Chattanooga, Tennessee Population 2021

184,561

Chattanooga is a city located in Tennessee. With a 2020 population of 184,561, it is the 4th largest city in Tennessee (after Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville) and the 139th largest city in the United States. Chattanooga is currently growing at a rate of 0.48% annually and its population has increased by 10.07% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 167,674 in 2010. Chattanooga reached it's highest population of 184,561 in 2021. Spanning over 151 miles, Chattanooga has a population density of 1,291 people per square mile.

The average household income in Chattanooga is $69,197 with a poverty rate of 17.64%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $859 per month, and the median house value is $167,500. The median age in Chattanooga is 37.5 years, 36.4 years for males, and 38.5 years for females. For every 100 females there are 88.1 males.

Chattanooga is located in Hamilton County, Tennessee on Nickajack Lake and Chickamauga Lake in East Tennessee. Chattanooga is located about 120 miles southwest of Knoxville and 120 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia.

Population Density in Chattanooga

The larger Chattanooga metropolitan area has a population of 528,000. The Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Marion, Sequatchie, and Hamilton counties in Tennessee as well as Dade, Catoosa, and Walker counties in Georgia, had a 9% population growth over the last ten years.

Chattanooga Facts

Chattanooga is unique as it's the first American city to receive its typeface, called Chatype. Launched in 2012, this is the first time a custom crowd-funded typeface has been used for any global city.

Chattanooga also claims to have Western Hemisphere's fastest internet service, earning it several nicknames like Gig City. EPB began offering exclusive fiber optic network service to the greater Chattanooga metro area in 2009. The next year, it became the first municipality-owned utility company in the country to offer internet access directly to the public with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. This network has already been emulated in several U.S. cities and internationally.

Chattanooga is home to a considerable number of manufacturing and service industries, including Chattem, the first Coca-Cola bottling plant in the world; the Chattanooga Bakery, and McKee Foods Corporation, which makes Little Debbie brand snacks. The city is home to many distribution and manufacturing facilities as well, including Ferrara Candy Company, DuPont, and Amazon.com.

Chattanooga Population Growth

Since the 2010 census, Chattanooga's population growth has outpaced Knoxville, making it the second fastest-growing big city in Tennessee. While Knoxville is still ahead of Chattanooga in terms of total population at 184,280 versus 173,800 in mid-2014, Chattanooga may soon surpass Knoxville as the largest city in East Tennessee.

Chattanooga is mainly attracting new residents with its low cost of living and diverse economy and jobs market. Chattanooga's population growth has outpaced the national average for more than 20 years, and this trend is expected to continue.

Chattanooga Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Chattanooga was:

White: 62.30%
Black or African American: 31.36%
Asian: 2.67%
Two or more races: 2.37%
Other race: 1.10%
Native American: 0.16%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.03%

The current population of Chattanooga, Tennessee is 184,561, based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates. The US Census estimates the 2018 population at 181,918.The last official US Census in 2010 recorded the population at 167,674.

Chattanooga, Tennessee Population 2021

2019 and 2020 population is estimated by projecting the raw 2018 numbers.

Year	Total Population	Growth	Annual Growth Rate
2021	573,918	4,362	0.76%
2020	569,556	4,362	0.77%
2019	565,194	4,362	0.77%
2018	560,832	4,879	0.87%
2017	555,953	4,094	0.74%
2016	551,859	4,654	0.84%
2015	547,205	3,022	0.55%
2014	544,183	2,002	0.37%
2013	542,181	4,078	0.75%
2012	538,103	4,482	0.83%
2011	533,621	4,490	0.84%
2010	529,131		0.00%

Chattanooga Metro Area Population by Year

Population by Race

Race	Population	Percentage
White	111,939	62.30%
Black or African American	56,348	31.36%
Asian	4,805	2.67%
Two or More Races	4,265	2.37%
Some Other Race	1,985	1.10%
American Indian and Alaska Native	290	0.16%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	58	0.03%

Chattanooga Population by Race

Chattanooga Population Pyramid 2021

Chattanooga Population by Age

Chattanooga Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Chattanooga Household Types

Type	Owner	Renter
Married	75%	25%
All	52.6%	47.4%
Male	47%	53%
Non Family	41.9%	58.1%
Female	35.4%	64.6%

52.6%

Rate of Home Ownership

Chattanooga Households and Families

Type	Count	Average Size	Owned
All	75,940	2.25	52.6
Non Family	36,477	1.24	41.9
Married	26,015	3.06	75
Female	10,350	3.44	35.4
Male	3,098	3.28	47

3.11

Average Family Size

2.25

Average Household Size

Chattanooga Households by Type

Education Attained	Count	Percentage
Less Than 9th Grade	5,186	4.12%
9th to 12th Grade	10,581	8.41%
High School Graduate	34,795	27.66%
Some College	26,813	21.31%
Associates Degree	10,669	8.48%
Bachelors Degree	24,383	19.38%
Graduate Degree	13,375	10.63%

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Race

Name	Total	High School	Bachelors
White	77,428	71,520	29,913
Black	37,664	31,184	4,832
Hispanic	5,573	3,181	835
Asian	3,440	2,677	1,674
Multiple Races	1,603	1,396	569
Other Race	932	530	119
Native American	247	226	43
Islander	46	46	35

The highest rate of high school graduation is among islander people with a rate of 100.00%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among islander people with a rate of 76.09%.

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Race

Name	Average	Male	Female
Overall	$35,514	$40,050	$31,454
Less Than High School	$18,684	$19,959	$15,994
High School Grad	$25,857	$30,199	$22,433
Some College	$32,290	$36,265	$29,620
Bachelors Degree	$50,170	$61,264	$43,408
Graduate Degree	$60,643	$76,010	$50,565

$35,514

Average Earnings

$40,050

Average Male

$31,454

Average Female

Chattanooga Earnings by Educational Attainment

Chattanooga Language by Age

Chattanooga Language

91.23% of Chattanooga residents speak only English, while 8.77% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 5.16% of the population.

