Counties in Tennessee by population

Shelby County had the highest population of 95 counties in 2020, at 929,720. Pickett County had the lowest, at 5,002. The median was 32,075 and the figure for Tennessee was 6.93 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest929,720Shelby County
Lowest5,002Pickett County
Median32,07595 counties
Tennessee6,927,736History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Shelby CountyShelby County: 929,720 persons929,720Davidson CountyDavidson County: 716,153 persons716,153Knox CountyKnox County: 480,472 persons480,472Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 367,886 persons367,886Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 343,285 persons343,285Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 249,614 persons249,614Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 221,286 persons221,286Sumner CountySumner County: 197,416 persons197,416Sullivan CountySullivan County: 158,238 persons158,238Wilson CountyWilson County: 148,654 persons148,654Blount CountyBlount County: 135,666 persons135,666Washington CountyWashington County: 133,211 persons133,211Bradley CountyBradley County: 108,832 persons108,832Maury CountyMaury County: 101,812 persons101,812Sevier CountySevier County: 98,848 persons98,848Madison CountyMadison County: 98,832 persons98,832Putnam CountyPutnam County: 80,101 persons80,101Anderson CountyAnderson County: 77,347 persons77,347Robertson CountyRobertson County: 72,958 persons72,958Greene CountyGreene County: 70,339 persons70,339Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 64,553 persons64,553Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 61,381 persons61,381Tipton CountyTipton County: 61,050 persons61,050Coffee CountyCoffee County: 58,132 persons58,132Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 56,715 persons56,715Carter CountyCarter County: 56,391 persons56,391Loudon CountyLoudon County: 55,144 persons55,144Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 54,897 persons54,897Dickson CountyDickson County: 54,452 persons54,452Roane CountyRoane County: 53,666 persons53,666McMinn CountyMcMinn County: 53,347 persons53,347Gibson CountyGibson County: 50,443 persons50,443Bedford CountyBedford County: 50,381 persons50,381Monroe CountyMonroe County: 46,399 persons46,399Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 44,185 persons44,185Franklin CountyFranklin County: 42,842 persons42,842Fayette CountyFayette County: 41,868 persons41,868Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 41,088 persons41,088Warren CountyWarren County: 41,057 persons41,057Campbell CountyCampbell County: 39,310 persons39,310
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Shelby County929,720
2Davidson County716,153
3Knox County480,472
4Hamilton County367,886
5Rutherford County343,285
6Williamson County249,614
7Montgomery County221,286
8Sumner County197,416
9Sullivan County158,238
10Wilson County148,654
11Blount County135,666
12Washington County133,211
13Bradley County108,832
14Maury County101,812
15Sevier County98,848
16Madison County98,832
17Putnam County80,101
18Anderson County77,347
19Robertson County72,958
20Greene County70,339
21Hamblen County64,553
22Cumberland County61,381
23Tipton County61,050
24Coffee County58,132
25Hawkins County56,715
26Carter County56,391
27Loudon County55,144
28Jefferson County54,897
29Dickson County54,452
30Roane County53,666
31McMinn County53,347
32Gibson County50,443
33Bedford County50,381
34Monroe County46,399
35Lawrence County44,185
36Franklin County42,842
37Fayette County41,868
38Cheatham County41,088
39Warren County41,057
40Campbell County39,310
41Dyer County36,710
42Cocke County36,043
43Lincoln County35,332
44Marshall County34,467
45Rhea County33,302
46Weakley County32,908
47Henry County32,149
48Claiborne County32,075
49Obion County30,779
50Giles County30,346
51Marion County28,874
52Carroll County28,427
53Henderson County27,833
54White County27,441
55Hardin County26,948
56McNairy County25,868
57Hardeman County25,435
58Macon County25,260
59Lauderdale County25,115
60Hickman County24,972
61Grainger County23,572
62Overton County22,590
63Scott County21,880
64Morgan County21,051
65DeKalb County20,186
66Smith County19,963
67Union County19,847
68Humphreys County18,998
69Fentress County18,533
70Johnson County17,985
71Unicoi County17,873
72Haywood County17,827
73Polk County17,558
74Chester County17,379
75Wayne County16,220
76Sequatchie County15,848
77Benton County15,847
78Bledsoe County14,945
79Cannon County14,564
80Crockett County13,907
81Stewart County13,708
82Grundy County13,541
83Meigs County12,808
84Lewis County12,609
85Trousdale County11,646
86Jackson County11,637
87Decatur County11,429
88Perry County8,383
89Houston County8,295
90Clay County7,588
91Lake County6,988
92Hancock County6,628
93Moore County6,472
94Van Buren County6,174
95Pickett County5,002

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Shelby County, with 929,720 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Pickett County, with 5,002 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Tennessee: more rankings