Union City is a city in and the county seat of Obion County, Tennessee, United States. 11,170 people were living in the town as of the 2020 census. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton County, Kentucky. Union City is home to Discovery Park of America which is a museum with many exhibits pertaining to local history, as well as state, national, and world history, science, technology, and art.
In 1852, General George Gibbs gave Union City its name because of its location at the junction or "union" of two railroads, the Nashville/Northwestern Railroad (Hickman, KY) and the Mobile, Alabama/Ohio Railroad.
Union City is located at (36.424395, âÂÂ89.050850). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The mayor, appointed by his fellow city councilors since 1988, is Terry Hailey.
Under the Köppen climate classification system, Union City has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa).
As of the 2020 census, there were 11,170 people, 4,656 households, and 2,617 families residing in Union City. 94.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.1% lived in rural areas.
The median age was 39.0 years, with 24.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.9% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.9 males.
Of the 4,656 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.9% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,107 housing units, of which 8.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.
As of the census of 2000, the population density was . There were 5,013 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.44% White, 21.29% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.59% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.41% of the population.
There were 4,568 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every hundred females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,399, and the median income for a family was $40,737. Males had a median income of $35,801 versus $19,694 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,787. About 12.5% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company operated a plant in the city from 1969 to 2011. On February 10, 2011, Goodyear announced that the Union City plant would shut down by the end of the year. On June 11, 2011, production ceased at the plant. In November 2011, Titan Tire purchased the plant from Goodyear four months after the latter closed it. It initially will be used for mixing raw materials for other Titan production facilities.
Freight rail service was previously provided by the Illinois Central (IC) and then Canadian National (CN) via a branch line between Rives and Union City. On May 24, 2017, CN transferred operations of the line to the Indiana Business Railroad, which operates the Union City Terminal Railroad.
Darling International operates a rendering plant.
Union City is home to Discovery Park of America, a 50-acre museum and heritage park with exhibits pertaining to local and national history, nature, military history, art and science. Discovery Park was founded by local businessman Robert Kirkland in order to give back to his home community.
Union City was home to a Minor League Baseball team known as the Union City Greyhounds from 1935 to 1942 and 1946 to 1952 and as the Union City Dodgers from 1953 to 1955. They played in the KentuckyâÂÂIllinoisâÂÂTennessee League and won three league championships (1936, 1948, and 1954). Over their 19-year run, the team had affiliations with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and Brooklyn Dodgers.
Union City is served by the newspaper The Messenger (Union City Daily Messenger).
Union City is in the southernmost portion of the Paducah–Cape Girardeau–Harrisburg television market. Locally based Low-Power Class A television station WUWT-CD (channel 26) is licensed to Union City and serves Union City, Obion County, and immediate surrounding areas with programming from Retro TV, with programming from The Family Channel airing on its second digital subchannel. The main television broadcast stations serving extreme northwest Tennessee are:
Almost all of the city limits is in the Union City Schools. Very small portions extend into the Obion County School District.