Nashville is the capital of the state of Tennessee and known for its music industries, earning it the nickname Music City, and it is also known for several colleges and universities. Nashville has a consolidated city-county government with 6 municipalities. At the 2010 census, the population of the city, not including semi-independent municipalities, was 601,000. As a whole, with all municipalities, Nashville had a population of 626,600. The estimated population of Nashville in 2016 is 659,042.

The Nashville metropolitan statistical area is estimated to have 1.75 million people, up from 1.59 million in 2010. In 2016, the population of the city proper is estimated at 659,042 -- not including semi-independent municipalities.

Nashville is the second largest city in the state, behind Memphis, and the 3rd largest in the Southeastern US. In 2010, the 13-county Nashville metropolitan area was home to 1.59 million people. With 528 square miles of land, the consolidated population of Nashville is estimated at 659,042 in 2016. Nashville's metropolitan area is the largest in Tennessee and encompasses all Middle Tennessee counties.

In 2009, a survey found 628,434 people living in the city, with a density of 1,204 people per square mile (465/square kilometer).

Nashville Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the racial makeup of Nashville was:

• White: 60.5% (non-Hispanic: 56.3%)
• African American: 28.4%
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 2.5%
• Hispanic or Latino of any race: 10.0%

The non-Hispanic white population, while still a majority, has decreased from 79.5% in 1970.

Nashville has become a very popular destination for immigrants due to a healthy job market and fairly low cost of living. The foreign-born population of the city tripled between 1990 and 2000, from 12,600 to 39,500. The foreign-born population has nearly doubled over the last decade and makes up about 12% of the population. The city is home to large populations of Mexicans, Kurds, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, Arabs and Bantus. There are also small communities of Pashtuns from Pakistan and Afghanistan, mostly concentrated in Antioch. Nashville is home to the largest community of Kurdish people in the country, while many of around 60,000 Bhutanese refugees admitted to the country settled in the area. There is also a strong American Jewish community here with a history dating back more than 150 years.

Nashville History

Nashville was founded in 1779 near the original Cumberland settlement of Fort Nashborough. The city was named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero, Francis Nash, and it quickly grew in population thanks to its strategic location along the river and later the railroads. Nashville was incorporated in 1806 and became the county seat. It was named as the capital of Tennessee in 1843.

In 1963, the city consolidated its government with nearby Davidson County to form a metropolitan government. Nashville has enjoyed steady growth since the 1970s, particularly during the boom of the 90s, and it is today one of the fastest-growing regions in the Upland South.

Nashville Population Growth

Nashville is enjoying healthy growth due to its music industry, tourists and new residents primarily comprised of immigrants and young people. A Gallup poll in 2013 ranked Nashville as one of the top 5 regions for job growth in the country.

Despite its growth and improvements, many point out that the city still has work to do if it wants to continue on this path. The city is more socially progressive than the state as a whole, but its mostly white population is still struggling with its legacy of segregation.

The modest growth in Nashville allowed it to recover more quickly from the recession, with real estate closings up 28% in 2012 over the previous year, and the unemployment rate still remains lower than the national average.

Nashville's metropolitan area is expected to reach 2 million by the next census in 2020, placing it in 10th place for largest metropolitan growth.