Counties in Tennessee by population

Shelby County had the highest population of 95 counties in 2021, at 923,315. Pickett County had the lowest, at 5,073. The median was 32,047 and the figure for Tennessee was 6.97 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest923,315Shelby County
Lowest5,073Pickett County
Median32,04795 counties
Tennessee6,966,687History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Shelby CountyShelby County: 923,315 persons923,315Davidson CountyDavidson County: 701,450 persons701,450Knox CountyKnox County: 486,009 persons486,009Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 369,725 persons369,725Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 351,202 persons351,202Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 256,192 persons256,192Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 227,781 persons227,781Sumner CountySumner County: 200,578 persons200,578Sullivan CountySullivan County: 159,250 persons159,250Wilson CountyWilson County: 152,095 persons152,095Blount CountyBlount County: 137,641 persons137,641Washington CountyWashington County: 133,461 persons133,461Bradley CountyBradley County: 109,783 persons109,783Maury CountyMaury County: 105,005 persons105,005Sevier CountySevier County: 99,625 persons99,625Madison CountyMadison County: 98,591 persons98,591Putnam CountyPutnam County: 81,281 persons81,281Anderson CountyAnderson County: 77,678 persons77,678Robertson CountyRobertson County: 74,047 persons74,047Greene CountyGreene County: 70,582 persons70,582Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 64,390 persons64,390Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 62,407 persons62,407Tipton CountyTipton County: 61,083 persons61,083Coffee CountyCoffee County: 59,002 persons59,002Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 57,200 persons57,200Loudon CountyLoudon County: 56,833 persons56,833Carter CountyCarter County: 56,128 persons56,128Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 55,535 persons55,535Dickson CountyDickson County: 55,189 persons55,189Roane CountyRoane County: 54,165 persons54,165McMinn CountyMcMinn County: 53,940 persons53,940Bedford CountyBedford County: 51,168 persons51,168Gibson CountyGibson County: 50,499 persons50,499Monroe CountyMonroe County: 46,665 persons46,665Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 44,783 persons44,783Franklin CountyFranklin County: 43,197 persons43,197Fayette CountyFayette County: 42,610 persons42,610Warren CountyWarren County: 41,478 persons41,478Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 41,455 persons41,455Campbell CountyCampbell County: 39,483 persons39,483
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Shelby County923,315-0.7%
2Davidson County701,450-2.1%
3Knox County486,009+1.2%
4Hamilton County369,725+0.5%
5Rutherford County351,202+2.3%
6Williamson County256,192+2.6%
7Montgomery County227,781+2.9%
8Sumner County200,578+1.6%
9Sullivan County159,250+0.6%
10Wilson County152,095+2.3%
11Blount County137,641+1.5%
12Washington County133,461+0.2%
13Bradley County109,783+0.9%
14Maury County105,005+3.1%
15Sevier County99,625+0.8%
16Madison County98,591-0.2%
17Putnam County81,281+1.5%
18Anderson County77,678+0.4%
19Robertson County74,047+1.5%
20Greene County70,582+0.3%
21Hamblen County64,390-0.3%
22Cumberland County62,407+1.7%
23Tipton County61,083+0.1%
24Coffee County59,002+1.5%
25Hawkins County57,200+0.9%
26Loudon County56,833+3.1%
27Carter County56,128-0.5%
28Jefferson County55,535+1.2%
29Dickson County55,189+1.4%
30Roane County54,165+0.9%
31McMinn County53,940+1.1%
32Bedford County51,168+1.6%
33Gibson County50,499+0.1%
34Monroe County46,665+0.6%
35Lawrence County44,783+1.4%
36Franklin County43,197+0.8%
37Fayette County42,610+1.8%
38Warren County41,478+1%
39Cheatham County41,455+0.9%
40Campbell County39,483+0.4%
41Dyer County36,621-0.2%
42Cocke County36,374+0.9%
43Lincoln County35,441+0.3%
44Marshall County35,050+1.7%
45Rhea County33,508+0.6%
46Weakley County32,905-0%
47Henry County32,252+0.3%
48Claiborne County32,047-0.1%
49Obion County30,467-1%
50Giles County30,428+0.3%
51Marion County28,923+0.2%
52Carroll County28,298-0.5%
53Henderson County27,918+0.3%
54White County27,559+0.4%
55Hardin County26,977+0.1%
56McNairy County25,858-0%
57Macon County25,670+1.6%
58Hardeman County25,259-0.7%
59Hickman County25,080+0.4%
60Lauderdale County24,860-1%
61Grainger County23,794+0.9%
62Overton County22,828+1.1%
63Scott County21,904+0.1%
64Morgan County21,137+0.4%
65DeKalb County20,503+1.6%
66Smith County20,175+1.1%
67Union County20,020+0.9%
68Humphreys County19,179+1%
69Fentress County18,839+1.7%
70Johnson County18,042+0.3%
71Polk County17,704+0.8%
72Haywood County17,666-0.9%
73Unicoi County17,617-1.4%
74Chester County17,481+0.6%
75Sequatchie County16,447+3.8%
76Wayne County16,331+0.7%
77Benton County15,825-0.1%
78Bledsoe County14,837-0.7%
79Cannon County14,550-0.1%
80Crockett County13,983+0.5%
81Stewart County13,820+0.8%
82Grundy County13,577+0.3%
83Meigs County13,030+1.7%
84Lewis County12,854+1.9%
85Jackson County11,771+1.2%
86Trousdale County11,621-0.2%
87Decatur County11,392-0.3%
88Perry County8,496+1.3%
89Houston County8,2980%
90Clay County7,586-0%
91Hancock County6,791+2.5%
92Moore County6,654+2.8%
93Lake County6,569-6%
94Van Buren County6,297+2%
95Pickett County5,073+1.4%

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 923,315 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Pickett County, with 5,073 in 2021.

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