376,996 people (2024 Census estimate, +9.8% since 2020)
619 square miles of land · 609 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
4 active community water systems list Rutherford County in the area they serve, reporting 441,874 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CONSOLIDATED U.D. OF RUTHERFORD CO surface water · local government · TN0000791 | 221,871 served |
| MURFREESBORO WATER DEPARTMENT surface water · local government · TN0000491 | 114,331 served |
| SMYRNA WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TN0000639 | 66,942 served |
| LA VERGNE WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TN0000386 | 38,730 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 1,079 people were held in Rutherford County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 429 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 1,054.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
2 school districts have their office in Rutherford County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $748.7 million — $543 million to run schools, about $10,708 per student, plus $192.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $261.7 million local (mostly property tax), $277.3 million state, $58.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $385.2 million.
Spent $119.9 million — $109.4 million to run schools, about $11,626 per student, plus $2.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $50.8 million local (mostly property tax), $55.6 million state, $20.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $39.8 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Rutherford County about $134.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
428 bridges in Rutherford County: 259 in good condition, 150 fair, and 19 poor (4.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FAS 268 over WEST FORK STONES RIVER · built 1966 | 23,891 vehicles a day |
| FAP 10 349330Y over CSX RAILROAD · built 1928 | 18,412 vehicles a day |
| NFA A033 over STEWART CREEK · built 1970 | 6,680 vehicles a day |
| FAP 11 over COVE BRANCH · built 1929 | 5,946 vehicles a day |
| FAU 4687 349327R over CSX RAILROAD · built 1940 | 5,228 vehicles a day |
| FAP 96 over BRANCH · built 1960 | 4,999 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $54.2 million of work in Rutherford County in fiscal 2025, about $159 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-29. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-24. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State: elections calendar · Tennessee Secretary of State: registration deadline FAQ · Tennessee Secretary of State: GoVoteTN
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Rutherford County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Rutherford County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Cannon County (20 mi) · Wilson County (22 mi) · Bedford County (23 mi) · Williamson County (27 mi) · Davidson County (30 mi) · Coffee County (31 mi).