Monday we kicked off our series “The Age of Work,” which is about how demographic shifts are shaking up the U.S. and global economies. We’re starting this series in Cumberland County, Tennessee.

ADP Research funded this reporting, and according to its data, Cumberland County has one of the oldest workforces in the country. ADP is a global payroll and human resources tech company that processes payroll for more than 40 million workers.

Tuesday, we introduced you to people in Fairfield Glade, a retirement community in Cumberland County where almost 70% of residents are 65 or older. Wednesday, we’re focused on the town of Crossville, where the population is much younger — just 21% of people there are of traditional retirement age. 

Unlike Fairfield Glade, where many residents have moved to Tennessee from other places for retirement, Crossville has more natives of the state. The poverty rate there is 19.5%, compared to just 7.9% in Fairfield Glade. 

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal and ADP chief economist Nela Richardson visited two places that serve the Crossville community: The Save a Lot grocery store and Cumberland Good Samaritans, a social services organization. 

Careful shoppers at Save a Lot grocery

Save a Lot offers discounted shopping for seniors 7 a.m. to noon five days a week. “This program is set up for low-income and fixed-income” shoppers, said Melvin Davis, the store’s owner. “But we’re servicing a little bit of everybody.”

Davis has been in the grocery business for four decades. But with the pandemic-related inflation, Davis said his margins are lower and his customers are choosier. “They’re very, very careful what they shop for,” he said.  

Davis said the store has about 22 employees, ranging from high school kids to people in their late 70s. Some have been working with him for 40 years. But as much as things have stayed the same at the store over the years, the community around it is changing. 

Cumberland County’s population has grown more than 10% over the past decade. Median home prices have increased around 70% since 2020.

The population is also getting older as the locals age and new retirees arrive. Davis worries about the county’s youth leaving when they grow up. “I’ve always felt like most small towns are letting their biggest resource slip away from them,” he said. 

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Good Samaritans support people in needs

Cumberland Good Samaritans, a social services organization, has been around for about 45 years. Mickey Eldridge, the executive director, has run it for 25. 

“When a client comes, they’re just telling us what their needs are,” she said. “They don’t walk in the door unless they’re having trouble either paying their rent or utilities, or if they’ve gotten a job, maybe they need help getting steel-toed boots or, you know, a uniform.”

For some clients, the needs include job searches, training or transportation. Cumberland Good Samaritans also has a food pantry to help people stabilize their lives. “Then we look at the bigger picture and ask, ‘What else do you need’?” Eldridge said.

She said one of the biggest needs in the community is affordable housing. “I have women and children on the streets in cars, bathing in rest areas or something because they desperately need a home.”

The minimum wage in Cumberland County is $7.25 an hour, the same as the national rate. Yet a living wage for one adult with no children, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator, is $18.43 an hour. “The cost of everything’s going up,” Eldridge said. “It’s really a hard pill on families.”

Revenue from a thrift store helps fund CGS programs and operations. “Everything in this store is donated,” Eldrige said while showing Ryssdal and Richardson the “workshop” where employees and volunteers were sorting donated clothes. 

She said the organization is powered by about 25 employees and 100 volunteers, many of whom are senior citizens. “Most of them just want to continue to be productive and make a difference in retirement,” she said. 

That touches one of the knotty aspects of the economy here in Cumberland County. As we reported Monday, retirees moving to Cumberland County have increased pressure on the limited housing supply. However, they support the local economy with their spending, donations and volunteering. 

“They invest in our community,” said Eldridge. 

Use the audio player above to hear more. For more stories from our “Age of Work” series, click here.