Counties in Tennessee by population

Shelby County had the highest population of 95 counties in 2023, at 915,501. Pickett County had the lowest, at 5,129. The median was 32,504 and the figure for Tennessee was 7.15 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest915,501Shelby County
Lowest5,129Pickett County
Median32,50495 counties
Tennessee7,153,029History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Shelby CountyShelby County: 915,501 persons915,501Davidson CountyDavidson County: 720,989 persons720,989Knox CountyKnox County: 501,589 persons501,589Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 381,087 persons381,087Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 370,483 persons370,483Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 264,898 persons264,898Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 240,192 persons240,192Sumner CountySumner County: 208,501 persons208,501Wilson CountyWilson County: 164,275 persons164,275Sullivan CountySullivan County: 161,953 persons161,953Blount CountyBlount County: 141,407 persons141,407Washington CountyWashington County: 138,454 persons138,454Bradley CountyBradley County: 112,196 persons112,196Maury CountyMaury County: 111,022 persons111,022Sevier CountySevier County: 100,410 persons100,410Madison CountyMadison County: 99,518 persons99,518Putnam CountyPutnam County: 83,902 persons83,902Anderson CountyAnderson County: 80,369 persons80,369Robertson CountyRobertson County: 76,948 persons76,948Greene CountyGreene County: 72,518 persons72,518Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 66,582 persons66,582Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 64,817 persons64,817Tipton CountyTipton County: 61,957 persons61,957Loudon CountyLoudon County: 60,699 persons60,699Coffee CountyCoffee County: 60,562 persons60,562Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 58,587 persons58,587Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 57,849 persons57,849Carter CountyCarter County: 57,047 persons57,047Dickson CountyDickson County: 56,882 persons56,882Roane CountyRoane County: 56,218 persons56,218McMinn CountyMcMinn County: 55,814 persons55,814Bedford CountyBedford County: 53,249 persons53,249Gibson CountyGibson County: 51,245 persons51,245Monroe CountyMonroe County: 48,601 persons48,601Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 46,091 persons46,091Franklin CountyFranklin County: 44,724 persons44,724Fayette CountyFayette County: 44,130 persons44,130Warren CountyWarren County: 42,615 persons42,615Cheatham CountyCheatham County: 42,223 persons42,223Campbell CountyCampbell County: 40,228 persons40,228
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Shelby County915,501-0.4%
2Davidson County720,989+1.2%
3Knox County501,589+1.2%
4Hamilton County381,087+1.4%
5Rutherford County370,483+2.2%
6Williamson County264,898+1.4%
7Montgomery County240,192+2.1%
8Sumner County208,501+2.2%
9Wilson County164,275+3.3%
10Sullivan County161,953+0.7%
11Blount County141,407+1.1%
12Washington County138,454+1.6%
13Bradley County112,196+1.3%
14Maury County111,022+2.8%
15Sevier County100,410+1.1%
16Madison County99,518+0.2%
17Putnam County83,902+1.6%
18Anderson County80,369+1.7%
19Robertson County76,948+2.1%
20Greene County72,518+1.7%
21Hamblen County66,582+2%
22Cumberland County64,817+2%
23Tipton County61,957+0.6%
24Loudon County60,699+4.1%
25Coffee County60,562+1.5%
26Hawkins County58,587+1.2%
27Jefferson County57,849+2%
28Carter County57,047+0.9%
29Dickson County56,882+2%
30Roane County56,218+1.7%
31McMinn County55,814+2%
32Bedford County53,249+2.3%
33Gibson County51,245+0.7%
34Monroe County48,601+1.8%
35Lawrence County46,091+1.3%
36Franklin County44,724+1.3%
37Fayette County44,130+1.9%
38Warren County42,615+1.5%
39Cheatham County42,223+1.2%
40Campbell County40,228+1.6%
41Cocke County37,359+1.5%
42Marshall County37,048+3.3%
43Dyer County36,495+0.2%
44Lincoln County36,157+0.5%
45Rhea County34,264+0.8%
46Weakley County33,167+0.3%
47Claiborne County32,667+0.9%
48Henry County32,504+0.5%
49Giles County30,879+1%
50Obion County30,402+0.1%
51Marion County29,393+1.1%
52Carroll County29,007+2%
53White County28,715+2.5%
54Henderson County28,083+0.6%
55Hardin County27,433+0.8%
56Macon County26,868+2.5%
57McNairy County26,066+0.4%
58Hickman County25,794+1.3%
59Hardeman County25,555+0.3%
60Grainger County24,713+2.1%
61Lauderdale County24,504-0.8%
62Overton County23,352+1.6%
63Scott County22,253+1%
64Morgan County21,542+1.7%
65DeKalb County21,301+1.5%
66Union County20,760+1.4%
67Smith County20,538+0.3%
68Fentress County19,651+1.7%
69Humphreys County19,286+1.3%
70Johnson County18,325+1.8%
71Polk County18,064+1.6%
72Unicoi County17,823+1.2%
73Chester County17,712+0.8%
74Haywood County17,377-0.5%
75Sequatchie County17,168+1.5%
76Benton County16,160+1.1%
77Wayne County16,050-1.3%
78Cannon County15,038+1.7%
79Bledsoe County14,996+1.6%
80Stewart County14,269+1.8%
81Crockett County13,967+0.7%
82Grundy County13,954+1.2%
83Meigs County13,695+3.2%
84Lewis County13,126+1.5%
85Jackson County12,355+2.8%
86Trousdale County12,327+2%
87Decatur County11,685+1.4%
88Perry County8,927+2.7%
89Houston County8,391+1.9%
90Clay County7,666+0.6%
91Hancock County6,974+2%
92Moore County6,802+1.1%
93Van Buren County6,576+1.8%
94Lake County6,385-1.5%
95Pickett County5,129+0.5%

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 915,501 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Pickett County, with 5,129 in 2023.

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