The U.S. has reported more than 32.0 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 4, 2021. More than 570,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — the highest death toll of any country.

The virus has spread throughout the country in a way that has been difficult to predict, surging in one region, then showing signs of improvement, and then reappearing in other regions. Though local outbreaks may ebb and flow, the current surge in cases has been felt nearly nationwide, leading to new travel restrictions and business closures around the country.

Nationwide, there were an average of 15.6 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans in the week ending May 4, 2021. Cumulatively, the U.S. has reported 9,806.5 cases per 100,000 Americans, and 174.8 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

The extent of the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to vary considerably from state to state, and even from county to county. Even as the number of daily new cases is flattening or even declining in some parts of the country, new cases are surging at a growing rate in others.

The coronavirus has spread to different parts of the country in different stages throughout the pandemic. In the spring, the worst hit states were in the Northeast, as New York City became the epicenter of the nation’s crisis. The virus spread to states throughout the Sun Belt in the summer, and hit states in the Midwest and West during the fall. By November 2020, nearly every state was categorized as a COVID-19 hot spot, according to definitions based on new cases per capita from the nonprofit health organization Kaiser Family Foundation.

In Tennessee, there were an average of 15.2 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021. The Tennessee case growth rate ranks as the 20th highest of all 50 states.

While the nation’s largest counties were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic, nearly every county has suffered from the coronavirus. Outbreaks can occur quickly in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate, leaving counties with colleges, correctional facilities, and nursing homes particularly at risk.

In Unicoi County, there were an average of 33.9 new confirmed cases per day per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021 — the highest rate of any county in Tennessee. Since the pandemic began, the county has reported 2,013 confirmed cases, or 11,321.7 cases per 100,000.

There have been 49 deaths, or 275.6 deaths per 100,000 residents.

To determine the county in each state with the highest rate of daily cases of the virus, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average new number of cases per 100,000 residents per day during the week ending May 4, 2021. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

These are all the counties in Tennessee where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

