Is being in an area of Tennessee that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Memphis and Knoxville, while others want peace and quiet like in Bolivar and Madisonville, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Tennessee have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Volunteer State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
326.2% growth since 2010 · 6,348 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
181.7% growth since 2010 · 9,723 net new residents
Located in
Williamson County, Tennessee
Nolensville is a town in Williamson County, Tennessee. The population was 5,861 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
119.4% growth since 2010 · 30,350 net new residents
Located in
Williamson County, Tennessee
Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties, Tennessee, located approximately 30 miles south of Nashville. Spring Hill’s population as of 2014 was 34,269.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
91.9% growth since 2010 · 20,151 net new residents
Located in
Wilson County, Tennessee
Mt. Juliet is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee. A suburb of Nashville, it is approximately 17 miles east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between two major national east-west routes, Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 70. As of the 2015 special census, the city has a total population of 28,156. Mt. Juliet is the largest city in Wilson County. The official city charter has the name listed as Mt. Juliet, however the United States Postal Service lists the name as Mount Juliet.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
79.6% growth since 2010 · 2,397 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
77.8% growth since 2010 · 19,600 net new residents
Located in
Wilson County, Tennessee
Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
71.6% growth since 2010 · 4,164 net new residents
Located in
Fayette County, Tennessee
Oakland is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. In 2010 the population of the town was 6,623, a gain of 417.8% since 2000, for the largest gain of any municipality in the tri-state area of Memphis TN-MS-AR.
In June 2007, although much smaller in population than its counterparts, Oakland had the highest number of building permits issued for any suburb in the Memphis metropolitan area, including Southaven and Olive Branch, Mississippi, and Collierville, Tennessee. Retail stores make up most of the commercial business. Large retail stores located in Oakland, Include Walmart, Kroger, and Walgreens.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
66.9% growth since 2010 · 19,448 net new residents
Located in
Sumner County, Tennessee
Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 30,678 at the 2010 census and 32,307 in 2013. Named for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, the city was established on the Cumberland River and made the county seat of Sumner County in 1802. It is located about 30.6 miles northeast of the state capital of Nashville, Tennessee.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
57.4% growth since 2010 · 58,843 net new residents
Located in
