Why Did Nashville Have the Nation’s Largest Growth in White Residents?

The white population in America declined last year, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates. But, in Nashville’s metropolitan area, it surged more than anywhere else in the country.

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Across America in 2023, the Census counted more than 195 million white people (or 195,432,584 people, exactly) — down nearly half a million, or 0.2%, from the year before. That accounts for just over half the total U.S. population of about 334 million people.

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The greater Nashville metropolitan area, however, saw the country’s largest growth in its white population, which increased by 16,858 people, according to the Census.

The Nashville metro area, which in the Census calculation includes Davidson County, Murfreesboro and Franklin, had a total population of about 2.1 million people in 2023, up more than 31,000 people from the year before.

“We are seeing an influx of whites over other minorities, and I think it has to do with the type of jobs and industries that are coming here,” Rainey-Brown said.

More companies around Nashville, Rainey-Brown said, need to recruit minority applicants to increase the area’s diversity.

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