No.	County	Population	New daily cases per 100,000	Total cases	Total deaths	Cases per 100,000	Deaths per 100,000
1	Unicoi County	17,780	33.9	2,013	49	11,321.7	275.6
2	Hancock County	6,585	33.2	582	12	8,838.3	182.2
3	Johnson County	17,789	32.6	2,382	38	13,390.3	213.6
4	Claiborne County	31,613	30.3	3,165	73	10,011.7	230.9
5	Hawkins County	56,402	29.2	5,973	107	10,590.0	189.7
6	Polk County	16,782	29.1	2,053	24	12,233.3	143.0
7	Bradley County	104,557	26.8	14,920	149	14,269.7	142.5
8	Madison County	97,682	26.5	11,097	241	11,360.3	246.7
9	Meigs County	11,962	24.1	1,379	25	11,528.2	209.0
10	Hardin County	25,771	22.7	3,564	66	13,829.5	256.1
11	Sullivan County	156,734	22.3	16,604	290	10,593.7	185.0
12	Humphreys County	18,318	21.1	1,783	24	9,733.6	131.0
13	Scott County	21,954	21.0	3,103	45	14,134.1	205.0
14	Montgomery County	196,387	20.0	20,074	224	10,221.7	114.1
15	Washington County	127,055	20.0	14,471	245	11,389.6	192.8
16	White County	26,580	19.9	3,609	69	13,577.9	259.6
17	Monroe County	45,876	19.8	5,808	95	12,660.2	207.1
18	Chester County	17,150	19.2	2,135	51	12,449.0	297.4
19	Carter County	56,391	18.3	6,580	156	11,668.5	276.6
20	Cheatham County	39,929	18.2	4,527	55	11,337.6	137.7
21	Gibson County	49,175	18.0	6,503	145	13,224.2	294.9
22	Sumner County	179,473	17.8	23,831	347	13,278.3	193.3
23	McMinn County	52,773	17.5	6,466	98	12,252.5	185.7
24	Cumberland County	58,634	17.5	6,683	128	11,397.8	218.3
25	Putnam County	76,440	17.2	11,321	174	14,810.3	227.6
26	Maury County	89,776	17.1	13,406	171	14,932.7	190.5
27	Fayette County	39,692	16.1	5,017	76	12,639.8	191.5
28	Shelby County	937,005	16.1	94,752	1,610	10,112.2	171.8
29	Robertson County	69,344	15.8	9,724	131	14,022.8	188.9
30	DeKalb County	19,601	15.3	2,787	54	14,218.7	275.5
31	Lawrence County	42,937	15.0	5,877	86	13,687.5	200.3
32	Bledsoe County	14,602	15.0	2,119	11	14,511.7	75.3
33	Henderson County	27,859	14.7	3,777	76	13,557.6	272.8
34	Union County	19,293	14.7	1,895	34	9,822.2	176.2
35	Hardeman County	25,562	14.6	3,505	64	13,711.8	250.4
36	Jackson County	11,615	14.6	1,315	35	11,321.6	301.3
37	Wilson County	132,663	14.5	18,700	233	14,095.9	175.6
38	Rutherford County	307,128	14.3	42,810	428	13,938.8	139.4
39	Blount County	128,443	14.3	15,388	193	11,980.4	150.3
40	Dickson County	51,988	14.2	6,819	110	13,116.5	211.6
41	Van Buren County	5,704	14.0	844	23	14,796.6	403.2
42	Fentress County	17,994	13.6	2,408	47	13,382.2	261.2
43	Cannon County	13,976	13.4	1,911	31	13,673.4	221.8
44	Marshall County	32,269	13.2	4,166	58	12,910.2	179.7
45	Jefferson County	53,247	13.2	6,155	125	11,559.3	234.8
46	Hamilton County	357,546	13.1	43,960	491	12,294.9	137.3
47	Williamson County	218,648	13.0	27,845	217	12,735.1	99.2
48	Bedford County	47,558	13.0	6,495	129	13,657.0	271.2
49	Anderson County	75,775	12.8	8,729	172	11,519.6	227.0
50	Sequatchie County	14,730	12.6	1,690	29	11,473.2	196.9
51	Greene County	68,669	12.5	7,827	153	11,398.2	222.8
52	Benton County	16,112	12.3	1,652	40	10,253.2	248.3
53	Sevier County	96,287	12.1	13,304	175	13,817.0	181.7
54	McNairy County	25,903	12.1	2,802	54	10,817.3	208.5
55	Lewis County	11,956	11.9	1,579	26	13,206.8	217.5
56	Davidson County	684,017	11.8	88,945	931	13,003.3	136.1
57	Cocke County	35,336	11.7	4,479	98	12,675.5	277.3
58	Lauderdale County	26,297	11.6	3,174	44	12,069.8	167.3
59	Weakley County	33,626	11.5	4,076	64	12,121.6	190.3
60	Loudon County	51,610	11.3	6,087	69	11,794.2	133.7
61	Lincoln County	33,711	11.1	4,343	63	12,883.0	186.9
62	Hamblen County	63,740	11.0	8,585	172	13,468.8	269.8
63	Macon County	23,487	10.7	3,610	78	15,370.2	332.1
64	Moore County	6,322	10.7	1,008	17	15,944.3	268.9
65	Knox County	456,185	10.5	50,369	633	11,041.4	138.8
66	Dyer County	37,576	10.5	5,408	105	14,392.2	279.4
67	Overton County	22,004	10.4	2,999	61	13,629.3	277.2
68	Clay County	7,686	10.4	1,101	31	14,324.7	403.3
69	Coffee County	54,531	10.3	6,888	121	12,631.3	221.9
70	Franklin County	41,512	10.2	5,133	90	12,365.1	216.8
71	Henry County	32,279	10.2	3,165	75	9,805.1	232.3
72	Hickman County	24,678	10.2	2,831	46	11,471.8	186.4
73	Tipton County	61,446	9.7	7,297	101	11,875.5	164.4
74	Carroll County	28,018	9.6	3,604	83	12,863.2	296.2
75	Roane County	52,897	9.4	6,249	104	11,813.5	196.6
76	Morgan County	21,596	9.3	2,484	39	11,502.1	180.6
77	Haywood County	17,779	9.1	2,703	61	15,203.3	343.1
78	Grainger County	23,013	9.0	2,616	50	11,367.5	217.3
79	Lake County	7,526	8.1	1,701	26	22,601.6	345.5
80	Campbell County	39,687	7.8	4,140	63	10,431.6	158.7
81	Crockett County	14,499	7.7	2,026	48	13,973.4	331.1
82	Obion County	30,520	7.6	4,527	96	14,832.9	314.5
83	Stewart County	13,301	7.4	1,317	28	9,901.5	210.5
84	Smith County	19,458	7.0	2,766	39	14,215.2	200.4
85	Trousdale County	9,573	6.8	2,498	22	26,094.2	229.8
86	Rhea County	32,628	6.3	4,335	75	13,286.1	229.9
87	Giles County	29,167	5.8	3,980	100	13,645.6	342.9
88	Warren County	40,454	5.5	5,539	81	13,692.1	200.2
89	Perry County	7,912	5.4	1,061	28	13,410.0	353.9
90	Pickett County	5,088	5.2	759	24	14,917.5	471.7
91	Marion County	28,417	4.7	3,120	47	10,979.3	165.4
92	Decatur County	11,683	4.5	1,579	39	13,515.4	333.8
93	Houston County	8,176	3.5	1,089	33	13,319.5	403.6
94	Grundy County	13,331	3.4	1,788	34	13,412.3	255.0
95	Wayne County	16,649	1.6	2,948	35	17,706.8	210.2

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