The Tri-Cities is the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. All three cities are located in Northeast Tennessee, while Bristol has a twin city of the same name in Virginia.
The Tri-Cities region was formerly a single Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); due to the U.S. Census Bureau's revised definitions of urban areas in the early 2000s, it is now a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with two metropolitan components: Johnson City and Kingsport–Bristol, TN–VA. At the 2020 Census, the CSA had a population of 585,041.
Combined Statistical Area
Components Tennessee Carter County Greene County Hawkins County Sullivan County Unicoi County Washington County
Virginia Scott County Washington County City of Bristol (Independent City)
Communities
Places with more than 50,000 inhabitants Johnson City, Tennessee (principal city) Kingsport, Tennessee (principal city)
Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants Bristol, Tennessee (principal city) Bristol, Virginia (principal city) Elizabethton, Tennessee Greeneville, Tennessee
Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants Abingdon, Virginia Banner Hill, Tennessee (CDP) Bean Station, Tennessee (partial) Bloomingdale, Tennessee (CDP) Blountville, Tennessee (CDP) Bluff City, Tennessee Central, Tennessee (CDP) Church Hill, Tennessee Colonial Heights, Tennessee (CDP) Emory, Virginia (CDP) Erwin, Tennessee Fall Branch, Tennessee (CDP) Gate City, Virginia Glade Spring, Virginia Gray, Tennessee (CDP) Hampton, Tennessee (CDP) Hunter, Tennessee (CDP) Jonesborough, TennesseeMosheim, Tennessee Mountain City, Tennessee Mount Carmel, Tennessee Oak Grove, Tennessee (CDP) Pine Crest, Tennessee (CDP) Roan Mountain, Tennessee (CDP) Rogersville, Tennessee Saltville, Virginia (partial) Sneedville, Tennessee Spurgeon, Tennessee (CDP) Surgoinsville, Tennessee Tusculum, Tennessee Unicoi, Tennessee Walnut Hill, Tennessee (CDP) Weber City, Virginia
Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants Baileyton, Tennessee Bulls Gap, Tennessee Damascus, Virginia Embreeville, Tennessee (CDP) Clinchport, Virginia Duffield, Virginia Dungannon, Virginia Meadowview, Virginia (CDP) Mooresburg, Tennessee (CDP) Nickelsville, Virginia Telford, Tennessee (CDP) Watauga, Tennessee
Unincorporated places Afton, Tennessee Biltmore, Tennessee Bowmantown, Tennessee Boones Creek, Tennessee Camp Creek, Tennessee Clinchburg, Virginia Doeville, Tennessee Chuckey, Tennessee Eidson, Tennessee Fish Springs, Tennessee Flag Pond, Tennessee Fort Blackmore, Virginia Friendship, Virginia Fordtown, Tennessee Hayter's Gap, Virginia Hiltons, Virginia Indian Springs, Tennessee Konnarock, Virginia Kyles Ford, Tennessee Lamar, Tennessee Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee Leesburg, Tennessee Liberty Hill, Greene County, TennesseeLimestone, Tennessee Lodi, Virginia Maces Spring, Virginia McDonald, Greene County, Tennessee Mendota, Virginia Midway, Greene County, Tennessee Midway, Washington County, Tennessee Mohawk, Tennessee Newmansville, Tennessee Persia, Tennessee Piney Flats, Tennessee Rheatown, Tennessee Romeo, Tennessee Saint Clair, Tennessee Shady Valley, Tennessee South Central, Tennessee South Greene, Tennessee Stoney Creek, Tennessee Sullivan Gardens, Tennessee Sulphur Springs, Tennessee Swords Creek, Virginia Treadway, Tennessee Trade, Tennessee Valley Forge, Tennessee Yuma, Virginia
Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 480,091 people, 199,218 households, and 138,548 families residing within the CSA. The racial makeup of the CSA was 96.22% White, 2.12% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.02% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.
The median income for a household in the CSA was $30,331, and the median income for a family was $37,254. Males had a median income of $29,561 versus $21,014 for females. The per capita income for the CSA was $16,923.
Transportation Interstate Highways I-26 and I-81 intersect in the region, while I-40, I-77, and I-75 are nearby. Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) has non-stop service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Airlines include Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Allegiant Air and American Eagle Airlines. Additionally, TRI manages an aggressive Air Cargo program, administers Foreign Trade Zone 204, supports and promotes U.S. Customs Port 2027, and provides trade development assistance. The Region has both CSX and Norfolk Southern mainline railway access.
Highways
Interstates
US Highways
Airport
The region is served by the Tri-Cities Regional Airport which has scheduled airline passenger jet service.
Education
Colleges and universities East Tennessee State University Emmanuel Christian Seminary Emory & Henry University King University Milligan College Northeast State Community College Tusculum University University of Virginia's College at Wise Virginia Intermont College (Closed May 2014) Virginia Highlands Community College Walters State Community College The Kingsport Higher Education Center is a complex in downtown Kingsport, Tennessee that combines classes from five area colleges and universities, including The University of Tennessee.
All-American City Award The All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States. In 1999, the Tri-Cities were collectively designated as an All-America City by the National Civic League.
The award is the oldest community recognition program in the nation and recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results.
Since the program's inception in 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed and over 500 have been named All-America Cities.
Sister cities
Guaranda, Ecuador Teterow, Germany Rybinsk, Russia
See also Doe River Watauga River Watauga Lake South Holston Lake and River Nolichucky River Roan Mountain Bays Mountain Gray Fossil Site Bristol Motor Speedway Birthplace of Country Music PBS Appalachia Virginia WETP-TV WJHL-TV WCYB-TV
References General
Specific OMB Bulletin No. 04-03. Updates to Statistical Areas. December 2003. U.S. Census Bureau, Table 6. Population in Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs): 1990 and 2000
External links Tri-Cities TN/VA - The Regional Alliance for Economic Development Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association