Murfreesboro Special Census tabulation submitted for verification

128,225 residents in the City of Murfreesboro! That’s the final Census number submitted to the Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC) for verification.

Residents within the Murfreesboro City limits should understand that GNRC representatives will be going door-to-door to verify addresses. Verification may begin as early as next week, April 23-27. GNRC workers will have lanyard identification with the GNRC logo.

The City’s verified tabulation will be submitted to the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development Division of Research. Final ratification will be made official by the state legislature in the 2018 legislative session. The population of Murfreesboro was last certified in 2011 by the State of Tennessee at 109,031, after an annexation special census count. With 19,000 more residents, the City has documented that it should receive a greater share of state funding.

“The Special Census certifies the accurate count of the city’s growth in population,” said Planning Director Gary Whitaker. “We deeply appreciate our residents for participating. The City has added approximately 19,000 new residents since the last certified census seven years ago and with final verification and ratification it will likely mean an additional $2.37 million per year in state-shared funding.”

State-shared tax revenues for the City of Murfreesboro rely on this latest population information. For fiscal year 2017-18, the state is paying the City $127.45 per resident in State-shared revenues. The amount will increase after this new count.

The Special Census campaign got underway in October 2017 with an online census survey and forms mailed to households. A total of four mailings were delivered as part of the campaign. Uniformed Murfreesboro firefighters began knocking on doors in January as the City worked to collect names with an accurate count of households who had not filled out and returned the Special Census form by mail or online.

During the door-to-door campaign members of the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) also provided valuable information on home fire safety and checked smoke alarms to make sure the alarms are working properly.

The survey simply requested respondents’ address and the names of everyone living at that address. The address information and first and last names collected are solely for the Special Census.

The Special Census offered a simple way to complete it online via a Census link at the top of the City’s website, www.murfreesborotn.gov, or directly at www.murfreesborotn.gov/census.

The Murfreesboro Special Census campaign was coordinated by Principal Planner Dianna Tomlin and consultant Logan Hickerson. For questions about the Murfreesboro Special Census, please email census@murfreesborotn.gov or contact Dianna Tomlin at dtomlin@murfreesborotn.gov or (615) 684-6183.