City officials think that Goodlettsville’s population is up by thousands, trying to track growth through special census

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Another city in Middle Tennessee is trying to get its residents to participate in a special census to get its fair share of federal and state money.

Goodlettsville leaders think that the population there has grown the fastest in decades. Since the federal census in 2020, city officials estimated that Goodlettsville’s has grown by thousands.

The planning director for Goodlettsville, Addam McCormick, said that according to the 2020 federal census, the city had about 17,000 residents. He added that city leaders anticipate that the city has since grown to have a population of 18 to 19,000.

“We actually started it last year with two mailers and got about a 50 percent response,” McCormick said. “We’ve come back this year. We are doing a third mailer and now we are doing the door-to-door process.”

As of publication, the city estimated that 56 percent of people who live there have responded. However, they still need about 330 more responses.

McCormick added that the city also has door hangers in both English and Spanish that they can give to residents. That door hanger has a QR code that residents can scan to fill out the special census.

“If we could get the 18,500, it is definitely worth our time for how much we’ve spent so far,” McCormick said. “That would be the next five years, almost $6 to 7,000 in revenue for the city. That helps the city with our services, so definitely additional funding based on the residents that we already have.”

McCormick said that population growth has made it possible to receive more money from the state in a special census before the next federal census in 2030.

“After 2025, you only got five years to get those additional funds,” McCormick added. “That’s why everyone’s trying to do it right now to benefit from the growth they’ve had.”

The increased population count would mean a larger distribution of state revenue to the city. The revenue would help fund growth projects, including the repaving of roads and sidewalks as well as park improvements.

“We just hope the nonresponses help us out,” McCormick said. “It benefits the city and the residents.”

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