English Population in Tennessee by County : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to U.S. Census estimates, the English population in Tennessee stands at 856,499. Every county reports a non-zero population, with Davidson County leading at 74,247, followed by Knox County (67,002) and Shelby County (62,893). The combined total across counties is slightly lower than the statewide figure - a gap that may reflect rounding, data lag, or unassigned residents in certain census tracts. This analysis ranks all counties in Tennessee by their English population, offering a localized perspective on how the community is distributed across the state.

Top 5 counties with the largest English population in Tennessee

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  • 1
    Davidson County
    English population in Davidson County is 74,247
    10.46% of Davidson County population is English
  • 2
    Knox County
    English population in Knox County is 67,002
    13.75% of Knox County population is English
  • 3
    Shelby County
    English population in Shelby County is 62,893
    6.82% of Shelby County population is English
  • 4
    Hamilton County
    English population in Hamilton County is 50,448
    13.60% of Hamilton County population is English
  • 5
    Williamson County
    English population in Williamson County is 48,498
    19.05% of Williamson County population is English

Overview of English population in Tennessee

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey show Tennessee contains 856,499 English residents (12.3% of 7.0 million total state population), positioning the state at the 75th percentile nationally among U.S. states for English population concentrations.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: U.S. Census data records indicate Tennessee's English population of 12.3% exceeds the national average of 9.1% by a factor of 1.4.
  • Share of Total National Population: Official American Community Survey records show Tennessee hosts 856,499 English residents, representing 2.8% of the nation's total English population of 30.1 million, establishing the state as a significant demographic concentration center within national boundaries.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data indicates Tennessee's density of 20.8 English Americans per square mile exceeds the national average of 8.5 per square mile by two and a half times, establishing the state as a significant concentration center for English demographic communities.
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93 Counties in Tennessee Ranked by English Population

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show English populations across every county in Tennessee, with demographic distributions ranging from the highest population in Davidson County to the lowest in $rank_n_geo_name. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all counties included in this analysis*.
counties in Tennessee ranked by English population count
Rank by English Population
County
English Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Tennessee English Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Davidson County 74,247 10.46% 8.67%
2 Knox County 67,002 13.75% 7.82%
3 Shelby County 62,893 6.82% 7.34%
4 Hamilton County 50,448 13.60% 5.89%
5 Williamson County 48,498 19.05% 5.66%
6 Rutherford County 42,049 11.96% 4.91%
7 Sullivan County 31,114 19.48% 3.63%
8 28,599 14.26% 3.34%
9 23,888 17.74% 2.79%
10 21,467 9.42% 2.51%
11 20,828 13.56% 2.43%
12 17,869 12.97% 2.09%
13 14,106 14.28% 1.65%
14 13,500 12.30% 1.58%
15 12,206 15.61% 1.43%
16 11,440 11.57% 1.34%
17 11,118 13.66% 1.30%
18 10,949 19.06% 1.28%
19 10,832 15.27% 1.26%
20 10,810 17.29% 1.26%
21 10,054 9.59% 1.17%
22 9,614 12.94% 1.12%
23 8,877 16.08% 1.04%
24 8,777 15.72% 1.02%
25 8,127 14.94% 0.95%
26 7,315 12.96% 0.85%
27 7,312 12.83% 0.85%
28 6,849 15.25% 0.80%
29 6,821 11.57% 0.80%
30 6,818 10.50% 0.80%
31 6,315 15.22% 0.74%
32 6,294 11.63% 0.73%
33 6,005 11.87% 0.70%
34 5,859 14.09% 0.68%
35 5,626 12.94% 0.66%
36 5,355 8.73% 0.63%
37 5,165 14.50% 0.60%
38 5,119 10.88% 0.60%
39 5,077 11.90% 0.59%
40 4,822 14.97% 0.56%
41 4,769 9.30% 0.56%
42 4,546 11.49% 0.53%
43 4,425 14.54% 0.52%
44 4,414 13.26% 0.52%
45 4,287 14.78% 0.50%
46 4,274 15.39% 0.50%
47 4,162 12.87% 0.49%
48 4,110 11.65% 0.48%
49 3,933 10.72% 0.46%
50 3,858 10.57% 0.45%
51 3,735 11.33% 0.44%
52 3,731 13.11% 0.44%
53 3,626 14.06% 0.42%
54 3,399 13.47% 0.40%
55 3,331 13.92% 0.39%
56 3,263 10.67% 0.38%
57 2,977 15.71% 0.35%
58 2,899 14.35% 0.34%
59 2,888 12.66% 0.34%
60 2,866 13.52% 0.33%
61 2,845 10.19% 0.33%
62 2,791 14.63% 0.33%
63 2,763 10.65% 0.32%
64 2,759 10.24% 0.32%
65 2,744 15.18% 0.32%
66 2,708 12.33% 0.32%
67 2,642 12.86% 0.31%
68 2,507 12.45% 0.29%
69 2,281 15.56% 0.27%
70 2,228 13.58% 0.26%
71 2,121 13.05% 0.25%
72 2,007 7.88% 0.23%
73 2,006 11.28% 0.23%
74 2,005 14.47% 0.23%
75 1,989 16.74% 0.23%
76 1,794 13.13% 0.21%
77 1,755 9.91% 0.20%
78 1,663 10.43% 0.19%
79 1,659 6.65% 0.19%
80 1,627 12.73% 0.19%
81 1,567 8.87% 0.18%
82 1,559 8.93% 0.18%
83 1,349 10.32% 0.16%
84 1,306 8.76% 0.15%
85 1,293 11.24% 0.15%
86 1,264 18.62% 0.15%
87 1,064 7.63% 0.12%
88 846 13.44% 0.10%
89 773 9.03% 0.09%
90 743 8.96% 0.09%
91 713 14.09% 0.08%
92 629 8.25% 0.07%
93 492 7.35% 0.06%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks county in Tennessee by their English population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines English population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having English ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as English alone, while others identify as English along with another race (such as English and German).
  • We’ve used the “English alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the English population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as English alone or in combination in county. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as English .
  2. % of Total Tennessee English Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. English population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small English populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • County that don’t have any reported English population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where English populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.