Hispanic and Latino Americans in Tennessee are residents of the U.S. state of Tennessee who are of Hispanic or Latino origin. The United States Census Bureau estimated that Hispanic or Latino people made up 8.6 percent of the state's population in 2025. Most of that growth is recent. Tennessee had one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the country between 2000 and 2010, and Mexico is the most common country of birth among the state's immigrants. Since 2025, Tennessee has been one of the states most closely tied to federal immigration enforcement, which has affected Latino communities in Nashville and Memphis in particular.
Demographics The 2020 United States census counted 479,187 Hispanic or Latino residents in Tennessee, or 6.9 percent of the population. That was up from 290,059 (4.6 percent) in 2010 and 123,838 (2.2 percent) in 2000. The 134 percent increase between 2000 and 2010 was the third-highest of any state.
+ Hispanic or Latino population of Tennessee Year Population Share of state 2000 123,838 2.2% 2010 290,059 4.6% 2020 479,187 6.9% Statewide, 6.1 percent of residents were foreign-born in 2020–2024. In 2000, about 48 percent of Latinos in Tennessee were born in the United States, and the main countries of origin among the foreign-born were Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
The population is concentrated in the Nashville area, but growth has reached smaller cities and rural counties. In Knox County, the Hispanic share rose from 3.5 percent in 2010 to about 6 percent in 2020.
History
Spanish exploration Spanish expeditions were the first European presence in what is now Tennessee. Hernando de Soto's expedition entered the region in 1540, and Juan Pardo explored parts of the region in 1566 and 1567. In 1795 the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, built Fort San Fernando de las Barrancas on the Chickasaw bluffs at present-day Memphis. Spain abandoned it in 1797 under the Treaty of Pinckney.
Late 20th-century migration ennessee had very little Latin American immigration through most of the 20th century. In 1990, 1.2 percent of the state's population was foreign-born. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Latino migrants arrived in large numbers to work in construction, agriculture, manufacturing and services. Geographers and sociologists describe the Nashville area as a "new destination" for Latino immigration. Its Hispanic population grew by more than 400 percent between 1990 and 2000. Settlement centered on southeast Nashville, where Hispanic-owned businesses, churches and community organizations clustered along corridors such as Nolensville Pike.
In spring 2006, Nashville was one of many cities that saw rallies as part of the nationwide 2006 United States immigration reform protests, and thousands gathered there on March 29. Hispanic business leaders in the city were divided over joining a national economic boycott planned for May 1.
Immigration enforcement Republicans won control of the Tennessee Senate in 2004 and the House in 2008, and Republicans have held the governorship and both chambers of the legislature since 2011. As of 2026, Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers and the governor is Republican Bill Lee. State officials have worked closely with the second Trump administration, which took office in January 2025, on immigration enforcement. References