Tennessee Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Tennessee, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Tennessee. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Tennessee. The estimated population of Tennessee is 6,859,497 people, with a median age of 38.8.

We can look at the total population in Tennessee over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
6,859,497
+1.29%
+3.97%
2020
6,772,268
+0.94%
-
2019
6,709,356
+0.88%
-
2018
6,651,089
+0.81%
-
2017
6,597,381
 - -

Population of Tennessee by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
72.9%
74.3%
 -1.88%
Black/African American
16.3%
16.7%
 -2.40%
Native
0.2%
0.2%
 0.00%
Hispanic
5.8%
5.2%
 +11.54%
Asian
1.8%
1.7%
 +5.88%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.7%
1.9%
 +42.11%
Other
0.3%
0.1%
 +200.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Tennessee by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 38.8 0% 37.7 +0.53% 39.9 -0.5%
2020 38.8 +0.26% 37.5 +0.27% 40.1 +0.25%
2019 38.7 0% 37.4 0% 40 +0.25%
2018 38.7 +0.26% 37.4 +0.27% 39.9 0%
2017 38.6 - 37.3 - 39.9 -

The median age of Tennessee gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 416,924 +1.06% 400,215 -0.01% 421,351 400,142
10 to 19 433,174 +4.35% 413,366 +4.82% 452,260 433,561
20 to 29 453,161 +2.12% 452,781 +2.33% 462,726 463,399
30 to 39 415,673 +6.56% 428,109 +6.21% 443,614 455,298
40 to 49 424,571 +0.52% 434,464 -0.73% 426,742 431,292
50 to 59 435,852 +1.14% 469,432 -1.19% 440,704 463,879
60 to 69 358,188 +9.76% 399,792 +7.35% 394,416 429,972
70+ 279,530 +13.86% 382,149 +9.59% 320,286 419,855

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Tennessee is $58,516.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Tennessee.

  • Under 25
    $36,203.00
  • 25 to 44
    $64,728.00
  • 45 to 64
    $68,865.00
  • 65 and over
    $44,459.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Tennessee, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Tennessee, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Tennessee is currently $82,012.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

5.96% of households in Tennessee are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Tennessee against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    20.12%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    22.99%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.21%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.76%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    14.28%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    5.68%
  • $200,000 or more
    5.96%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Tennessee is $32,908.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Tennessee by the total population of Tennessee.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Tennessee, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Tennessee to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    12.63%
  • Bachelor's degree
    30.46%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    10.91%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    43.18%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.83%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Tennessee that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Tennessee over the age of 16 is 5,504,783.

Of those people, a total of 61.80% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Tennessee is 58.20%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 352,600 41.50% 15.80%
20 to 24 years 443,703 76.00% 9.40%
25 to 29 years 482,422 82.50% 6.60%
30 to 34 years 454,732 82.30% 5.40%
35 to 44 years 862,987 81.00% 4.40%
45 to 54 years 885,621 78.10% 3.40%
55 to 59 years 458,189 68.70% 3.80%
60 to 64 years 446,339 53.60% 2.90%
65 to 74 years 683,206 24.60% 3.30%
75 years and over 434,984 7.20% 3.90%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Tennessee. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 4,268,261 60.70% 4.40%
Black or African American 879,510 64.70% 9.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 11,770 54.40% 7.40%
Asian 101,159 66.90% 2.70%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 3,217 79.00% 14.40%
Other 79,389 71.80% 4.70%
Two or more races 161,477 66.50% 6.50%
Hispanic or Latino 254,411 71.70% 4.90%
Not Hispanic or Latino 4,141,095 60.30% 4.40%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Tennessee as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Tennessee is 3,201,140, with median earnings of $37,691.00.

