Rutherford County, Tennessee

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Rutherford County, Tennessee

Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1803
Seat	Murfreesboro
Largest city	Murfreesboro
Area - Total - Land - Water	624 sq mi (1,616 km²) 618 sq mi (1,600 km²) 5 sq mi (13 km²), 0.81%
Population^Est. - (2005) - Density	218,292 353.2/sq mi (136.4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website: www.RutherfordCountyTN.gov
Rutherford County Courthouse, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 182,023. This grew when the 2005 estimate placed the population at 218,292. Its county seat is Murfreesboro^[1], which is also the geographic center of Tennessee, as well as the center of population of Tennessee [1]. The county is included in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 square miles (1,616 km²), of which, 619 square miles (1,603 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (13 km²) of it (0.81%) is water.

[edit] Cities and towns

[edit] Unincorporated communities

[edit] Adjacent Counties

Wilson County (north)
Cannon County (east)
Coffee County (southeast)
Bedford County (south)
Marshall County (southwest)
Williamson County (west)
Davidson County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 182,023 people, 66,443 households, and 47,440 families residing in the county. The population density was 294 people per square mile (114/km²). There were 70,616 housing units at an average density of 114 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.73% White, 9.51% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

By 2005 there had been small but noticeable shifts. The Latino population had climed to 4.8%, which meant that in light of the growing county population the number of Latinos in the county had nearly doubled, now numbering about 10,000. The African American population had climed to 11.3% of the population. The Asian population had climbed to 2.6% of the population.

Age pyramid Rutherford County^[3]

In 2000 there were 66,443 households out of which 37.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 13.20% from 18 to 24, 33.50% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 7.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,312, and the median income for a family was $53,553. Males had a median income of $36,788 versus $26,555 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,938. About 5.80% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	33,543		—
1910	33,199		-1.0%
1920	33,059		-0.4%
1930	32,286		-2.3%
1940	33,604		4.1%
1950	40,696		21.1%
1960	52,368		28.7%
1970	59,428		13.5%
1980	84,058		41.4%
1990	118,570		41.1%
2000	182,023		53.5%
Est. 2005	218,292	^[4]	19.9%

U.S. Census 2006 estimates put the population of Rutherford County at 228,829. This represented over 25% population growth since the 2000 census.^[4]

[edit] History

Rutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties. It was named in honor of Griffith Rutherford (1721-1805). Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and a Revolutionary War general who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution and served as President of the Council of the Territory of Tennessee before Tennessee attained statehood.

Rutherford County is an outlying part of metropolitan Nashville. Since 1970 its population has been increasing rapidly as Nashville becomes a true metropolis. The rate of growth accelerated in the 1990s and continued at a brisk pace into the first decade of the 21st Century. From 2005-2006 the county population grew by over 10,000 people.

In 2007, the Blackman United Methodist Church in Blackman Community announced a proposal by SafeHarbor Holding LLC to build a 100-acre biblically-themed park on the church's property, with the proposed name "Bible Park USA".^[5] There has been significant resistance to such a development from the local residents.^[6]