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.

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.

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.

Census Bureau estimates show that Davidson County (Nashville) added the most population in Tennessee in 2024. International migration adjustments were a big factor as it outpaced Rutherford County for the first time since 2015.

When a Tennessee county leads the nation in population loss, it grabs headlines. We analyzed the numbers behind this decline, compared them to past leaders and to other areas of the country. While these losses may continue, they likely won’t top the national charts in the future.

Tennessee’s population grew by 80,000 people in 2024. Part of that increase is attributed to changes in the way international migration is estimated for the nation. We took a closer look at the new numbers.

We stepped back to examine how population changes across Tennessee’s 345 cities and towns have unfolded over this decade and found the state’s midsized cities leading the pack. That comes as Nashville claimed the top spot as the state’s fastest-gaining in 2022 and 2023.

Tennessee saw widespread population increases in 2023, with most counties in the state adding to their populations last year. Once again, the fastest-growing county was the mid-state stalwart, Rutherford County.

Our new intercensal estimates for Tennessee counties reconcile annual population figures from 2010-2020 with more accurate population data released after the 2020 Census. Learn more and explore the new data product!

17 Tennessee communities won challenges or reviews which increased their population reported in the 2020 Census. Two University of Tennessee groups helped a dozen local governments in these getting corrected population counts.