Property tax bill and home value are medians for owner-occupied homes. Half of the homes are above the figure and half below. A median bill is not the rate set by a city or town; the bill combines taxes levied by every local government that serves the home, such as the school district and county.
- “Calculated” rows are worked out by Untax the Roof from the Census figures above them. They compare two medians, so they describe the place, not a particular household.
- Missing is not zero. Where the Census Bureau publishes no figure, this page says so.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019–2023: tables B25103 (real estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income), B01003 (population), B25003 (owners and renters), B25007 (age of householder), B25091 (housing costs as a share of income); see the Census ACS data page.
If property taxes go unpaid in Tennessee
How it works. Court-ordered delinquent-tax sale subject to statutory equity of redemption; order confirming sale and tax deed/order establish purchaser's tax-sale title subject to redemption and challenge periods
Excess sale money. 67-5-2702 distributes excess proceeds after confirmation: tax entities, pre-sale liens, post-sale liens, then taxpayer according to interest; remainder goes through Tennessee unclaimed-property process
These rules are set by Tennessee, not by Cosby, so this section is the same for every place in the state. Last verified 2026-09-25. See the full Tennessee entry with statute links.