Watchout Knoxville, Chattanooga's Hot On Your Population Toes
The U.S. Census Bureau revised Chattanooga's population Wednesday, putting it at 168,293, marking 8.2% growth since 2000. During the same time period, Knoxville grew 4.9% boosting its population to 182,337.
Chattanooga is 14,044 behind Knoxville right now, gaining on the Sunsphere City by roughly 667 residents every year. If both cities continue their current growth trends, Chattanooga will pass Knoxville as Tennessee's 3rd largest city around 2030.
The 2006 census includes college students enrolled for the fall semester. Here's where the numbers get interesting. UT Knoxville's undergraduate enrollment in 2006 was 20,430, while UT Chattanooga's was 8,923... meaning Knoxville received an 11,507 boost, thanks to the big orange. Remove both universities from the census figures and Chattanooga lacks 2,537 residents to Knoxville.
Knoxville has little room left to annex in order to grow, while Chattanooga could take Lookout Valley, Ooltewah, etc. to make further gains. Mayor Ron Littlefield says several firehall projects need to be worked out before any annexations can take place.
Tennessee's 2006 City Census:
- Memphis - 670,902
- Nashville - 578,698
- Knoxville - 182,337
- Chattanooga - 168,293
- Clarksville - 113,175
- Mursfreesboro - 92,559
- Jackson - 62,711
- Johnson City - 59,866
- Franklin - 55,870
- Bartlett - 46,932
Of course, you can't do that because you can't tell how many of those students just moved from Mom & Dad's to a dorm and how many came from out of state. But, it's still interesting to consider.
Apparently there is a
Apparently there is a section of Lookout Valley that is not, and the unannexed area splits Chattanooga. The same could be said for Ooltewah. Drive down a stretch of Lee Highway and one minute you'll be in Chattanooga, then unincorporated Hamilton County, then Collegedale. Go figure.
What are the metropolitan populations sizes?
Knoxville's metro area is significantly larger than the Chatt - which is one reason that Knox and the 8 little sister counties have so much congestion.
Ditto for Nashville
Census figures list Nashville as a "smaller" city than Memphis. But the Nashville area includes Murfreesboro, Franklin, Hendersonville, etc. making it much larger than Memphis. In fact, Nashville is the 30th largest DMA in the country. By comparison, Chattanooga is 86th while Knoxville is 58th. Even if Chattanooga bests Knoxville in population size, I agree, the Knoxville DMA will still be larger.
Post new comment
Recent blog posts
- Tennessee Beats Memphis 56-28
- 11/5/09 Belvoir Christian Academy Pre-K and K!
- 11/4/09 Dade Elementary 4th Grade!!
- JOE FRUGAL: FREE Precious Places DVD & Pre Black Friday Deals Begin
- 110/3/09 Davis Elementary Kindergarten!!
- JOE FRUGAL: Free First of the Month Grocery Coupons
- Halloween Treat: Vols Mash Gamecocks
- 10/30/09 This Week's Garden of the Week!
- What Do We Know About South Carolina Football?
- 10/29/09 Naomi Elementary 3rd Grade!!!
AP News Video
Recent comments
- I agree with you. I knew the
1 day 7 hours ago - WOW! What a buch of pervs!
1 day 8 hours ago - Some more sour grapes from
1 day 8 hours ago - East Ridge DUMP
1 day 8 hours ago - Typical Genius
1 day 8 hours ago - I like the way you three
1 day 8 hours ago - morality
1 day 9 hours ago - I'm sure they were all
1 day 12 hours ago - i agree with the first
1 day 12 hours ago - Guns in a city park? Say it ain't so Mr. Mayor.
1 day 12 hours ago





















Lookout Valley is already in
Lookout Valley is already in the city.