Counties That Make Up the Memphis Metro Area
The Memphis metropolitan area spans two states and encompasses a collection of counties unified by economic interdependence, commuter patterns, and shared infrastructure rather than a single municipal boundary. Understanding which counties are included — and why — clarifies how federal funding, census data, and regional planning apply across this multi-state footprint. The full county list is the foundation of any analysis found at the Memphis Metro Area Overview and on the homepage.
Definition and scope
The official geographic boundary for the Memphis metro area is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) through its Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) framework. Under that framework, the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area groups counties that meet specific commuting-flow and population thresholds tied to a central urban core.
As of the 2023 OMB delineation update (OMB Bulletin No. 23-01), the Memphis MSA includes the following 8 counties across 3 states:
Tennessee (4 counties)
1. Shelby County — the anchor county, home to the city of Memphis
2. Fayette County
3. Tipton County
4. Lauderdale County
Mississippi (3 counties)
1. DeSoto County
2. Marshall County
3. Tate County
Arkansas (1 county)
1. Crittenden County
This 8-county, tri-state configuration reflects the Mississippi River corridor's role as an economic spine that crosses political boundaries. The Memphis–Mississippi border dynamic is particularly significant given that DeSoto County, Mississippi, has been one of the fastest-growing counties in the South by population percentage since 2000.
How it works
The OMB applies a principal city rule: a county qualifies for inclusion in an MSA if 25 percent or more of its employed residents commute to the central county (Shelby), or if the central county sends 25 percent or more of workers into it. This commuting threshold is measured using American Community Survey (ACS) data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau, Geographic Areas Reference Manual).
Shelby County functions as the single core county. Its population of approximately 929,000 (2020 U.S. Decennial Census) accounts for the majority of the MSA's total population of roughly 1.34 million. The surrounding 7 counties qualify based on their labor market integration with Shelby.
The distinction matters operationally: federal agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Economic Development Administration (EDA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) use MSA boundaries to allocate grants, set income limits for housing assistance, and define labor market areas for unemployment statistics. Counties inside the MSA boundary receive different eligibility treatment than adjacent counties that fall outside it — a distinction explored further on the Memphis Metro Statistical Area page.
Common scenarios
Census and demographic reporting: Population estimates, household income benchmarks, and poverty-rate calculations published by the Census Bureau aggregate all 8 counties. A figure described as "Memphis MSA median household income" reflects data pooled across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas counties simultaneously. The Memphis Metro Median Household Income page breaks down how that aggregate figure differs at the county level.
Housing market and cost-of-living comparisons: HUD publishes Area Median Income (AMI) figures at the MSA level annually. A household in Tate County, Mississippi, and a household in Tipton County, Tennessee, both fall under the same Memphis MSA AMI ceiling for HUD program eligibility purposes.
Economic development and workforce analysis: The Memphis MSA is frequently cited as a single logistics labor market. Employers operating distribution centers in DeSoto County and warehousing operations in Shelby County draw from the same regional workforce pool. This integration underpins the area's identity as a logistics hub.
Transportation planning: Multi-county infrastructure projects — particularly along Interstate 40, Interstate 55, and U.S. Highway 61 — require coordination across state DOTs in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The MSA boundary determines which counties must be included in federally mandated metropolitan transportation planning (Federal Highway Administration, 23 U.S.C. § 134).
Decision boundaries
Two comparison points clarify what the 8-county MSA does and does not include.
MSA vs. Combined Statistical Area (CSA): The OMB also defines a broader Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR Combined Statistical Area, which adds St. Francis County, Arkansas, to the picture. The CSA requires only that adjacent MSAs or micropolitan areas have social or economic ties, using a lower commuting threshold than the 25 percent cutoff. Analysts using CSA data will see a slightly larger footprint than those working with the core 8-county MSA.
MSA vs. City of Memphis: The city limits of Memphis fall entirely within Shelby County. The city's population (approximately 633,000 in the 2020 Census) represents less than half of the full MSA's population, meaning that county-level and MSA-level statistics routinely diverge from city-level figures. The Memphis Metro vs. City of Memphis page examines that gap in detail across income, employment, and public safety metrics.
The 8-county boundary is not static. OMB reviews MSA delineations after each decennial census, and high-growth counties adjacent to the current MSA — such as Benton County, Mississippi — can qualify for inclusion if commuting flows shift. Researchers and planners working with Memphis MSA data should verify which OMB bulletin year their data source applies.
References
- U.S. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Bulletin No. 23-01 (2023)
- U.S. Census Bureau — Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas
- U.S. Census Bureau — Geographic Areas Reference Manual
- U.S. Census Bureau — 2020 Decennial Census
- Federal Highway Administration — 23 U.S.C. § 134, Metropolitan Transportation Planning (eCFR)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — Income Limits