Collegedale is a city in

Hamilton County, Tennessee Hamilton County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the southern part of East Tennessee on the border with Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. The population was 11,109 at the 2020 census. Collegedale is a suburb of

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

and is part of the

Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Area The Chattanooga, TN-GA metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of six counties – three in southeast Tennessee (Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie) and three in nor ...

. Collegedale is home to

Southern Adventist University Southern Adventist University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It was founded in 1892 in Graysville, Tennessee, as G ...

. The median household income is one of the highest in Hamilton County. It has been ranked as one of the best and safest places to live in Tennessee. The unincorporated community of Ooltewah is an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

in Collegedale.

History

Collegedale was founded as the site of

(then Southern Junior College) in 1916. It was incorporated under a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

government in 1968. J.M. Ackerman was the first city manager, and Fred Fuller served as the city's first mayor.

Geography

Collegedale is located in southeastern Hamilton County at (35.051578, -85.047004), in the valley of Wolftever Creek. Just west of the city center, the creek cuts through White Oak Mountain, forming Collegedale Gap.

Tennessee State Route 317 State Route 317 (SR 317) a state highway extending from Chattanooga, Tennessee, through Ooltewah, Tennessee, Ooltewah, Collegedale, Tennessee, Collegedale, Apison, Tennessee, Apison, and ending in Bradley County, Tennessee, Bradley County. SR&n ...

passes through the city center and Collegedale Gap, leading southeast to State Route 60 and northwest to

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

in the northeastern outskirts of

. Downtown Chattanooga is west of Collegedale.

Tennessee State Route 321 State Route 321 (SR 321) is a north–south state highway located entirely in Hamilton County in southeastern Tennessee. It traverses mainly the eastern outskirts of Chattanooga, and its eastern suburbs. Route description From the Georgia ...

runs through the western part of Collegedale, leading north to U.S. routes 11 and 64 just north of Ooltewah and south to the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

state line. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total area of , all of it recorded as land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,109 people, 4,167 households, and 2,485 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,514 people, 2,049 households, and 1,528 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,199 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.37%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.01% Native American, 0.01% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.87% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.74% of the population. There were 2,049

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city the population was spread out, with 19.8% under the age of 18, 25.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $42,270, and the median income for a family was $52,337. Males had a median income of $37,819 versus $28,345 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $18,604. About 5.3% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

line, including 10.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.0% of those 65 and older. Collegedale has a large

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

community and in 2005 was described as an "enclave" for the religion by Charles Reagan Wilson and

Mark Silk Mark Silk is an American academic. He is Professor of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College, where he also serves as the Director the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life. In addition, Silk is a Contributing ...

Economy

McKee Foods McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...

is headquartered in Collegedale. Originally launched in Chattanooga in 1934, the company moved to a facility on the campus of Southern Adventist University in 1956. McKee Foods is the producer of

Little Debbie McKee Foods Corporation is a privately held and family-owned American snack food and granola manufacturer headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. The corporation is the maker of Drake's Cakes, Fieldstone Bakery snacks and cereal, Little Debbie ...

and

Sunbelt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the regi ...

snack foods.

Arts and culture

In August 2011, the city took over control of the Collegedale Public Library, which was previously operated under the Hamilton County library system. Library membership is available on a paid subscription basis, free to residents of Collegedale.

Parks and recreation

Six parks are managed by the Parks & Recreation Department of Collegedale: *East Hamilton County Park has a high school

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...

and three youth fields. *Wolftever Creek Greenway is a greenway which spans throughout the city and continues to be expanded upon by the city. *Collegedale Dog Park provides dog-owners with a

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

for unleashed dog socialization. *Imagination Station & Pavilion is a playground and rental space located behind City Hall with a train theme. *The Nature Nook is an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

built by the East Hamilton County Kiwanis Club for the city. *Veterans Memorial Park is located along the Wolftever Creek Greenway and features plaques, sculptures and flags as a memorial to United States war veterans. * Little Debbie Park is a park that opened in 2023 and features a children's zipline, fiberglass sculptures of Little Debbie snack cakes and wide walking paths. The town has youth and adult

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

leagues. It also has four

pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

courts adjacent to the Imagination Station and City Hall.

Government

Collegedale was incorporated in 1968. It operates under a City Manager-Commission form of government. Five commissioners are elected by popular vote and they are responsible for choosing a

, who then proceeds to implement the commissions policies. On 5 August 2013, Collegedale became the first city in Tennessee to extend health benefits to same-sex couples.

Postal service

The city of Collegedale has a unique situation in terms of postal service. The city has its own zip code and post office however the Collegedale post office only does post office boxes and not mail delivery. The city's mail and package delivery is handled by the three other zip codes in which the city is located: Apison 37302, McDonald 37353 and Ooltewah 37363.

Education

, a private

university, is located in Collegedale. It has an affiliated K-12 education system, Collegedale Academy, which includes Collegedale Academy Middle School, and Collegedale Academy Elementary. Wolftever Creek Elementary School and Ooltewah Middle School are the two public schools inside of city limits. Both schools belong to the

Hamilton County Schools Hamilton County Schools (or Hamilton County Department of Education) is the school district that serves Hamilton County, Tennessee, USA. After a 1995 referendum, the then-separate Chattanooga City Schools district was merged into the county dis ...

system.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The city is located just off the

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

corridor. Collegedale Municipal Airport is owned by the city of Collegedale and has about 120 aircraft stationed there. In 2003, the airport was awarded the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission's "Airport of the Year" title.

Utilities

Collegedale has a recycling program which requires the public to bring their recyclables to the city public works department. The city uses recycling to reduce the costs of landfill waste disposal and offsets the cost of recycling by selling the recyclable materials.

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

provides cable services and

CenturyLink Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink, Inc.) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, which offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice and managed services through it ...

supplies landline phone services. Electricity is supplied by EPB and the Chattanooga Gas Company supplies gas needs. The city and/or Hamilton County handles resident sewer needs and Eastside Utility District handles water services.

Health & safety

The city utilizes Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services for

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...

and contracts fire & rescue services to the Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department located in Collegedale. The local volunteer fire department, at Station 1, has 100 members and support staff and an ISO Class 2 rating. The Collegedale Police Department provides police services for the city.

References

External links

City of Collegedale official website
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1916 Cities in Hamilton County, Tennessee 1916 establishments in Tennessee