This story is free to read.

Hamilton County likely to lose status as state’s fourth-largest county

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Downtown Chattanooga is seen in this view looking south along Broad Street from a parking garage. RiverCity Co. is hiring consultants to help study ways to energize the riverfront from Fourth Street to the River, including Hawk Hill. The area was photographed on December 5, 2019. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Downtown Chattanooga is seen in this view looking south along Broad Street from a parking garage. RiverCity Co. is hiring consultants to help study ways to energize the riverfront from Fourth Street to the River, including Hawk Hill. The area was photographed on December 5, 2019.

By Andy Sher December 11, 2019 5 min read

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s population is estimated to grow by 1 million over the next 20 years to nearly 7.8 million, according to the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee.

Half of the growth is expected to occur in Middle Tennessee. That population is soaring as a number of people flock to trendy Nashville and nearby communities, along with a number of national and international companies moving some operations or even their corporate headquarters to the region.

Because of those trends, Hamilton County is now expected to lose its status as the state’s fourth most populous county in just six years to Rutherford County (Murfreesboro), which adjoins Metro Nashville.

Hamilton County’s population is expected to grow between 2018 to 2026 from 364,286 to 384,624 people, a 20,338-person or 5.5% increase. But Rutherford’s 2018 population of 324,890 is pegged to see nearly 20% growth, taking it to 389,816 by 2026 and edging out Hamilton.

By 2040, the Boyd Center estimates Hamilton’s population will be 492,535 people, while Rutherford would be at 505,396.