Women in Tennessee earning approximately 75.00% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 3,201,140 $37,691.00
Male 1,671,825 $43,259.00
Female 1,529,315 $32,438.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 320,446 $67,828.00
Business and Financial 156,425 $60,523.00
Computer and Mathematical 79,340 $73,289.00
Architecture and Engineering 52,115 $76,892.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 25,670 $59,086.00
Community and Social Service 54,931 $39,839.00
Legal 27,261 $73,165.00
Educational and Library 189,570 $42,668.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 61,398 $38,585.00
Healthcare Practitioners 217,070 $54,389.00
Healthcare Support 88,669 $25,472.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 34,659 $34,946.00
Law Enforcement 31,583 $47,880.00
Food Preparation and Serving 179,765 $14,935.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 114,423 $21,341.00
Personal Care and Service 72,553 $18,245.00
Sales 316,492 $31,774.00
Office and Administrative Support 368,152 $33,031.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 12,590 $25,009.00
Construction and Extraction 159,309 $35,747.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 104,932 $45,307.00
Production 249,291 $35,473.00
Transportation and Material Moving 127,282 $39,843.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 187,031 $79,598.00 133,415 $55,375.00
Business and Financial 71,192 $71,103.00 85,233 $54,270.00
Computer and Mathematical 57,965 $77,003.00 21,375 $64,638.00
Architecture and Engineering 43,748 $79,704.00 8,367 $61,250.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 13,468 $64,253.00 12,202 $54,559.00
Community and Social Service 20,897 $42,992.00 34,034 $38,804.00
Legal 13,248 $107,712.00 14,013 $57,904.00
Educational and Library 49,868 $49,973.00 139,702 $40,581.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 34,633 $44,176.00 26,765 $32,768.00
Healthcare Practitioners 51,698 $78,225.00 165,372 $51,009.00
Healthcare Support 12,336 $27,693.00 76,333 $25,273.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 25,433 $38,659.00 9,226 $25,012.00
Law Enforcement 25,906 $50,250.00 5,677 $38,450.00
Food Preparation and Serving 75,281 $17,058.00 104,484 $13,629.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 70,970 $25,594.00 43,453 $16,344.00
Personal Care and Service 16,654 $22,284.00 55,899 $17,109.00
Sales 156,296 $45,101.00 160,196 $22,060.00
Office and Administrative Support 92,117 $37,339.00 276,035 $32,101.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 9,652 $25,901.00 2,938 $21,971.00
Construction and Extraction 152,776 $36,228.00 6,533 $26,041.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 100,535 $45,934.00 4,397 $32,376.00
Production 168,633 $39,769.00 80,658 $29,471.00
Transportation and Material Moving 108,366 $42,575.00 18,916 $26,287.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 2,664,791 households in Tennessee, with an average household size of 2.52 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,736,369 families in Tennessee with an average family size of 3.1 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 1,273,881 125,736 336,752 928,422
Average Household Size 3.13 3.3 3.36 1.26
Total Families 1,273,881 125,736 336,752 0
Average Household Size 3.11 2.9 3.17 0

Poverty

Of the 1,736,369 families in Tennessee, 10.30% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Tennessee:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 3,011,124 housing units in Tennessee.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 2,664,791 88.50%
Vacant 346,333 11.50%

27.16% of the total 3,011,124 housing units in Tennessee are rental units. This is approximately 817,673 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 1,783,274 are occupied by the owner - or 59.22% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Tennessee is $951.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Tennessee that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    63,844
  • Less than $500
    86,914
  • $500 to $999
    361,300
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    251,760
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    84,797
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    21,831
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    5,899
  • $3,000 or more
    5,172

Property Value

The median value of a property in Tennessee is $193,700.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Tennessee that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    124,907
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    245,893
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    266,058
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    285,821
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    387,802
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    313,060
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    131,069
  • $1,000,000 or more
    28,664

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Tennessee. The chart below shows the number of properties in Tennessee that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    172,555
  • 1940 to 1949
    129,923
  • 1950 to 1959
    257,530
  • 1960 to 1969
    295,948
  • 1970 to 1979
    447,829
  • 1980 to 1989
    411,100
  • 1990 to 1999
    522,516
  • 2000 to 2009
    478,610
  • 2010 to 2013
    285,949
  • 2014 or later
    9,164

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Tennessee that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    142,872
  • 1 vehicle available
    818,168
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,010,108
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    693,643

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Tennessee get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Tennessee that commute to work in a particular way.

25.5 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Tennessee.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    73,671
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    265,263
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    378,641
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    478,444
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    452,565
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    210,354
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    409,806
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    95,171
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    103,994
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    236,700
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    143,173
  • 90 or more minutes
    54,763

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Tennessee in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Counties in Tennessee

We have data for 95 counties in Tennessee. Click on a county below to see more information about the demographics of that county, with links to cities and towns within that county.

Zip Codes in Tennessee

If you want to find out more about the population and demographics of specific zip codes in Tennessee, click on the links below.