Carter County, Tennessee has 23,294 residential parcels. We scored every one of them that had street-level imagery available, which came to 17,924 homes, and rated each for visible signs of neglect and disrepair.
Quick answer: Of 17,924 Carter County homes we could assess, 802 (4.5 percent) showed clear visible distress and 8,640 (48.2 percent) showed at least some visible neglect. The average distress score was 2.42 on a 0 to 5 scale. A further 5,363 parcels, 23 percent of the county, had no street-level imagery and could not be assessed at all.
Scored May 2026. Part of our eight-county distress study.
Carter County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Residential parcels | 23,294 |
| Homes scored | 17,924 |
| No street-level imagery available | 5,363 (23.0%) |
| Clear visible distress (3.5 or above) | 802 (4.5%) |
| Some visible neglect (2.5 or above) | 8,640 (48.2%) |
| Average distress score | 2.42 |
| Absentee-owned among scored homes | 5,088 (28.4%) |
Which parts of Carter County show the most distress?
Grouping by ZIP code gives the clearest local picture. ZIP is derived from each property’s mapped location, not the owner’s mailing address, so absentee-owned homes count where the house actually sits. These six ZIP codes cover 17,832 of the 17,924 scored homes.
| ZIP | Area | Homes scored | Clear distress | Some neglect | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37643 | Elizabethton | 11,346 | 483 | 48.3% | 2.42 |
| 37601 | Johnson City | 3,093 | 87 | 47.8% | 2.41 |
| 37687 | Roan Mountain | 1,348 | 96 | 46.1% | 2.46 |
| 37658 | Hampton | 1,296 | 85 | 47.4% | 2.46 |
| 37694 | Watauga | 413 | 20 | 50.1% | 2.45 |
| 37640 | Butler | 336 | 23 | 51.8% | 2.49 |
The rate is remarkably even across the county, between 46 and 52 percent of homes showing some visible neglect in every ZIP. The two smallest outlying areas, Butler at 51.8 percent and Watauga at 50.1 percent, edge out the Elizabethton county seat at 48.3 percent, but the gap is small and the counts in those areas are low, so treat the ordering as directional rather than precise.
What the imagery actually found
The scoring model records specific named conditions rather than one opaque number, so the county’s distress can be broken down by what is actually visible.
| Condition | Homes | Share of scored homes | Moderate or severe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overgrown or neglected yard | 15,277 | 85.2% | 5,908 |
| Peeling paint or damaged siding | 4,750 | 26.5% | 1,535 |
| Accumulated debris or trash | 3,830 | 21.4% | 1,476 |
| Vehicle parked on the lawn | 3,710 | 20.7% | 570 |
| Roof damage | 3,420 | 19.1% | 1,098 |
| Visible structural damage | 1,851 | 10.3% | 1,027 |
| Reads as abandoned | 789 | 4.4% | 656 |
| Broken or boarded windows | 587 | 3.3% | 395 |
| Posted notice or sign | 240 | 1.3% | 0 |
| Fire damage | 10 | 0.1% | 5 |
For anyone working this county, the rare conditions are the useful ones. An overgrown yard describes 85 percent of Carter County homes and tells you almost nothing. The 587 homes with broken or boarded windows, or the 789 that read as abandoned, are a far shorter and far more actionable list.
Housing age and ownership in Carter County
Older housing stock shows more distress, consistently and without exception across every cohort.
| Year built | Homes | Average distress | Some neglect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 2,577 | 2.51 | 56.4% |
| 1940 to 1959 | 3,498 | 2.45 | 53.3% |
| 1960 to 1979 | 3,861 | 2.35 | 41.0% |
| 1980 to 1999 | 2,891 | 2.31 | 36.8% |
| 2000 or later | 2,303 | 2.29 | 34.6% |
Ownership matters too, though less than age. Among the 5,088 absentee-owned homes we scored, 56.6 percent showed some visible neglect, against 44.9 percent of the 12,835 owner-occupied homes. That is a useful filter to stack on top of condition, not a substitute for looking at the house.
The 23 percent we could not see
Carter County is mountainous, and 5,363 of its residential parcels had no usable street-level imagery. Those homes are not counted anywhere in the figures above. Because imagery gaps concentrate on private drives and unpaved back roads, and because those same roads tend to carry older and less-maintained housing, the true distress count for the county is probably somewhat higher than what we measured. Read these numbers as a floor.
Common questions
How many distressed properties are in Carter County, Tennessee?
Based on our May 2026 scan, 802 homes showed clear visible distress and 8,640 showed at least some visible neglect, out of 17,924 homes we were able to assess. Another 5,363 parcels could not be assessed because no street-level imagery existed for them.
Which areas of Carter County have the most distressed homes?
The rate is fairly even countywide, between 46 and 52 percent in every ZIP. Butler (37640) and Watauga (37694) edge slightly higher, near 51 percent. By raw count, ZIP 37643 covering Elizabethton dominates, because it contains 11,346 of the county’s scored homes.
How current is this data?
The imagery was scored in May 2026. Street-level imagery is itself often one to three years old, so the condition described reflects the most recent available photograph of each property rather than today.
How accurate is it?
Accurate enough to rank and prioritize, not to make a decision on a single address without looking. Visual scoring over-calls distress in heavily forested and affluent areas at roughly one in six, which matters in a county like Carter with significant tree cover. Verify before you act on any individual property.
Can I get the underlying property list?
Yes. Full county lead lists include the address, owner details, distress score, tier, and the specific conditions found on each property. You can also scan any other county the same way.
Get the Carter County list
Run your own scan of any neighborhood, or request the full county file. Start scanning, or see plans and pricing. For how these numbers were produced across all eight counties we studied, read the full research writeup.