The Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station communities showed the highest growth in the state, according to the American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates released by the US Census Bureau on Thursday.
Since the last data release in 2012, the census tracts—located south of Nashville and roughly bounded by Interstate 65, Interstate 840, and Columbia Pike—grew by 6,190 people from 21,051 to 27,241.
Updated statistics for each of Tennessee’s nearly 1,500 census tracts were included in the 2013–17 ACS data. Tracts are sub-county sized and are used to tabulate population and other demographic information.
Across the state, 268 tracts (18 percent) showed statistically significant increases in population. Measurable declines were seen in 90 tracts (6 percent).
Neighboring areas in metro Nashville continued to lead growth across the state. Twelve of the 20 fastest-growing tracts were located in the 14-county metro area. Nashville accounted for 46 percent of tracts with increases.
“Population change across communities tends to be uneven,” said Tim Kuhn, director of the Tennessee State Data Center. “These small-area trend numbers give insight into where communities are growing—or declining—relative to the state as whole.
“Changing population affects demand for services and infrastructure, and it’s important for communities to be able to understand both the location and the degree of change.”
Of the 90 tracts in the state showing statistically significant declines in population, 29 were located in rural areas and 28 were found in metro Memphis.
“Aside from growth in Middle Tennessee, the decreasing population stands out in some rural counties and in the core of Memphis and Shelby County,” Mr. Kuhn said.
Thursday’s release features data collected between 2013 and 2017 on more than 40 demographic, housing, social, and economic topics, including subjects such as commuting, education, employment, home value, income, poverty and health insurance.
As the nation’s largest household survey, the ACS is the only annual data set that produces this range of statistics for all of the nation’s 3,142 counties. For the three-fourths of counties with populations too small to produce single-year statistics—2,323 counties—it is the only available data set and covers all geographic areas, regardless of size, down to the block-group level. To access the five-year ACS statistics, see the US Census Bureau website.
A local partner to the US Census Bureau, the Tennessee State Data Center is housed within the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, a part of UT’s Haslam College of Business. Its mission is to provide efficient access to US census data and products, training and technical assistance to data users, and feedback to the Census Bureau on data usability, as well as assisting with state and local government data needs and operational issues.