Tennessee Population by County, 2025 Census Estimates
Tennessee population by county: July 2025 Census estimates for all 95 counties, change since 2020, density, and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for Tennessee population by county? The Census Bureau estimates that Tennessee had 7,315,076 residents on July 1, 2025, spread across 95 counties. Shelby County is the most populous, with 910,226 people (12% of the state), and Pickett County is the least populous, with 5,219.
The table below lists every county with its 2025 estimate, its April 2020 starting point, the change, people per square mile, and a link to its official parcel viewer.
Percent change runs from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025. People per square mile is the July 2025 estimate divided by the county's land area in the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer file, so lakes and bays are left out.
How Tennessee's population is spread out
Grouping the counties by size shows how concentrated the state is:
Residents (July 2025)
Counties
Total residents
Share of state
250,000 to 999,999
6
3,216,829
44%
100,000 to 249,999
10
1,525,012
21%
25,000 to 99,999
44
2,038,944
28%
10,000 to 24,999
27
476,528
7%
Under 10,000
8
57,763
1%
6 counties with at least 250,000 residents hold 44% of the state's population.
Most and least densely populated
The most crowded counties by people per square mile of land:
Davidson County: 1,481 per sq mi (745,904 people on 504 sq mi)
Shelby County: 1,197 per sq mi (910,226 people on 761 sq mi)
Knox County: 1,006 per sq mi (511,453 people on 508 sq mi)
Hamilton County: 721 per sq mi (390,833 people on 542 sq mi)
Rutherford County: 624 per sq mi (386,352 people on 619 sq mi)
The most thinly settled:
Perry County: 22 per sq mi (9,126 people on 415 sq mi)
Wayne County: 22 per sq mi (16,416 people on 734 sq mi)
Van Buren County: 25 per sq mi (6,874 people on 273 sq mi)
Stewart County: 31 per sq mi (14,439 people on 460 sq mi)
Hancock County: 32 per sq mi (7,075 people on 222 sq mi)
About these numbers
They are estimates. Between censuses the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program updates county totals each year from births, deaths and migration records. The next full count is the 2030 census.
The base is April 1, 2020. The estimates start from an April 1, 2020 "estimates base" built from the 2020 census, which is why it is slightly different from the published census count.
Each new release revises the past. A newer vintage can change earlier years as well, so compare numbers from the same release, as this page does.
Statewide total. The counties add up exactly to the statewide figure of 7,315,076 in the same file.
Using population numbers in a land search
Big counties, busy offices. In the most populous counties, parcel maps and deed records are usually online and searchable, but recording and permit offices are busier. Allow for that if you are on a deadline.
Small counties, fewer sales. In counties with only a few thousand people, land changes hands less often, so there are fewer recent sales to compare a price with. The county assessor's sales records are the best source.
Density hints at lot size. A low people-per-square-mile figure usually means farms, ranches and timber tracts; a high one means subdivided lots. The parcel viewer shows the actual parcel lines.
Check the official map. Use the parcel viewer link in the table for boundaries, parcel numbers and owner names, then confirm anything important with the county's recorder or assessor.