Shelby County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Shelby County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                755 1st  1.8%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           92,299  53rd   0.8%
Number of Farms                 79,280                600  59th   0.8%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                154  29th   111.6%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 906,825 1st  14.6%
2000 Census 5,689,283 897,472 1st  15.8%
1990 Census 4,877,203 826,330 1st  16.9%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 71,142 1st  8.8%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 8.6% 84th  51.7%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8          1,201.8 1st  797.1%
2000 Census                   138.0          1,189.4 1st  861.7%
1990 Census                   118.3          1,095.2 1st  925.5%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968         867,801 1st  24.0%
1990 Census            2,969,948         793,545 1st  26.7%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 9.4% 43rd  42.8%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 96.7% 1st  152.0%
1990 Census 60.9% 96.0% 2nd  157.7%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 33 93rd  91.6%
1990 Census 34 31 92nd  93.1%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 28.2% 4th 
18-24 9.6% 9.7% 20th 
25-44 30.2% 31.1% 14th 
45-64 23.2% 21.0% 93rd 
65 & over 12.4% 10.0% 89th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 27.5% 10th 
18-24 10.9% 11.4% 12th 
25-44 31.8% 33.6% 7th 
45-64 19.6% 17.1% 93rd 
65 & over 12.6% 10.4% 89th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Shelby County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 98.0 7th  102.8%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 6.3 92nd  58.9%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 2.8 7th  59.6%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Shelby County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $38,204 3rd  118.7%
2000 $26,097 $30,496 3rd  116.9%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 3.83% 28th  107.82%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $44,373 19th  104.7%
2000 $35,760 $41,048 9th  114.8%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.12% 91st  45.50%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 20.1% 73rd  127.22%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 29.6% 76th  131.56%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 12.4% 24th  94.74%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 12.9% 15th  80.80%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 21.6% 75th  136.66%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 20.1% 77th  142.52%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 5.6% 95th  226.27%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 6.3% 92nd  251.43%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Shelby County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               16.6 5th  116.9%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 58.8% 92nd  137.4%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 11.1% 80th  118.1%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7             104.2 2nd  129.1%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               21.1 94th  151.8%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                2.5 90th  192.3%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3                8.3 9th  89.2%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             205.5 19th  88.1%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             184.9 9th  85.9%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
78th 
59th 
78th 
Tennessee Shelby County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                2.3 8th  128.5%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                5.3 12th  125.2%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               21.0 86th  42.7%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 19.9% 3rd  233.4%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Shelby County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 8.6% 14th  90.2%
2000 4.0% 3.9% 25th  97.3%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 17.8% 59th  113.6%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Shelby County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 507,483 1 18.5%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.0% 25 5.9%
Construction 4.9% 4.0% 2 81.8%
Manufacturing 13.8% 7.6% 1 55.1%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 28.9% 1 130.5%
Information 1.8% 1.3% 2 72.7%
Financial Activities 5.2% 5.4% 1 103.6%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 14.5% 1 123.6%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 12.4% 2 100.3%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 9.6% 2 95.2%
Other Services 2.6% 2.9% 1 113.0%
Government 14.9% 13.4% 2 89.7%
Federal 1.8% 2.7% 1 152.9%
State 3.3% 2.1% 3 64.1%
Local 9.9% 8.6% 1 86.8%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
4th 
14th 
3rd 
4th 
1st 
10th 
1st 
21st 
5th 
2nd 
8th 
12th 
9th 
2nd 
2nd 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Shelby County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      716,648 7th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         4,659 15th 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 23,539,000 42nd 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Shelby County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $  942,897 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $  189,554 20.1%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%      118,723 12.6%
All Other               555,838 6.9%        70,831 7.5%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $    39,317 4.2%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $  714,026 75.7%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%      531,435 56.4%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%        37,123 3.9%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%      145,468 15.4%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Shelby County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $ 18,979,587
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $20,930 1st  98.8%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $4.09 1st 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $ 10,595,761
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $11,684 1st  105.2%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 8th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Shelby County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $   2,616,757 1st 15.3%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869         450,342 2nd 14.9%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355         245,040 2nd 6.4%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735         235,197 2nd 12.4%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201         222,457 3rd 12.2%
