Memphis | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
| Nickname(s): Bluff City, Home of the Blues, Grind City | |
 Interactive map of Memphis | |
  Memphis Location in Tennessee  Memphis Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 35°07′03″N 89°58′16″W / 35.11750°N 89.97111°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Shelby |
| Founded | May 22, 1819 |
| Incorporated | December 19, 1826 |
| Founded by | John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson |
| Named for | Memphis, Egypt |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Paul Young (D) |
| Area | |
| • City | 302.55 sq mi (783.66 km2) |
| • Land | 294.92 sq mi (763.83 km2) |
| • Water | 7.63 sq mi (19.77 km2) |
| Elevation | 337 ft (103 m) |
| Population | |
| • City | 633,104 |
| • Rank | 68th in North America 28th in the United States 2nd in Tennessee |
| • Density | 2,146.71/sq mi (828.85/km2) |
| • Urban | 1,056,190 (US: 45th) |
| • Urban density | 2,149.9/sq mi (830.1/km2) |
| • Metro | 1,337,779 (US: 43rd) |
| Demonym | Memphian |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | $96.183 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes | ZIP Codes[5] |
| Area code | 901 |
| FIPS code | 47-48000[6] |
| Website | City of Memphis |
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Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat of Shelby County, in the southwesternmost part of the state, and is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census,[7] Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee after Nashville.
Memphis is the fifth-most populous city in the Southeast, the nation's 28th-most populous overall, as well as the largest city bordering the Mississippi River and third largest metropolitan statistical area behind Greater St. Louis and the Twin Cities on the Mississippi River.[8] The Memphis metropolitan area includes West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi and the Missouri Bootheel. One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the Southern United States, Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods.
The first European explorer to visit the area of present-day Memphis was Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541. The high Chickasaw Bluffs protecting the location from the waters of the Mississippi was contested by European settlers as Memphis developed. By 1819, when modern Memphis was founded, it was part of the United States territory. John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson founded the city.[9] Based on the wealth of cotton plantations and river traffic along the Mississippi, Memphis grew into one of the largest cities of the Antebellum South. After the Civil War and the end of slavery, the city continued to grow into the 20th century. It became among the largest world markets for cotton and hardwood.[10]
Home to Tennessee's largest African-American population, Memphis played a prominent role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 after activities supporting a strike by the city's maintenance workers. The National Civil Rights Museum was established there and is a Smithsonian affiliate institution.
Since the civil rights era, Memphis has become one of the nation's leading commercial centers in transportation and logistics.[11] The largest employer is FedEx, which maintains its global air hub at Memphis International Airport. In 2021, Memphis was the world's second-busiest cargo airport. The International Port of Memphis also hosts the fifth-busiest inland water port in the U.S.[12] The Globalization and World Cities Research Network considers Memphis a "Sufficiency" level global city as of 2020.[13]
Memphis is a center for media and entertainment, notably a historic music scene.[14] With blues clubs on Beale Street originating the unique Memphis blues sound, the city has been nicknamed the "Home of the Blues". Its music has continued to be shaped by a multicultural mix of influences: country, rock and roll, soul, and hip-hop.
The city is home to a major professional sports team, the Grizzlies of the NBA. Other attractions include Graceland, the Memphis Pyramid, Sun Studio, the Blues Hall of Fame and Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Memphis-style barbecue has achieved international prominence, and the city hosts the annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. Higher-level educational institutions include the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University and Rhodes College.
- ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnlywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Memphis, TN-MS-AR (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data.
- ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". USPS. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "QuickFacts: Memphis city, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Population and Housing State Data".
- ^ Brown, Theodore. "John Overton". Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ^ "Memphis | Facts & Points of Interest". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- ^ "Logistics & Distribution". Greater Memphis Chamber. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- ^ "International Port of Memphis". Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, INC. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ^ "The World According to GaWC 2020". lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ Mariani, John (August 12, 2015). "Memphis Unmatched for American Music History". HuffPost. Retrieved December 14, 2021.