How many people live in ?

Updated annually
In 2025, there were 7.32 million people living in Tennessee. That makes Tennessee the 15th-most populous state, home to 2.1% of people living in the US.

7.32M

population of Tennessee (2025)

2.1%

Tennessee share of the US population (2025)
The population of Tennessee was about 3.6 times higher than it was in 1900. Between 2024 and 2025, the population of Tennessee grew by about 63,800 people.

About 7.32 million people lived in Tennessee in 2025. That's about 3.6 times more than in 1900.

Annual population estimates

What are Tennessee's age demographics?

About 1.28 million Tennessee residents were aged 65 and older in 2024. That represents 17.7% of the state’s population compared with 18% in the US overall.
Another 1.58 million Tennessee residents, or 22% of the state’s population, were aged under 18. For comparison, children account for 21.6% of the US population.

A lower share of Tennessee's population is 65 and older than the US overall.

Population share by age group (2024)

What are Tennessee's racial and ethnic demographics?

A state’s population may have racial and ethnic differences compared with the US overall. These figures reflect how people identified their race alone (not in combination with other races), and separate Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, following Census Bureau reporting standards.
Non-Hispanic white residents make up 71.2% of Tennessee’s population, higher than the national share of 57.5%. Tennessee also has a larger share of people identifying as non-Hispanic Black or African American (15.9%) than the US overall (12.6%).
In contrast, Tennessee’s Hispanic population accounted for 8%, below the 20% share nationwide. The non-Hispanic Asian population makes up 2.2% of the state, compared with 6.5% nationally.

A higher share of Tennessee's population is non-Hispanic white than the US overall.

Population share by race and ethnicity (2024)

What are Tennessee's most populous counties?

In 2024, eight out of 95 counties accounted for over half of Tennessee’s population:
  • Shelby County, 910,500 (12.6% of the population)
  • Davidson County, 729,500 (10.1%)
  • Knox County, 506,700 (7%)
  • Hamilton County, 386,300 (5.3%)
  • Rutherford County, 377,000 (5.2%)
  • Williamson County, 269,100 (3.7%)
  • Montgomery County, 246,000 (3.4%)
  • Sumner County, 211,700 (2.9%)

In 2024, Shelby County was the most populous county in Tennessee.

Population estimates

What are Tennessee's most populous cities?

The largest city in Tennessee is Nashville-Davidson with about 705,000 residents in 2024.

Cities and counties in Tennessee ranked by population

Cities and counties in Tennessee ranked by population
1.

Nashville-Davidson 

704,963
2.

Memphis 

610,919
3.

Knoxville 

198,722
4.

Chattanooga 

191,496
5.

Clarksville 

185,690
6.

Murfreesboro 

168,387
7.

Franklin 

89,142
8.

Johnson City

73,635
9.

Jackson 

69,303
10.

Hendersonville 

63,947

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.