Population data released last month show that Tennessee’s population grew by 83,000 people in 2022. This increase is largely thanks to one phenomenon: domestic net migration.
The occurrence is when more people move to a state than leave it. In 2022, over 81,000 more people moved into Tennessee than left. International migration brought an additional 8,000 residents.
After population growth lulled in the early pandemic years, Tennessee is seeing some of the highest increases in the past decade and a half. The domestic migration helped keep the state’s population afloat as it saw more deaths than births last year — a 9,000-person loss.
Tennessee, which has now surpassed Massachusetts as the 15th most populous state, is largely in line with the rest of the South. The U.S. Census Bureau data identifies the region as the fastest-growing geographic area, and the only region that saw a positive domestic net migration.
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