Dyer County is a county in Tennessee, United States, in the northwest corner of the state along the Mississippi River. It had a population of 36,801 at the 2020 census and covers 527 square miles (1,360 km2) centred near 36°04′N 89°25′W.
Dyersburg is the county seat and its postal code is 38024. The county holds 1 city, 2 towns and 5 census-designated places, plus dozens of unincorporated communities. Dyer County sits in the Central time zone; its FIPS code is 47045.
Towns & Villages in Dyer County
Dyer County lists roughly 56 named places on the map, from the county-seat city of Dyersburg down to small rural crossroads. Only Dyersburg is a city; Newbern and Trimble are incorporated towns; Bogota, Finley, Fowlkes, Lenox and Miston are unincorporated census-designated places (CDPs) the Census Bureau tracks for statistics only. Everything else below is an unincorporated community — a store, church, gin, or rail siding with a name but no town government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyersburg | City · seat | 16,164 | 38024–38025 |
| Newbern | Town | 3,349 | 38059 |
| Trimble | Town | 547 | 38259 |
| Bogota | CDP | — | — |
| Finley | CDP | — | — |
| Fowlkes | CDP | — | — |
| Lenox | CDP | — | — |
| Miston | CDP | — | — |
| Ayers | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Band Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beech Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Big Boy Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bishop | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bonicord | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boothspoint | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bradleytown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Broadmoor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bruceville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Calvary | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chic | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Churchton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cross Roads | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Edgewood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Evansville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Good Hope | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hawkinsville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Heloise | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jenkinsville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lane | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lapata | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Locust Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maxey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Meacham | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mengelwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Middle City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Midway | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Millsfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Nauvoo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Parker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Poplar Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Potatoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rehoboth | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Richwoods | Unincorp. | — | — |
| RoEllen | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rock Springs | Unincorp. | — | — |
| South Dyersburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| South Fork | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stinger | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stokes | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tatumville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Templeton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tennemo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tiger Tail | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tigrett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tylersville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Unionville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Viar | Unincorp. | — | — |
Trimble straddles the Dyer/Obion county line: its Dyer County half falls in the Dyersburg micropolitan area, while the Obion County half belongs to the Union City micropolitan area. The town’s population above is its combined total across both counties.
ZIP Codes
- 38024/38025 — Dyersburg
- 38059 — Newbern
- 38259 — Trimble
Most of the county’s unincorporated communities and CDPs share a ZIP code with the nearest post-office town rather than having their own.
Geography
Dyer County lies in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, the flat bottomland Tennesseans call the “Mississippi Bottomland.” The Mississippi River forms the county’s entire western boundary, and the Forked Deer River and Obion River both flow into the Mississippi inside the county, giving the west side extensive wetlands and bottomland hardwood forest. Of the county’s 527 square miles, 512 are land and 14 are water.
Dyer County borders Lake County to the north, Obion County to the northeast, Gibson County to the east, Crockett County to the southeast, Lauderdale County to the south, Mississippi County, Arkansas to the southwest across the river, and Pemiscot County, Missouri to the northwest.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 36,801 residents, giving Dyer County a density of about 72 people per square mile. Dyersburg (16,164) and Newbern (3,349) are the county’s two largest communities, together holding more than half the county’s population. Median household income in Dyer County runs below the Tennessee median of $67,631, consistent with the county’s largely agricultural and manufacturing economic base.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop farming — cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat on the alluvial bottomland — remains a major part of the county economy alongside manufacturing and healthcare based in Dyersburg. Dyersburg State Community College, founded in 1969, and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology–Northwest in Newbern, established in 1965, are the county’s two public higher-education institutions. Dyersburg’s West Tennessee Healthcare Dyersburg Hospital is among the county’s largest employers.
History
Dyer County was organized on October 16, 1823, and named for Robert Henry Dyer, a Tennessee state legislator and militia officer who fought in the War of 1812 and the Creek War. Dyersburg, the county seat, grew as a river and rail town on the Forked Deer River; its position on the Mississippi Alluvial Valley made cotton the county’s dominant early crop, and 20th-century flood control and drainage work opened much of the western bottomland to row-crop farming.
Getting There
Interstate 69 and Interstate 155 both cross Dyer County, along with U.S. Routes 51 and 412 and several state routes (77, 78, 89, 103, 104, 105, 181, 182, 210 and 211).
- Memphis, Tennessee — about 79 miles southwest
- Jackson, Tennessee — about 40 miles southeast
- Union City, Tennessee — about 30 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Memphis International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Dyer County?
It is in the northwest corner of Tennessee, on the east bank of the Mississippi River.
What is the population of Dyer County?
36,801 at the 2020 census.
How big is Dyer County?
527 square miles (1,360 km2), of which 512 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Dyer County?
Dyersburg is the county seat.
How many towns are in Dyer County?
Dyer County has one city (Dyersburg), two towns (Newbern and Trimble) and five census-designated places, plus dozens of smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Dyer County?
Dyersburg uses 38024 and 38025, Newbern uses 38059, and Trimble uses 38259.
Does Dyer County share a town with another county?
Yes — the town of Trimble sits partly in Dyer County and partly in neighboring Obion County.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Tennessee.