By DON FENLEY

Johnson City added 335 new households in 2024, according to the Chamber of Commerce. Next door in Washington Co. there were 305 new households by residents from outside Tennessee.

It’s a fact that the flow of new residents has decreased. The number of new households peaked in 2020 and has declined every year since then. However, the more moderate number of new residents is still ample to ensure the city’s and county’s population growth.

Last year’s Johnson City total new households was down 65.1% from 2020. Washington Co. was down 58.7% since the pandemic relocation tsunami.

The Johnson City age groups for those forming new households were clustered fairly close last year to what they have been since the pandemic relocation rush. New residents 25 to 34 years-old accounted for the largest grouping.  Here’s how the new age groupings were dispersed.

25-34 – 24.8%

35-44 – 16.7%

55-64 – 15.2%

45-54 – 12.8%

22-24 – 12.2%

65-74 – 11.3%

75-80 – 6.9%

Distribution of new households by age differed slightly from Johnson City.

25-34 – 22.2%

55-64 – 19.3%

65-74 – 14.1%

35-44 – 13.8%

44-54 – 11.9%

22-24 – 9%

74-80 – 6.3%

81- 85 – 3.5%

Top Johnson City donor states were:

• Florida – 62 households
• North Carolina – 47 households
• Virginia – 33 households

The county’s top donor states were:

• Florida – 53 households
• Virginia – 36 households
• North Carolina – 28 households

Although there’s constant banter about the number of Californians and New Yorkers moving to the area, neither was significant enough to be in the top donor states. The city saw 19 new households from former California residents and eight from New York. The county saw 23 from California and four from New York.

Johnson City’s population growth rate has been the highest in the Tri-Cities region since the pandemic boom. The most current Census count puts the city’s population at 73,337.

Kingsport has also experienced substantial growth and has a current population of 56,704. According to Move To Kingsport’s January report, the city saw 736 new households during the past 12 months.

The twin cities of Bristol Tenn. and Va. have shared in the new residents migration, but so far to a lesser extent. The combined population, according to the Census, is 44,661.

Categories: REAL ESTATE