TN · 2026 Census Gazetteer

Tennessee counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 95 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents95

Combined land41,224.9 mi²

Combined water905 mi²

Largest by landShelby County

Understanding Tennessee’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Trousdale County at 114.3 mi² to Shelby County at 752.8 mi². The largest has 6.6 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 1.8% of the combined county land in Tennessee.

The median county-equivalent land area is 436.1 mi², below the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Benton County has the most assigned water area, at 41.9 mi². Lake County has the highest water share, with water making up 14.5% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 95 entries, water accounts for 2.1% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in Tennessee to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	Shelby CountyGEOID 47157	752.8 mi²	28.8 mi²	3.7%
2	Wayne CountyGEOID 47181	734.1 mi²	1.6 mi²	0.2%
3	Fayette CountyGEOID 47047	704.1 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.2%
4	Cumberland CountyGEOID 47035	681.3 mi²	3.5 mi²	0.5%
5	Hardeman CountyGEOID 47069	667.8 mi²	2.6 mi²	0.4%
6	Monroe CountyGEOID 47123	635.8 mi²	16.8 mi²	2.6%
7	Greene CountyGEOID 47059	622.2 mi²	2 mi²	0.3%
8	Rutherford CountyGEOID 47149	619.5 mi²	4.5 mi²	0.7%
9	Lawrence CountyGEOID 47099	617.1 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.1%
10	Maury CountyGEOID 47119	613.1 mi²	2.5 mi²	0.4%
11	Hickman CountyGEOID 47081	612.5 mi²	0.1 mi²	0%
12	Giles CountyGEOID 47055	610.9 mi²	0.2 mi²	0%
13	Gibson CountyGEOID 47053	602.7 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.1%
14	Carroll CountyGEOID 47017	597.7 mi²	2.4 mi²	0.4%
15	Sevier CountyGEOID 47155	592.5 mi²	5.2 mi²	0.9%
16	Williamson CountyGEOID 47187	582.9 mi²	1.2 mi²	0.2%
17	Weakley CountyGEOID 47183	580.4 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.2%
18	Hardin CountyGEOID 47071	577.5 mi²	18.8 mi²	3.2%
19	Wilson CountyGEOID 47189	571.1 mi²	12.5 mi²	2.1%
20	Lincoln CountyGEOID 47103	570.3 mi²	0.4 mi²	0.1%
21	McNairy CountyGEOID 47109	562.8 mi²	0.8 mi²	0.1%
22	Henry CountyGEOID 47079	561.9 mi²	31.5 mi²	5.3%
23	Blount CountyGEOID 47009	558.8 mi²	7.8 mi²	1.4%
24	Madison CountyGEOID 47113	557.2 mi²	1.5 mi²	0.3%
25	Franklin CountyGEOID 47051	554.5 mi²	21.3 mi²	3.7%
26	Obion CountyGEOID 47131	544.9 mi²	10.6 mi²	1.9%
27	Hamilton CountyGEOID 47065	542.2 mi²	33.5 mi²	5.8%
28	Montgomery CountyGEOID 47125	539.2 mi²	4.7 mi²	0.9%
29	Haywood CountyGEOID 47075	533.1 mi²	1 mi²	0.2%
30	Scott CountyGEOID 47151	532.3 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.2%
31	Humphreys CountyGEOID 47085	530.8 mi²	25.9 mi²	4.7%
32	Sumner CountyGEOID 47165	529.5 mi²	13.8 mi²	2.5%
33	Morgan CountyGEOID 47129	522.2 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
34	Henderson CountyGEOID 47077	520 mi²	5.9 mi²	1.1%
35	Dyer CountyGEOID 47045	512.4 mi²	13.8 mi²	2.6%
36	Knox CountyGEOID 47093	508.4 mi²	17.5 mi²	3.3%
37	Davidson CountyGEOID 47037	503.5 mi²	21.8 mi²	4.1%
38	Fentress CountyGEOID 47049	498.6 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
