Tennessee's Black Population
[Significance of Regional Difference continued]
For the state as a whole, the counties with the largest absolute increase of blacks were (1) Shelby (47,557), (2) Davidson (26,034), (3) Rutherford (15,574), (4) Montgomery (7,134), (5) Hamilton (5,895), (6) Madison (5,826), (7) Knox (5,058), (8) Summer (2,771), (9) Wilson (1,734), and (10) Williamson (1,377). Two interesting observations can be made concerning these counties. First, six of these 10 counties contain cities of 75,000-plus population, illustrating the urban migration of blacks. Second, five of the 10 counties already had a black-to-total population percentage higher than the state average of 16.7 percent. Among these 10 counties, two are in the Western Division of the state, six are in the Middle Division, and two are in the Eastern Division.
Variations of gains and losses of blacks can be seen in the three regions. In the Western Division, 52 percent (11) of the counties had net gains in black population, while 48 percent (10) experienced a net loss. Overall, the black population in the region grew by 9.9 percent (54,786 blacks), but 53,383 (97.4 percent) of this total was due to increases in two counties, Shelby and Madison, which grew at a rate of 25.6 percent. Thus, the net gain for the balance of the region was only 1,403 blacks, and the growth rate was only 2.6 percent, between 2000 and 2010.
In the Middle Division, 36.6 percent (15) of the counties suffered a net loss in black population, while 58.5 percent (24) had a net gain, and 4.9 percent (2) had no change in black population. Overall, the black population in the region grew by 22 percent, which was the largest increase of the three divisions. Again, however, as in the Western Division, much of this growth was concentrated in those counties that contained cities of 75,000-plus population. Of the increase of 54,624 blacks in the division, six counties accounted for 98.6 percent of the growth: Davidson, Rutherford, Montgomery, Summer, Wilson, and Williamson. The net gain for the balance of the region was only 779 blacks for a growth rate of only 1.4 percent. The largest percentage of gains and losses are to be found among those counties that had very low black population. For example, Jackson County gained 14 blacks for an increase of 87.5 percent, while Sequatchie County lost only one black for a net percentage loss of -4.5 percent.
In the Eastern Division, no counties suffered a net loss in black population, 97.0 percent (32) of the counties had a net gain, and 3 percent (1) had no change in black population. Overall, the black population of the region grew by 11.3 percent, and, as in the other regions, most of the growth was concentrated in counties with large urban populations. The black population increased by 14,317, and 94.3 percent of the increases were in the counties of Hamilton, Knox, Washington, Bradley, Sullivan, Morgan, and Sevier. As in the Middle Division, the largest percentage gains and losses were to be found generally among those counties with a low black population. Thus, Morgan County, which was only 3.7 percent black in 2010, registered the largest increase, 83.2 percent. Also, Sevier County, with only 0.8 percent black, registered the second largest increase, 79.5 percent.
continued: Regional Distribution and Conclusion