Smith County, Tennessee
County seat: Carthage · Population 20,981 (2025) · 314 sq mi
Smith County is the 67th most populous of Tennessee's 95 counties, with 20,981 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Carthage. It is part of the Middle Tennessee region, one of the 3 Grand Divisions of Tennessee. The map shows its 3 cities and towns and the 6 neighboring counties.
Smith County facts
- County seat
- Carthage
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 20,981 +5.4% since 2020
- Land area
- 314 sq mi 70th largest of 95
- Water area
- 11 sq mi
- Population density
- 67 per sq mi
- Established
- 1799
- Same name
- One of 4 Smith Counties in the US
- Named after
- Daniel Smith American politician (1748–1818)
- Largest city
- Carthage 2,282
- Median household income
- $66,293
- Cities and towns
- 3 plus 1 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 15
- Time zone
- Central
- FIPS code
- 47159
Cities and towns in Smith County
Smith County has 3 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Smith County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carthage (county seat) | Town | 2,282 | |
| South Carthage | Town | 1,576 | |
| Gordonsville | Town | 1,464 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Hickman | 276 |
ZIP codes in Smith County
15 ZIP codes reach into Smith County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 37012 also DeKalb and Wilson counties
- 37030 also Jackson County
- 37057 also Trousdale and Macon counties
- 37087 also Wilson and Trousdale counties
- 37090 also Wilson and Rutherford counties
- 37145 also Macon and Jackson counties
- 37151
- 37184 also Wilson County
- 38547
- 38548 also Putnam and DeKalb counties
- 38552
- 38560
- 38563
- 38567 also DeKalb County
- 38569 also DeKalb County
Population of Smith County, 2020–2025
Smith County grew by 1,075 people (+5.4%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 256 more deaths than births and a net gain of 1,313 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 19,963 |
| 2021 | 20,175 |
| 2022 | 20,471 |
| 2023 | 20,538 |
| 2024 | 20,785 |
| 2025 | 20,981 |
Neighboring counties
- DeKalb County south · 21,873 people
- Wilson County southwest · 175,033 people
- Jackson County east · 12,466 people
- Trousdale County northwest · 12,623 people
- Putnam County east · 86,612 people
- Macon County north · 27,663 people
Printable Smith County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (81 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (91 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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