Chattanooga Language

Chattanooga Poverty by Race

Name	Total	In Poverty	Poverty Rate
Black	54,667	14,940	27.33%
White	97,441	10,820	11.10%
Hispanic	11,095	3,218	29.00%
Multiple	4,060	913	22.49%
Other	1,937	670	34.59%
Asian	4,704	265	5.63%
Native	290	73	25.17%
Islander	58	44	75.86%

17.64%

Overall Poverty Rate

16.44%

Male Poverty Rate

18.70%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in Chattanooga

The race most likely to be in poverty in Chattanooga is Islander, with 75.86% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in Chattanooga is Asian, with 5.63% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 3.89%. Among those working part-time, it was 22.17%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 26.52%.

Chattanooga Poverty

Name	Poverty
Less Than High School	36.25%
High School	17.78%
Some College	10.69%
Bachelors or Greater	5.20%

Chattanooga Poverty Rate by Education

Name	Poverty
Female Unemployed	50.35%
Male Unemployed	34.18%
Female Employed	9.67%
Male Employed	6.48%

Chattanooga Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Chattanooga Income by Household Type

Name	Median	Mean
Households	$45,527	$69,197
Families	$63,970	$89,948
Married Families	$82,834	$112,498
Non Families	$31,707	$45,650

Income by Household Type

Chattanooga Marital Status

Marriage Rates

38.0%

Overall Marriage Rate

40.8%

Male Marriage Rate

35.5%

Female Marriage Rate

Chattanooga Married by Age and Sex

Chattanooga Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 35-44.

Chattanooga Marital Status by Race

Chattanooga Marital Status

9,889

Number of Veterans

9,129

Male Veterans

760

Female Veterans

War	Veterans
Vietnam	3,564
First Gulf War	1,994
Second Gulf War	1,429
Korea	771
World War II	521

Chattanooga Veterans by War

Age Group	Veterans
65 to 74	2,513
35 to 54	2,313
75+	2,303
55 to 64	2,098
18 to 34	662

Chattanooga Veterans by Age

Name	Veterans	% of Total
White	7,330	7.80%
Black	2,421	5.59%
Hispanic	148	2.17%
2 or More	108	5.12%
Indian	16	7.17%
Asian	10	0.26%
Other	4	0.34%

Chattanooga Veterans by Race

Chattanooga Veterans by Education

10.77%

Veteran Poverty Rate

33.17%

Veteran Disability Rate

Chattanooga Veterans by Education

61.9%

Labor Force Participation

58.1%

Employment Rate

6.1%

Unemployment Rate

Chattanooga Employment by Age

Chattanooga Employment by Race

Chattanooga Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

60.37%

Born in Tennessee

93.60%

Native Born

6.40%

Foreign Born

4.21%

Non Citizen

2.19%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

93.60% of Chattanooga residents were born in the United States, with 60.37% having been born in Tennessee. 4.21% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

Chattanooga Place of Birth

Year	Population	Growth	Annual Growth Rate
2021	184,561	881	0.48%
2020	183,680	881	0.48%
2019	182,799	881	0.48%
2018	181,918	2,388	1.33%
2017	179,530	1,784	1.00%
2016	177,746	1,346	0.76%
2015	176,400	1,079	0.62%
2014	175,321	-4	-0.00%
2013	175,325	1,353	0.78%
2012	173,972	1,631	0.95%
2011	172,341	1,767	1.04%
2010	170,574	15,020	0.93%
2000	155,554	3,088	0.20%
1990	152,466	-17,048	-1.05%
1980	169,514	49,591	3.52%
1970	119,923	-10,086	-0.80%
1960	130,009	-1,032	-0.08%
1950	131,041	2,878	0.22%
1940	128,163	8,365	0.68%
1930	119,798	61,903	7.54%
1920	57,895	13,291	2.64%
1910	44,604	14,450	3.99%
1900	30,154	1,054	0.36%
1890	29,100	16,208	8.48%
1880	12,892	6,799	7.78%
1870	6,093		0.00%

Chattanooga, Tennessee Population 2021

Population Density in Chattanooga

Chattanooga Facts

Chattanooga Population Growth

Chattanooga Demographics

Chattanooga, Tennessee Population 2021

Chattanooga Metro Area Population by Year

Population by Race

Chattanooga Population by Race

Chattanooga Population Pyramid 2021

Chattanooga Median Age

Chattanooga Adults

Chattanooga Age Dependency

Chattanooga Sex Ratio

Chattanooga Population by Age

Chattanooga Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Chattanooga Household Types

Chattanooga Households and Families

Chattanooga Households by Type

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Race

Chattanooga Educational Attainment by Race

Chattanooga Earnings by Educational Attainment

Chattanooga Language by Age

Chattanooga Language

Chattanooga Language

Chattanooga Poverty by Race

Poverty in Chattanooga

Chattanooga Poverty

Chattanooga Poverty Rate by Education

Chattanooga Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

Chattanooga Income by Household Type

Income by Household Type

Chattanooga Marital Status

Marriage Rates

Chattanooga Married by Age and Sex

Chattanooga Marriage

Chattanooga Marital Status by Race

Chattanooga Marital Status

Chattanooga Veterans by War

Chattanooga Veterans by Age

Chattanooga Veterans by Race

Chattanooga Veterans by Education

Chattanooga Veterans by Education

Chattanooga Employment by Age

Chattanooga Employment by Race

Chattanooga Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Place of Birth

Chattanooga Place of Birth

Chattanooga Population by Year