Four middle-Tennessee counties among top growing in the country

(From WSMV Channel 4 on October 20th.  For link to article with VIDEO, click HERE.)   NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Nashville is expected to overtake Memphis as the biggest city in Tennessee in the coming years. As fast as Nashville is growing, the surrounding counties are growing even faster. Four Middle Tennessee counties are among the top 100 fastest growing in the country. Since 2010, Williamson County has grown 12 percent, making it the 34th fastest growing county in America. Matthew Hill, redistricting supervisor with the state comptroller’s office, is in charge of making all the numbers make sense. The comptroller’s office has taken all of the U.S. Census numbers and has come up with some new trends for the state. “If you really look at Middle Tennessee, four of the fastest growing counties in the entire United States are here,” Hill said. Montgomery, Rutherford and Wilson counties are experiencing double-digit growth. Sumner, Davidson and Maury counties are also growing rapidly. Nashville could pass Memphis as the biggest metro area by the end of the year, but certainly will by the time of the next census in May 2017. “You will see the trends of Nashville up 9,000 to 10,000 a year, and you see Memphis trending down,” Hill said. Even with 41 Tennessee counties losing population, Middle Tennessee is so strong that the entire state is on track to replace Indiana as the 16th most populous state in the country. By 2020, the state will know if it picks up a congressional seat. With redistricting, Middle Tennessee could have more congressional and statewide political power. Nashville is now approaching Boston in terms of population.