Greene County ranked 16th fasting-growing county in the State of Tennessee
GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — According to a study done by the University of Tennessee, Greene County ranked the 16th fastest-growing county in the state and the number one fastest-growing in Northeast Tennessee.
“It’s very important when you’re trying to understand the dynamics of your community, and especially right now because we have felt a lot of growth,” said Jeff Taylor, CEO and President of the Greene County Partnership. “We’ve seen growth in schools and all of a sudden, we’ve had a lot of retail and restaurant interest and that is driven by population and economics.”
The Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research conducted a study on population growth across all 95 counties in the state.
According to that data, almost 4,000 people have moved to Greene County from 2010 to 2023.
“It quantified what we’re feeling,” said Taylor. “When you have the combination of land availability, low taxes and we have beautiful views, I mean, that’s the trifecta, right?”
Taylor told News Channel 11 that the city and county have already started accommodating for the influx of people by rebuilding infrastructure, conducting traffic studies and building new homes.
“To prepare for it is by looking at where the migration patterns are occurring, where the growth is happening and assessing every facility and support system, whether it’s schools, hospitals, et cetera,” said Taylor.
Population growth can be both a positive and negative thing for the community. Taylor said one positive is new businesses coming to the area, providing jobs and more opportunities for the younger generation.
“If you want to have a future workforce, you have to have the livability items that people prefer, desire, and that workforce drives,” said Taylor.
A negative effect of population growth is if the county grows too much too fast, it can be a challenge.
“Too much growth, on the other hand, can strain your system and you can lose your identity, and we don’t want to do that,” said Taylor. “That’s why we’re having all these conversations. How do we grow and do it in a mechanism and a pattern that we don’t lose what’s special about Greene County?”
Other data from the study concluded that between 2022 and 2023, a little over 1,200 people moved to Greene County, making it a 1.8% increase countywide.
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