Davidson County saw its population increase the most of any county in Tennessee last year, according to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK)’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research.
Tennessee’s second most populous county gained 9,281 residents from 2024 to 2025, going from 736,623 to 745,904.
The county experienced a 1.3 percent increase in population growth.
Rutherford County gained the second-largest number of residents from 2024 to 2025. The Middle Tennessee county increased its population from 380,086 to 386,352, a gain of 6,266 residents. This generated a 1.6 percent increase in Rutherford County’s population.
In addition to these two counties, Wilson County saw its population increase from 170,340 to 175,033, a gain of 4,693 residents. This led to its population increasing by 2.8 percent from 2024 to 2025.
UTK also examined the state’s fastest-growing counties by percentage.
Trousdale County experienced the highest percentage growth among counties in the state, rising 3.6 percent from 2024 to 2025. However, Trousdale County has a small population, which increased by only 434 people, from 12,189 to 12,623.
Maury County saw the second-highest population growth, rising from 114,456 in 2024 to 118,131 in 2025.
The third-fastest-growing population in a Tennessee county, based on percentage, was Van Buren County from 2024 to 2025. The county saw its population increase by 2.9 percent. Van Buren County’s population is small, meaning it increased by only 191 people during this period. The county’s population went from 6,683 to 6,874 residents.
Domestic migration was the biggest driver of the state’s population growth, according to UTK. Ninety-two percent of state counties “gained more domestic movers than they lost in 2025,” UTK noted.
The university said Tennessee domestic migration numbers are returning to pre-pandemic levels, saying the last two years have seen around 44,400 domestic movers relocate to the state. Before the COVID pandemic, it was around 42,400 people.
Last year, Tennessee saw a 35 percent drop in the number of residents who moved to the state, according to UTK.
In 2025, the Volunteer State added 63,785 new residents; however, this number is a decrease from 2024, when the state added over 98,200 new residents, a state record.
UTK said 81 of 95 Tennessee counties saw population growth last year, but the school noted around 66 percent of the state’s counties grew at a slower rate in 2025 than in 2024.
This followed a national trend in which nearly 80 percent of counties gained residents in 2024 but saw a decline or slow growth in 2025. UTK said the decline in international migration was the main driver of the population slowdown.
In total, 36 Tennessee counties saw a decrease in international migration.
Davidson County experienced a 58 percent decrease in international migration from 2024 to 2025, going from 14,102 to 5,887. Shelby County saw a 62 percent drop in international migration, from 9,807 to 3,774.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