Stormwater               371,227         163,242 1st 44.0%
Community Development               367,547         159,706 1st 43.5%
Recreation            1,118,527         109,180 2nd 9.8%
Public Buildings               526,288           84,660 2nd 16.1%
Housing               100,189           60,674 1st 60.6%
Fire Protection               220,725           59,499 1st 27.0%
Public Health Facilities               323,093           58,870 2nd 18.2%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           40,166 13th 2.2%
Other Facilities                 32,755           13,873 1st 42.4%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785             6,708 7th 2.3%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             3,810 21st 1.6%
Solid Waste                 54,314             3,600 6th 6.6%
Telecommunications                 17,009             3,300 3rd 19.4%
Property Acquisition                   3,956                925 2nd 23.4%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
School System-wide Need                 63,021                    - 16th 0.0%
Grand Total  $       34,202,707  $   4,538,005 1st 13.3%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Shelby County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 80.8% 7th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 25.3% 4th 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 75.1% 4th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 20.8% 4th 
 Number of Post-secondary Institutions (2008)      
Four-year Colleges and Universities 77 15
Public 14 2
Private 63 13
Other Public Institutions 93 5
Community Colleges 13 1
Technology Centers 27 1
Two-Year Private Institutions 20 4
Off-campus Sites 33 3
2007 - 2008 Enrollment (full-time equivalent) at Post-secondary Institutions    
Four-year Colleges and Universities*          214,260              32,973
Public 134,696 23,202
Private 79,564 9,771
Other Public Institutions* 134,278 26,219
Community Colleges 80,454 11,445
Technology Centers 13,939 788
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 2,476
Off-campus Sites 28,836 11,510
* Note: By location of instiution, not county of residence of students
IX.  Public School Systems  (Total number of school systems is 136)
Statewide Shelby County Memphis City  
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                   47,196          109,698            
Percent of Statewide 5.0% 11.6%        
1997-1998                 834,318                   44,387            99,679            
Percent of Statewide 5.3% 11.9%        
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 2,809 10,019        
Percent Change 13.2% 6.3% 10.1%        
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 30.1% 79.6%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 10.5% 94.4%
Special Education 14.7% 16.0% 15.0%
English Language Learners 3.2% 2.5% 5.2%
Statewide Shelby County Memphis City  
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 100.0% 33.3%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 100.0% 100.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      16.2               15.3            
1997-1998                      15.8                      18.3               16.4            
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (2.1)                (1.1)                
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 95.0% 98.3%        
1997-1998 96.6% 98.1% 93.9%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 19.3% 1.1%
1997-1998 4.5% 3.2% 8.9%
*Classroom teachers include art, music and physical education teachers.  Because these auxiliary teachers are
included, ratios of students to classroom teachers do not represent and tend to be lower than actual class sizes.
Statewide Shelby County Memphis City  
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $7,381 $9,528
Percent of Statewide 95.3% 123.1%        
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,538 $5,802
Percent of Statewide 88.6% 113.2%        
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,842 $3,726        
Percent Change 51.1% 62.6% 64.2%        
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $51,651 $52,031
Percent of Statewide 115.2% 116.1%
1997-1998 $34,584 $37,386 $40,439
Percent of Statewide 108.1% 116.9%
Gain $10,236 $14,265 $11,592
Percent Change 29.6% 38.2% 28.7%        
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 47.2% 40.5%
Federal 10.8% 5.9% 14.7%
Local 41.6% 47.0% 44.8%
System Rank for Percent Local 14th  17th 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 45.3% 38.2%
Federal 11.0% 5.8% 13.7%
Local 43.5% 48.9% 48.1%
System Rank for Percent Local 14th  15th 
Statewide Shelby County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $3,126 7th 
Sources of Information for County Profiles
I. Geography & Demographics
U.S. Bureau of the Census--all data except for marriage and divorce rates.
www.census.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
TN Dept. of Health - marriage and divorce rates.
http://health.state.tn.us/
II. Income & Poverty
U.S. Bureau of the Census--median household income data & poverty rates.
www.census.gov
TN Dept. of Human Services--Food Stamp data and Families First data.
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.htm
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_tanf.htm
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - per capita income data
www.bea.gov
III. Health & Healthcare
TN Dept.of Health, Health Statistics & Research--pregnancy, births, mortality & healthcare access data.
http://health.state.tn.us/statistics/healthdata.htm
IV. Employment
TN Dept. Of Labor and Workforce Development - unemployment data. 
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/
U.S. Department of Labor - employment data.
ww.bls.gov/lau/home.htm
V. Value of Farmland and Agricultural Product Sold
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
VI. County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
TN County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), Resource Center--county revenue data.
www.ctas.utk.edu
TN Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessment--equalized assessed property values.
http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/taxaggr.htm
TN Dept. of Revenue--total taxable sales.
www.state.tn.us/revenue/files.htm
VII. Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--all data. 
http://tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure.html
VIII. Adult & Post-secondary Education
U.S. Bureau of the Census--educational attainment.
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
TN Higher Education Commission--post-secondary institution and enrollment data.
www.state.tn.us/thec
IX. Public School Systems (Total number of school systems is 136)
TN Department of Education--all data except fiscal capacity.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mdata.shtml
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--education fiscal capacity.
http://tn.gov/tacir/fiscalcapacity.html
Prepared by TACIR