county

Shelby County, TN

Demographic and economic profile of Shelby County, TN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Shelby County, TN anchors the Memphis metro with a population of 922,195 and a GDP per capita of $73,610, considerably above its median household income of $63,767, suggesting significant economic output relative to resident earnings. The labor force of roughly 64.9% participation includes 34.2% with a bachelor's degree or higher, with median worker earnings of $40,777 and relatively low housing costs — median home value of $229,700 and median gross rent of $1,170/month. The county carries notable headwinds, including a 7.2% unemployment rate, a 17.5% poverty rate, and a population that contracted 1.6% over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

910,530

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$63,767

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

35.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.6% since 2018

Shelby County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • Black or African American Alone482,006 (52.4%)
  • White Alone312,512 (34.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone40,378 (4.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race30,293 (3.3%)
  • Asian Alone27,121 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races22,140 (2.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish57,341
  2. 2.Other Indo-European7,520
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island5,729
  4. 4.Arabic4,043
  5. 5.Vietnamese3,273

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

7.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

40,311

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$73,610

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,666

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance97,550
  2. 2.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities59,166
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services46,152
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)44,501
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)38,204

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations162,464
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations88,293
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations78,532
  4. 4.Service Occupations70,370
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations26,626

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 2.40×)60,110
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.12×)11,092
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.06×)21,343
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.01×)20,345
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 0.97×)36,339

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$229,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,170/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

54.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99930,548 (15.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99920,918 (10.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99920,309 (10.3%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99919,148 (9.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99917,200 (8.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,99911,968 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

34.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,777

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone320,754 (76.6%)
  • Worked At Home45,387 (10.8%)
  • Carpooled39,259 (9.4%)
  • Walked5,257 (1.3%)
  • Other4,465 (1.1%)
  • Public Transit2,207 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.