Rutherford County, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in, and the county seat of, Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the 2010 census, up from 68,816 residents certified in 2000. In 2016, census estimates showed a population of 131,947. The city is the center of population of Tennessee, located 34 miles southeast of downtown Nashville in the Nashville metropolitan area of Middle Tennessee. It is Tennessee’s fastest growing major city and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Murfreesboro is also home to Middle Tennessee State University, the second largest undergraduate university in the state of Tennessee, with 22,729 total students as of fall 2014.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
54.3% growth since 2010 · 4,206 net new residents
Trousdale County, also known as Hartsville/Trousdale County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,870. Its county seat is Hartsville, with which it shares a uniquely formed consolidated city-county government. With an area of just 117 square miles, it is Tennessee’s smallest county.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Tennessee’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Tennessee’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Volunteer State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 101 Tennessee cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Volunteer State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Tennessee.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Tennessee For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thompson’s Station | 8,294 | 1,946 | 326.2% | 6,348 |
| 2 | Nolensville | 15,074 | 5,351 | 181.7% | 9,723 |
| 3 | Spring Hill | 55,765 | 25,415 | 119.4% | 30,350 |
| 4 | Mount Juliet | 42,073 | 21,922 | 91.9% | 20,151 |
| 5 | Medina | 5,407 | 3,010 | 79.6% | 2,397 |
| 6 | Lebanon | 44,788 | 25,188 | 77.8% | 19,600 |
| 7 | Oakland | 9,979 | 5,815 | 71.6% | 4,164 |
| 8 | Gallatin | 48,532 | 29,084 | 66.9% | 19,448 |
| 9 | Murfreesboro | 161,445 | 102,602 | 57.4% | 58,843 |
| 10 | Hartsville/Trousdale County | 11,957 | 7,751 | 54.3% | 4,206 |
| 11 | Arlington | 15,205 | 9,925 | 53.2% | 5,280 |
| 12 | White House | 14,631 | 9,764 | 49.8% | 4,867 |
| 13 | Smyrna | 56,692 | 38,102 | 48.8% | 18,590 |
| 14 | Franklin | 87,133 | 59,905 | 45.5% | 27,228 |
| 15 | Alcoa | 12,222 | 8,473 | 44.2% | 3,749 |
| 16 | Collegedale | 11,330 | 7,937 | 42.7% | 3,393 |
| 17 | Clarksville | 176,456 | 126,148 | 39.9% | 50,308 |
| 18 | Atoka | 10,385 | 7,629 | 36.1% | 2,756 |
| 19 | Fairview | 10,009 | 7,500 | 33.5% | 2,509 |
| 20 | Pleasant View | 5,276 | 3,962 | 33.2% | 1,314 |
| 21 | Lenoir City | 11,110 | 8,360 | 32.9% | 2,750 |
| 22 | La Vergne | 40,243 | 30,367 | 32.5% | 9,876 |
| 23 | Columbia | 45,441 | 34,482 | 31.8% | 10,959 |
| 24 | Manchester | 12,944 | 9,899 | 30.8% | 3,045 |
| 25 | Lafayette | 5,727 | 4,383 | 30.7% | 1,344 |
| 26 | Brentwood | 45,556 | 35,331 | 28.9% | 10,225 |
| 27 | Jonesborough | 6,232 | 4,875 | 27.8% | 1,357 |
| 28 | Sevierville | 18,397 | 14,477 | 27.1% | 3,920 |
| 29 | Hendersonville | 63,091 | 49,725 | 26.9% | 13,366 |
| 30 | Shelbyville | 24,661 | 19,769 | 24.7% | 4,892 |
| 31 | Lakeland | 14,192 | 11,503 | 23.4% | 2,689 |
| 32 | Ashland City | 5,424 | 4,405 | 23.1% | 1,019 |
| 33 | Collierville | 51,515 | 41,983 | 22.7% | 9,532 |
| 34 | Portland | 13,449 | 10,973 | 22.6% | 2,476 |
| 35 | Farragut | 24,634 | 20,154 | 22.2% | 4,480 |
| 36 | Cookeville | 36,088 | 29,722 | 21.4% | 6,366 |
| 37 | Cleveland | 48,829 | 40,507 | 20.5% | 8,322 |
| 38 | Maryville | 32,392 | 26,925 | 20.3% | 5,467 |
| 39 | Springfield | 19,255 | 16,097 | 19.6% | 3,158 |
| 40 | Signal Mountain | 8,860 | 7,481 | 18.4% | 1,379 |
| 41 | Smithville | 5,288 | 4,466 | 18.4% | 822 |
