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In this issue:
- 2030 Census preparations begin to ramp up
- Need data during the government shutdown? Where to look
- Join our webinar on Tennessee’s newly enacted population estimate program
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1,256 people over 100 years old live in Tennessee
according to a new U.S. Census Bureau Report released in September. Living to age 100 is exceptionally rare; nationally, there were only 80,000 centenarians in 2020 – 0.02 percent of the population. But reaching the milestone is becoming more common, with the rate per 10,000 people climbing from 1.73 in 2010 to 2.42 in 2020. Tennessee’s centenarian rate of 1.82 was 42nd highest nationally. Hawaii’s 4.44 centenarians per 10,000 people led all states, grabbing the top spot this decade from North Dakota. Tennessee is well represented at the other end of the spectrum. A 2023 report showed that Clarksville’s median age of 29.9 was the tenth lowest in the nation among cities with a population over 100,000. Resident troops attached to the U.S. Army’s Fort Campbell installation helped it earn that distinction.
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18.8 percent of Tennessee homeowners paid HOA fees
according to 2024 American Community Survey 1-year data. Tennessee sits 25th nationally in terms of the percentage of housing units with required fees and 35th in the median size of those payments - $948 annually. New York’s median of $8,868 topped the nation, but that was largely driven by condo fees in densely populated counties surrounding New York City. Back home, HOA fees were most commonly assessed in middle Tennessee counties. Over 63 percent of owner-occupied units paid fees in Williamson County. About a third of homeowners in Wilson, Davidson and Rutherford counties also paid dues. Suppression was common in this new 1-year table covering areas over 65,000 people. December’s planned 5-Year ACS release should provide more county-level detail.
| | 2030 Census Geography Update Programs Come into Focus | | The 2030 Census is four and a half years away, but efforts to update Census Bureau maps are already getting started. | | The Census Bureau’s July publication of its initial 2030 Census Operational Plan indicates that six major geography update programs will be used to gather input from states, counties and municipalities. Those same programs were utilized in the 2020 Census and focused on three areas: housing unit addresses, boundaries and redistricting data. | |
Local 2030 Census Preparations Should Begin Now
The first two programs offered by the Bureau, BBSP and LUCA, are coming soon, and both programs potentially require state or local partnerships to participate.
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Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP)
Reviews begin in Early 2026
BBSP is a chance to preview the census tabulation blocks that will be used for the 2030 Census and to make suggestions for new boundaries that can be used in state and local redistricting, as well as other purposes.
Why it matters…
Block boundaries that are not present in the Census Bureau’s redistricting data cannot be used for redistricting.
More about BBSP
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Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA)
Reviews begin in early 2027
LUCA is a once-a-decade, pre-census activity, where local officials review the Census Bureau’s Master Address File (MAF) for completeness. Reviewers will have six months to suggest MAF corrections.
Why it matters…
Housing units missing from the Census Bureau’s MAF will not be included in the census and residents won’t be counted.
More about LUCA
| | | Navigating the Shutdown - Tips for Data Users | | |
Twenty-one days into the federal government shutdown, the landscape of the available federal data is becoming clearer. The good news for users of population, economic and demographic data is that most agency websites remain available, although updates have been suspended.
A notable exception is data.census.gov – the Bureau’s primary data retrieval tool, which has been disabled. This makes accessing statistics from the American Community Survey (ACS), decennial census and other programs more challenging. While the official site is offline, there are several alternate sources offering access to U.S. Census Bureau data, particularly from the ACS.
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TIP: Accessing 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Data
Although the Census Bureau’s flagship interface data.census.gov does not appear to be functional, the bureau’s API or application programming interface remains accessible. It can be used to retrieve data from many programs, including the American Community Survey. If you are new to the API, the Census Bureau Academy has a one-hour primer to help get you started. Or, give us a call here at the State Data Center.
| | | | Tennessee Economic Indicators | |
WEBINAR: Preparing for Tennessee’s New Population Estimates Program
The State Data Center has been talking with local government officials from across the state about Tennessee’s newly enacted population estimate program, including presentations at conferences and meetings over the last several months. That outreach will continue with a November 10th webinar, presented in partnership with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service
Monday, November 10, 2025
11 AM ET / 10 AM CT
The webinar will focus on practical steps that Tennessee communities, especially municipalities, can take to ensure that data used in calculating population estimates are accurate and complete, featuring:
- Overview of the legislation, methods and data used in preparing estimates
- Ways to check building permit inputs are complete and corporate limits are accurate
- Available programs to correct Building Permit Survey errors and inaccurate boundaries
Comptroller of the Treasury staff overseeing the state's municipal boundary program will also be presenting.
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GOVCON 2025 Population Estimate Office Hours - November 4th
If you are attending the 2025 Governor’s Conference in Murfreesboro, stop by for “Office Hours” between 9 and 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, in the MeetUp Room of the Embassy Suites Conference Center. TNSDC and staff from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) will be on hand to help communities with questions about the state’s population estimate legislation going into effect next year. Those annually revised population figures will direct the distribution of revenues shared with municipalities and counties in Tennessee beginning in July. Staff from ECD’s Community and Rural Development and FastTrack will also be available. If you miss us there, our table will be set up both days at the event.
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It’s October – Do You Know Where Your City Limits Are?
It’s a small thing, but it can translate to real dollars - including revenues from the state’s new population estimate program. Each year, Tennessee municipalities get an opportunity to verify that their incorporated area boundaries are mapped correctly and to submit corrections through the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury’s annual Boundary and Annexation Survey. They collect annexations, by statute, and corrections that they submit to the Census Bureau on the state’s behalf. The next cycle will be underway soon, with changes being reflected in 2026 Census products that will be released in 2027. Current boundaries can be viewed interactively using TIGERweb or as PDFs. Contact cities@cot.tn.gov to learn more.
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New Release: 2010-2020 Intercensal Estimates by Characteristics
From the category of “coming in just under the wire” was the long-anticipated September 30th release of the 2010 to 2020 Intercensal Population Estimates by Characteristics. That completes the full series of annual population estimates covering the period from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2019, with smoothed connections to ease the transition to the 2020 Census. Intercensal estimates are the preferred data for the last decade after their release and can be used to refine any rates calculated using earlier Vintage 2010 to Vintage 2020 estimates.
Downloads:
States: Population | Characteristics
Counties: Population | Characteristics
Cities and towns: Population
Housing Units
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ACS Data Users Group Forum Shuttered; Options Still Available
The Census Bureau announced in September that the ACS Data User Group, fronted by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), was being discontinued. Unfortunately, that means the popular forum they hosted has also been taken offline. In the meantime, PRB is transitioning to a broader Federal Data Forum that aims to provide a similar venue for data users seeking technical advice. Another excellent alternative is the Census Bureau’s Slack channel. A free Slack account is required, but participants maintain very active channels about #data, #geography and #apis with some highly knowledgeable participants regularly offering advice. And of course, you can reach out to TNSDC anytime you need help!
| | About the Tennessee State Data Center Network | | The State Data Center Program is a cooperative program of the State of Tennessee, The University of Tennessee and the U.S. Census Bureau. Data Centers in each state assist the Bureau by disseminating Census data, other federal data sets and information. | |
Data Center Affiliates
Each center has an internal statewide affiliate network to further assist in disseminating data to local users. These affiliates also have local information and expertise to offer. Visit tnsdc.utk.edu for a full listing of affiliates.
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