News
Unincorporated Parts of Tennessee Are Among Fastest Growing Areas Since 2020 May 20, 2026 Some Tennessee's cities and towns are off to a fast start this decade, but in a few cases the largest population gains since 2020 are happening in the unincorporated parts of the state. We took a look at new estimate data to see where growth is booming outside city limits.
Davidson Holds as Tennessee’s Fastest-Growing County in 2025 March 30, 2026 Davidson County and the Nashville area remained Tennessee’s fastest-growing in 2025, but we’re also watching the state’s No. 11 fastest-gaining county quietly near a breakthrough in another dynamic year of population change.
2025 Estimates Show Another Top-10 Year for Tennessee Population Gains February 2, 2026 At the midpoint of the decade, new population estimates put Tennessee’s growth near the top of the class again this year. Our analysis looks at what drove the change in 2025 and emerging trends that will influence growth in the southeast U.S. for the remainder of the decade.
Nov. 10 Webinar Recap: Preparing for Tennessee’s New Population Estimates Program October 22, 2025 Tennessee is changing how it distributes state-shared revenues. This webinar will bring local governments up to speed on the changes and explain how to verify that accurate data about your community is being in the new process.
2030 Census Geography Update Programs Come into Focus October 9, 2025 A complete count of Tennessee's residents in the 2030 Census begins early next year as the first of a series of geographic program updates gets underway. We lay out six important opportunities for state and local government to update Census Bureau mapping files and how they can be involved.
Tennessee Enacts Population Estimates Program July 30, 2025 A new Tennessee law requires the use of annual population estimates for distributing state-shared revenues to counties and municipalities. Get up to speed on the new legislation, the Boyd Center’s role and plans for the first estimate release next July. TNSDC Toplines
69,124 public high school graduates
in Tennessee in May 2025 likely represent the most diplomas ever conferred by the state’s public high schools in a year. The 2026 class size won’t be final until next fall, but nationally, graduating classes are expected to shrink after last year’s peak that coincided with a 2007 high in births. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education projects graduates will fall 13 percent through 2041. Tennessee’s classes, however, are expected to recover and grow by nearly 15 percent, the largest increase in the country.
1.8 percent of Tennessee housing units lack air conditioning
according to new state, county, and census tract-level estimates. Three counties in far northeastern Tennessee had the largest share of homes without AC, including Johnson (17.5%), Carter (7.7%), and Unicoi (7.5%). At the county level, lower rates were seen in rural areas in the eastern half of the state along the plateau, upper Cumberland, and the mountainous North Carolina border. These experimental estimates could help sharpen less quantifiable measures of heat vulnerability by adding direct indicators of household exposure.
Featured Tools
Municipal Population Estimates Dashboard Just Updated!
Our subcounty population estimates dashboard provides data for Tennessee’s 345 municipalities, along with figures for the unincorporated areas of the state’s 95 counties. Data from 2020 through the latest year in the estimate series is presented through maps, charts and key population indicators.
County Population Estimate Dashboard
Our County Population Estimates and Components of Change Dashboard provides county- and regional-level population insights from 2020 through the latest year in the estimate series. Data about population and components of change are included, along with regional and state-level tallies of key performance indicators.
State and National Population Estimates Dashboard (v. 2025)
Center of Population of U.S. States and Counties
This interactive application shows the mean center of population for each state and county in the U.S. in 2000, 2010 and 2020. The application visualizes the degree of population shift each decade using lines that connect the center to its prior location.