Smith County, Tennessee

Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,904. Smith County is located in the region of the state known as Middle Tennessee. Its county seat is Carthage. The county was organized in 1799 and is named for Daniel Smith, a Revolutionary War veteran who made the first map of Tennessee and served as a United States senator.

Smith County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Smith County was established in 1799 from a portion of Sumner County, and was named for Daniel Smith, a U.S. Senator and former Secretary of the Southwest Territory. The location of the county seat was hotly contested between Bledsoesborough (near modern Dixon Springs) and William Walton's ferry and tavern at the confluence of the Caney Fork and the Cumberland River. In 1804, voters chose Walton's site, and a town, named Carthage, was platted the following year.

Smith County was the site of a large saltpeter mine. Piper Cave, located near Monoville, contains the poorly preserved remnants of dozens of saltpeter leaching vats. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee took place during the War of 1812 and the Civil War, though the exact dates of this operation are unclear.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 325 square miles (840 km²), of which 314 square miles (810 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (3.4%) is water. The county is located in a transition area between the rugged Highland Rim to the east and the flatter Nashville Basin to the west. The Caney Fork has its confluence with the Cumberland River in Carthage; these are the primary waterways flowing through the county. Cordell Hull Dam on the Cumberland is located near Carthage.

As of the 2020 census, there were 19,904 people, 7,663 households, and 5,409 families residing in the county. The median age was 41.2 years, with 23.0% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.4% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 91.4% White, 1.8% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, less than 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.

Of those households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.9% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.