KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's no secret, people are moving by the thousands to Tennessee. According to new census data from the Tennessee State Data Center in Knox County, on average, 14 people are added to the population every day.
From 2022 to 2023, Knox County saw an increase of 5,289 people. Most of them are folks moving into the county.
"Knox County does stand out over the last few years in terms of the amount of population it's gained," said Tim Kuhn, Director of the Tennessee State Data Center. "It's been a steady gainer, really throughout its history, and expect it to continue to do so."
Hamilton County has often rivaled Knox County in population growth. It saw 27 fewer people move to the Chattanooga area than Knox County. But counties around Knoxville are growing, too.
"When you compare the Hamilton County area with the Knox County area, the Knoxville metropolitan area is quite a bit larger, probably about 40%," Kuhn said. "We see both in terms of population and economy. So there's not really a comparison there."
Middle Tennessee is seeing growth larger than any other part of the state.
Rutherford County, Wilson County and Davidson County are in the top five counties in the state in terms of the number of people adding to the population.
"The size of the population change in Middle Tennessee doesn't really compare to what we see in East Tennessee," Kuhn said. "It's spreading even further out than it has in the last few years reaching down into places like Bedford County and Murray County."
In terms of numeric population growth in Tennessee, here's how the top ten counties rank:
- Rutherford (+6,419)
- Knox (+5,289)
- Hamilton (+5,262)
- Wilson (+5,081)
- Davidson (+4,983)
- Montgomery (+4,973)
- Sumner (+4,273)
- Williamson (+3,722)
- Maury (+2,764)
- Loudon (+2,347)
You can find more information about the most recent census data here on this interactive map.