Welcome to Dayton ...
The city of Dayton is located in Rhea County<1> and is the County Seat for Rhea County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Dayton, you might consider that their post office opened in 1878.
When the people of Dayton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Daytonian<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Dayton has a population of 7,364 people<3> (see below for details).
Dayton is 690 feet [210 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Dayton lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel west from Dayton (for example, toward Gruetli - Laager), you will soon leave Eastern Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).
Dayton is located in the (423) area code.
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Dayton had an population of 7,364 people. This is an increase of 2.41% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 19.16% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Dayton had a population of 7,191 people (which is 22.61% of the total population of Rhea County). This makes Dayton the county's most populous community.
The population of Dayton represents 0.11% of the population of Tennessee (which has 6,346,105 people), making it the state's 74th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 7,191 people, the population of Dayton increased 16.36% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 6,180 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Dayton.
Communities Also Named Dayton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 49 communities that are also named Dayton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa (3), Kansas (7), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio (2), Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2), Texas, Virginia, Washington (3), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Dayton.
Communities near Dayton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Dayton.
- Soddy - Daisy
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soddy - Daisy have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy - Daisy
- Soddy - Daisy is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,719 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soddy - Daisy <6>
- Soddy Lake Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soddy Lake Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
- Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
- Sale Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sale Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sale Creek
- Sale Creek is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sale Creek <6>
- Lakewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Hopewell Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopewell Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
- Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
- Spring City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Spring City is located in Rhea County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,839 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring City <6>
- Pikeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Pikeville is located in Bledsoe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,781 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pikeville <6>
- Decatur
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Decatur have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Decatur is located in Meigs County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <6>
- Mowbray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowbray
- Mowbray is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,615 people
- Lakewood Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Dayton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Dayton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Dayton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dayton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Dayton. Our list includes 9 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Dayton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Dayton ...
Looking for more information about Dayton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Dayton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Dayton.
Adding Dayton to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Dayton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Dayton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Dayton post office opened in 1878.
We also found Dayton on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Tennessee (1888).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Dayton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dayton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Tennessee's counties, including Rhea, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Dayton refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Dayton may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Dayton. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Dayton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |