Memphis, Tennessee had 609,647 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #29 nationally and #2 in Tennessee. cost of living runs 7.8% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $75,166/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
Population shrank 3.0% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 628,510 → 2025: 609,647 (-3.0%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
628,510
April 1, 2020
2020
628,282
July 1, 2020
2021
622,541
July 1, 2021
2022
618,901
July 1, 2022
2023
615,634
July 1, 2023
2024
614,222
July 1, 2024
2025
609,647
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population shrank 0.1% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 651,873 → 2019: 651,073 (-0.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
651,873
April 1, 2010
2010
652,326
July 1, 2010
2011
655,341
July 1, 2011
2012
658,786
July 1, 2012
2013
657,146
July 1, 2013
2014
654,990
July 1, 2014
2015
654,106
July 1, 2015
2016
652,548
July 1, 2016
2017
650,878
July 1, 2017
2018
651,104
July 1, 2018
2019
651,073
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Memphis?
Median household income is 33% below the U.S. median ($51,736 vs $77,719); 23.1% live in poverty — 10.6 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Memphis from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
51,736-33.4% vs US
±1,072
Per capita income
33,100-23.5% vs US
±933
Population in poverty
23.1%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 44% below the U.S. median ($169,000 vs $303,400); median rent is 12% below ($1,181 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 3.3×, making it 1.2× as affordable as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Memphis. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.9%
Memphis (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
283,593
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
9.2%-34.5% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Memphis sits in Shelby County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Shelby County
19.0%
$65,005
4.5%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Memphis's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
72,996
$1,374 / wk
#2
Transportation and warehousing (48-49)
66,573
$1,629 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
43,896
$857 / wk
#4
Administrative and waste services (56)
38,724
$875 / wk
#5
Accommodation and food services (72)
38,226
$503 / wk
What workers earn in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
39,160
$37,910
$18.22
Stockers and Order Fillers
15,910
$36,750
$17.67
Fast Food and Counter Workers
14,810
$27,730
$13.33
Cashiers
12,140
$27,750
$13.34
Office Clerks, General
10,450
$36,840
$17.71
Customer Service Representatives
9,880
$39,830
$19.15
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
15,990
$60,070
$28.88
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
15,920
$30,200
$14.52
Registered Nurses · benchmark
13,570
$79,250
$38.10
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
10,580
$100,760
$48.44
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 7.8% below the U.S. average (RPP 92.2); utilities run 25.9% below (RPP 74.1) — the metro's utility affordability is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 92.2
−7.8% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,274/mo
FY2026 · Memphis, TN-MS-AR HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
0%
no state income tax · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$6,264/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$3,978/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Tennessee · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
7.7% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (8.4% of residents 5+).
Where Memphis's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
7.7%-45.1% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
88.5%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish8.4%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
Hottest month: July (91°F avg high). Coldest: January (32°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 55.5 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Memphis from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk score: 99.4/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Tornado (99.8).
Natural-hazard exposure for Memphis from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Shelby County
99.4
Relatively High
Tornado · score 99.8 · Very High
Cold Wave · score 99.8 · Very High
Heat Wave · score 99.6 · Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
15 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 86% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Memphis from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
15 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
12
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
85.9%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
85.9%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
318,641
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Memphis sits at state rank #2 among 345 cities in Tennessee. Nearby in the state ranking:
Memphis is ranked #29 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Portland, OR · #28 · 635,109 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Baltimore, MD · #30 · 569,997 residents.
Quick travel facts for Memphis
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Memphis International Airport(MEM) ·
5 mi 7 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Oct · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Memphis is 4748000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