| 42 | Kingsport | 56,262 | 47,852 | 17.6% | 8,410 |
| 43 | Lewisburg | 12,861 | 10,953 | 17.4% | 1,908 |
| 44 | Dunlap | 5,678 | 4,843 | 17.2% | 835 |
| 45 | Crossville | 12,428 | 10,625 | 17.0% | 1,803 |
| 46 | Johnson City | 72,222 | 61,758 | 16.9% | 10,464 |
| 47 | Madisonville | 5,241 | 4,503 | 16.4% | 738 |
| 48 | Winchester | 9,799 | 8,430 | 16.2% | 1,369 |
| 49 | Dickson | 16,424 | 14,299 | 14.9% | 2,125 |
| 50 | Munford | 6,588 | 5,779 | 14.0% | 809 |
| 51 | Goodlettsville | 17,597 | 15,448 | 13.9% | 2,149 |
| 52 | Tullahoma | 21,103 | 18,561 | 13.7% | 2,542 |
| 53 | Lawrenceburg | 11,844 | 10,423 | 13.6% | 1,421 |
| 54 | Oak Ridge | 32,693 | 28,925 | 13.0% | 3,768 |
| 55 | Chattanooga | 185,783 | 164,481 | 13.0% | 21,302 |
| 56 | Greenbrier | 6,971 | 6,195 | 12.5% | 776 |
| 57 | Sweetwater | 6,532 | 5,807 | 12.5% | 725 |
| 58 | Morristown | 31,527 | 28,749 | 9.7% | 2,778 |
| 59 | Knoxville | 195,185 | 178,202 | 9.5% | 16,983 |
| 60 | Pigeon Forge | 6,375 | 5,831 | 9.3% | 544 |
| 61 | Millington | 11,289 | 10,351 | 9.1% | 938 |
| 62 | Bartlett | 56,876 | 52,754 | 7.8% | 4,122 |
| 63 | Church Hill | 7,139 | 6,630 | 7.7% | 509 |
| 64 | Athens | 14,471 | 13,491 | 7.3% | 980 |
| 65 | McKenzie | 5,631 | 5,254 | 7.2% | 377 |
| 66 | Dayton | 7,625 | 7,118 | 7.1% | 507 |
| 67 | Soddy-Daisy | 13,231 | 12,393 | 6.8% | 838 |
| 68 | Jackson | 68,435 | 64,418 | 6.2% | 4,017 |
| 69 | East Ridge | 22,070 | 20,778 | 6.2% | 1,292 |
| 70 | Kingston | 6,224 | 5,864 | 6.1% | 360 |
| 71 | Jefferson City | 8,579 | 8,096 | 6.0% | 483 |
| 72 | Milan | 8,244 | 7,796 | 5.7% | 448 |
| 73 | Savannah | 7,412 | 7,011 | 5.7% | 401 |
| 74 | Germantown | 40,673 | 38,655 | 5.2% | 2,018 |
| 75 | Clinton | 10,239 | 9,744 | 5.1% | 495 |
| 76 | Pulaski | 8,285 | 7,895 | 4.9% | 390 |
| 77 | Bristol | 27,636 | 26,427 | 4.6% | 1,209 |
| 78 | Henderson | 6,411 | 6,141 | 4.4% | 270 |
| 79 | Lexington | 7,962 | 7,641 | 4.2% | 321 |
| 80 | Fayetteville | 7,057 | 6,842 | 3.1% | 215 |
| 81 | Greeneville | 15,646 | 15,189 | 3.0% | 457 |
| 82 | Red Bank | 12,010 | 11,661 | 3.0% | 349 |
| 83 | McMinnville | 13,844 | 13,473 | 2.8% | 371 |
| 84 | Paris | 10,338 | 10,083 | 2.5% | 255 |
| 85 | Mount Carmel | 5,472 | 5,349 | 2.3% | 123 |
| 86 | Union City | 10,982 | 10,896 | 0.8% | 86 |
| 87 | Elizabethton | 14,374 | 14,306 | 0.5% | 68 |
| 88 | Rockwood | 5,566 | 5,592 | -0.5% | -26 |
| 89 | Martin | 10,915 | 11,083 | -1.5% | -168 |
| 90 | Erwin | 5,988 | 6,090 | -1.7% | -102 |
| 91 | Newport | 6,881 | 7,023 | -2.0% | -142 |
| 92 | La Follette | 7,273 | 7,585 | -4.1% | -312 |
| 93 | Millersville | 5,836 | 6,111 | -4.5% | -275 |
| 94 | Covington | 8,587 | 9,016 | -4.8% | -429 |
| 95 | Memphis | 618,980 | 654,876 | -5.5% | -35,896 |
| 96 | Harriman | 6,090 | 6,503 | -6.4% | -413 |
| 97 | Dyersburg | 15,979 | 17,213 | -7.2% | -1,234 |
| 98 | Bolivar | 5,144 | 5,551 | -7.3% | -407 |
| 99 | Brownsville | 9,622 | 10,392 | -7.4% | -770 |
| 100 | Ripley | 7,658 | 8,372 | -8.5% | -714 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 101 Tennessee cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Tennessee, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Tennessee are led by Thompson’s Station which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Tennessee are Thompson’s Station, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Mount Juliet, Medina, Lebanon, Oakland, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, and Hartsville/Trousdale County.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!