39	Marion CountyGEOID 47115	498.3 mi²	14.1 mi²	2.7%
40	Dickson CountyGEOID 47043	489.9 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.3%
41	Hawkins CountyGEOID 47073	487.1 mi²	12.6 mi²	2.5%
42	Campbell CountyGEOID 47013	480.2 mi²	17.9 mi²	3.6%
43	Robertson CountyGEOID 47147	476.3 mi²	0.2 mi²	0%
44	Bedford CountyGEOID 47003	473.6 mi²	1.2 mi²	0.2%
45	Lauderdale CountyGEOID 47097	471.9 mi²	31 mi²	6.2%
46	Stewart CountyGEOID 47161	459.8 mi²	33.2 mi²	6.7%
47	Tipton CountyGEOID 47167	455.6 mi²	12.6 mi²	2.7%
48	Cocke CountyGEOID 47029	436.1 mi²	6.9 mi²	1.6%
49	Claiborne CountyGEOID 47025	434.6 mi²	6.9 mi²	1.6%
50	Polk CountyGEOID 47139	434.6 mi²	7.7 mi²	1.7%
51	Overton CountyGEOID 47133	433.5 mi²	1.3 mi²	0.3%
52	Warren CountyGEOID 47177	432.7 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.3%
53	McMinn CountyGEOID 47107	430.1 mi²	2.1 mi²	0.5%
54	Coffee CountyGEOID 47031	429 mi²	5.6 mi²	1.3%
55	Perry CountyGEOID 47135	414.8 mi²	8.1 mi²	1.9%
56	Sullivan CountyGEOID 47163	413.5 mi²	16.2 mi²	3.8%
57	Bledsoe CountyGEOID 47007	406.6 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
58	Putnam CountyGEOID 47141	401.1 mi²	1.5 mi²	0.4%
59	Benton CountyGEOID 47005	394.3 mi²	41.9 mi²	9.6%
60	White CountyGEOID 47185	376.7 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.7%
61	Marshall CountyGEOID 47117	375.5 mi²	0.7 mi²	0.2%
62	Roane CountyGEOID 47145	360.8 mi²	34.2 mi²	8.7%
63	Grundy CountyGEOID 47061	360.4 mi²	0.7 mi²	0.2%
64	Carter CountyGEOID 47019	341.3 mi²	6.4 mi²	1.8%
65	Anderson CountyGEOID 47001	337.2 mi²	7.6 mi²	2.2%
66	Decatur CountyGEOID 47039	333.9 mi²	11 mi²	3.2%
67	Bradley CountyGEOID 47011	328.8 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.8%
68	Washington CountyGEOID 47179	326.5 mi²	3.3 mi²	1%
69	Rhea CountyGEOID 47143	315.5 mi²	21 mi²	6.2%
70	Smith CountyGEOID 47159	314.3 mi²	11.1 mi²	3.4%
71	Jackson CountyGEOID 47087	308.8 mi²	10.7 mi²	3.4%
72	Macon CountyGEOID 47111	307.1 mi²	0.1 mi²	0%
73	DeKalb CountyGEOID 47041	304.4 mi²	24.6 mi²	7.5%
74	Cheatham CountyGEOID 47021	302.5 mi²	4.6 mi²	1.5%
75	Johnson CountyGEOID 47091	298.4 mi²	4.3 mi²	1.4%
76	Chester CountyGEOID 47023	285.7 mi²	0.2 mi²	0.1%
77	Lewis CountyGEOID 47101	282.1 mi²	0.4 mi²	0.1%
78	Grainger CountyGEOID 47057	280.6 mi²	21.9 mi²	7.2%
79	Jefferson CountyGEOID 47089	275.2 mi²	39.2 mi²	12.5%
80	Van Buren CountyGEOID 47175	273.4 mi²	1.1 mi²	0.4%
81	Sequatchie CountyGEOID 47153	265.9 mi²	0.2 mi²	0.1%
82	Cannon CountyGEOID 47015	265.6 mi²	0.1 mi²	0%
83	Crockett CountyGEOID 47033	265.5 mi²	0.2 mi²	0.1%
84	Clay CountyGEOID 47027	236.5 mi²	22.8 mi²	8.8%
85	Loudon CountyGEOID 47105	229.3 mi²	18.1 mi²	7.3%
86	Union CountyGEOID 47173	223.6 mi²	23.6 mi²	9.5%
87	Hancock CountyGEOID 47067	222.3 mi²	1.2 mi²	0.5%
88	Houston CountyGEOID 47083	200.3 mi²	6.7 mi²	3.2%
89	Meigs CountyGEOID 47121	195.1 mi²	21.5 mi²	9.9%
90	Unicoi CountyGEOID 47171	186.1 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.2%
91	Lake CountyGEOID 47095	165.8 mi²	28.1 mi²	14.5%
92	Pickett CountyGEOID 47137	163 mi²	11.5 mi²	6.6%
93	Hamblen CountyGEOID 47063	161.2 mi²	14.6 mi²	8.3%
94	Moore CountyGEOID 47127	129.2 mi²	1.2 mi²	0.9%
95	Trousdale CountyGEOID 47169	114.3 mi²	2.3 mi²	2%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.