910,530 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.1% since 2020)
753 square miles of land · 1,210 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.
6 active community water systems list Shelby County in the area they serve, reporting 822,274 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MEMPHIS LIGHT, GAS, & WATER groundwater · local government · TN0000450 | 659,500 served |
| BARTLETT WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · TN0000765 | 57,129 served |
| COLLIERVILLE WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · TN0000126 | 51,972 served |
| GERMANTOWN WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · TN0000262 | 37,738 served |
| MILLINGTON WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · TN0000463 | 8,935 served |
| NSA - MIDSOUTH groundwater · federal · TN0000468 | 7,000 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 3,996 people were held in Shelby County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 689 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 4,760.
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.
7 school districts have their office in Shelby County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $1.8 billion — $1.5 billion to run schools, about $13,695 per student, plus $211.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $572.1 million local (mostly property tax), $604.4 million state, $565.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $709.1 million.
Spent $123.1 million — $109.1 million to run schools, about $11,787 per student, plus $10.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $57.9 million local (mostly property tax), $49.5 million state, $15.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $83.5 million.
Spent $108.2 million — $100.8 million to run schools, about $11,266 per student, plus $7.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $54.7 million local (mostly property tax), $48 million state, $15.7 million federal.
Spent $82.2 million — $70.4 million to run schools, about $11,689 per student, plus $11.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $40.8 million local (mostly property tax), $32 million state, $6.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.1 million.
Spent $59.2 million — $52.5 million to run schools, about $10,924 per student, plus $6.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $30.3 million local (mostly property tax), $25.2 million state, $6.6 million federal.
Spent $34.9 million — $29.6 million to run schools, about $11,361 per student, plus $5.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $13.6 million local (mostly property tax), $14.4 million state, $8.8 million federal.
Spent $25.6 million — $23.1 million to run schools, about $10,858 per student, plus $823,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.8 million local (mostly property tax), $11.3 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $45.4 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 High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Shelby County about $554.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
1,075 bridges in Shelby County: 214 in good condition, 793 fair, and 68 poor (6.3%). “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.
| I40-EB-RP TO I240 over I40-RP-K / I240-RL-EX-RP · built 1966 | 62,695 vehicles a day |
| FAU 4032 over WARING RD · built 1968 | 53,975 vehicles a day |
| I40-LL-EXIT-RAMP over I40-WB-EX RP / N 3RD ST. · built 1973 | 53,211 vehicles a day |
| FAP 14 297767K over IC RR & NONCONNAH CREEK · built 1929 | 48,162 vehicles a day |
| FAU 2825 over CHERRY CREEK · built 1958 | 44,832 vehicles a day |
| FAU 2830 over JOHNS CREEK · built 1970 | 36,821 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $507.7 million of work in Shelby County in fiscal 2025, about $546 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: DeSoto County, MS (22 mi) · Crittenden County, AR (23 mi) · Tipton County (23 mi) · Fayette County (27 mi) · Marshall County, MS (36 mi) · Tate County, MS (37 mi).