More than 1 out of every 4 Tennesseans now live in the Nashville area.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Nashville and its surrounding areas are leading the state in population growth.

According to the Tennessee State Data Center, the Nashville metropolitan statistical area, which includes Murfreesboro and Franklin, had a 2015 population of more than 1.8 million people. That’s about 28 percent of Tennessee’s total pollution of 6.6 million.

Nashville ranked 36th out of 412 metropolitan statistical areas nationally for one-year growth from 2014 to 2015. The top 10 fastest-growing counties in Tennessee were either located in or bordered the Nashville area. They were Rutherford, Williamson, Wilson, Maury, Montgomery, Sumner, Dickson, Bedford, Davidson and Smith counties.

The Tennessee State Data Center is a partner to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is housed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

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Hamilton is the fourth largest county in the state, Bradley is 12th.