Tennessee Population 2013
Situated in the South Eastern sector of the United States, Tennessee is only the 36th largest state in the country but it is the 17th most densely populated.
The most recent confirmed figures
If you’re looking for the population of any US state in 2013 you have to go back to the last nationwide census which was carried out in 2010. At the time it was confirmed that the state’s population stood at 6,346,105. That’s a rise of 11.5% on the statistics from the previous census, in 2000.
An estimate released by the Census bureau in 2011 claimed that those figures had climbed to 6,403,353, and a further estimate from July 2012 showed 6,456,243, which makes Tennessee the 17th largest state in the US in terms of pure numbers.
Projecting those increases forwards therefore, the Tennessee population in 2013 is approaching 6.5 million for the first time in the state’s long history. It’s likely to breach this milestone some time in late 2013 or early 2014.
For a breakdown of which Tennessee counties’ population are increasing, and which are decreasing, take a look at our interactive map.
Read on for more information about the Tennessee Population in 2013, or head across to our US population summary for more information about demographic changes around the country.
Population density
Although relatively small in terms of numbers, Tennessee provides some interesting statistics in relation to population density. This is a relatively small area that covers 42,143 square miles (109,247 square kilometres) but for every square mile of Tennessee turf, there is an average of 155 people living here.
Those numbers convert to 60 people for every square kilometre and it makes Tennessee the 17th most densely populated state in the entire country.
You can see the largest cities in Tennessee on the map – they’re the red blotches. The largest city in Tennessee is Memphis in the far east of the state, home to 662,897 people at the time of the 2010 census. The second largest, in the middle of the state, is Nashville, which had 626,681 residents in 2010. Nashville’s metropolitan area popualtion is larger than the Memphis metropolitan area’s though – 1,589,934 people in Nashville compared to 1,316,100 in Memphis.
Tennessee through the years
Way back in 1790, it was reported that the population of Tennessee was just 35,691 but like most areas in this part of the world, a population explosion was just over the horizon. Just ten years later, at the start of the 19th century, numbers here had grown by nearly 200% to 105,602.
That was by far the biggest spike in the Tennessee population but sustained increases throughout the 1800’s meant that by the time the 20th century rolled in, the number of people who lived in Tennessee had just crept over the two million mark.
The 1900’s showed a similar pattern of overall growth and that has continued to the present day where the Tennessee population in 2012 is reaching out towards a figure of seven million.
Natural growth
Figures relating to the natural growth patterns within Tennessee were released in 2006 and they showed that in the six years since the previous census, numbers had increased by 142,266 due to 493,881 births minus 351,615 deaths, and in addition, there had been a rise of 219,551 due to net migration.
There are no reasons to suggest that healthy rises won’t continue for the foreseeable future and at the next Census of 2020, the Tennessee population may well have broken through the seven million mark.
