Category Archives: Data and tools

New Metropolitan and Micropolitan Area Boundaries Include Changes for Eight Tennessee Counties
Federal statistical area boundaries were changed in July. The new metro areas, which are used in federal data products and for determining program eligibility, were last updated in 2018. We highlight the changes and what that means for Tennessee communities.

2022 County Population Estimates: Most Metros Swell, Rural Tennessee Counties See Upswing
Most Tennessee counties had a population increase last year. Record levels of domestic migration have even slowed rural population losses. We took a closer look at where the big changes were in 2022 and how the numbers look across the rest of the state.

Breaking Down the 2022 Population Estimates: What Drove Tennessee’s Big Gain Last Year?
The southern U.S. saw big population gains last year and so did Tennessee. 81,646 more people moved into the state than moved out of it – a record-level of domestic net migration.

Tennesseans Paid 9 Percent Less For Goods and Services than US Average
Although inflation grew sharply in 2021, prices in Tennessee were below the national level. The cost of goods, services and housing were 9.1 percent under the U.S. average. Updated regional price data also shows how affordability of the state’s metro areas breaks down.

Big Numbers: Tennessee’s 2022 Population Gains Pushed by Record Domestic Net Migration
2022 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau showed a notable increase in Tennessee’s population. The new data includes information about the number of people of moving into and out of the state which shows it was a record year for new residents calling Tennessee home.

2020 Census Urban Areas Release Set for Dec. 29
Urban area boundaries from the 2020 Census will be released on December 29, 2022. This decade’s criteria include a number of important changes that may results in fewer, smaller and potentially lower population areas. We look at what’s changed and how the urban area data are used.

Chattanooga RPA Rolls Out 5-Year ACS Extraction Tool for ArcGIS Pro
5-year American Community Survey data straight to ArcGIS Pro maps and geodatabases. A new tool from Randy Pullen at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency gets tract-level American Community Survey data directly into ArcGIS Pro.

Producing Maps of Detailed Population Change between 2010 and 2020
Maps showing more detailed subcounty population change between decades aren’t very common because revisions Census Bureau’s “tracts” prevent direct comparison. Learn how we produced a nationwide made showing tract-level change last decade.

Tennessee Could Add Nearly 1 Million New Residents by 2040
Tennessee could grow by nearly a million people over the next 20 years and reach a total population of 7.87 million by 2040. New Boyd Center Population Projections for the state’s 95 counties are now available.

New Application Highlights Shifting Center of Tennessee, U.S. Populations
A new TNSDC web application shows that Tennessee’s 2020 center of population remains located near Murfreesboro in the middle part of the state following the release of updated calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau. Locations for all US states and counties from 2000 to 2020 are featured in the just released site.