Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 41,333 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 40,128 in 2024, making it the 23rd-most populous city in Tennessee. It was given a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence in 2019.
Germantown is an eastern suburb of Memphis. Germantown was founded in 1841 by mostly German emigrants. The town hosts festivals year-round to celebrate their history and German culture. In the city center is the "Old Germantown" neighborhood, anchored by a railroad depot (a 1948 reproduction of the 1868 original) and railroad tracks that recall the community's earliest days of development as an outpost along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.
The city hosts many horse shows and competitions annually, most notably the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June. Other major annual events include the Germantown Festival, an arts and crafts fair, in early September.
Germantown has the lowest crime rate for any city its size in the State of Tennessee. Its police and fire departments have average emergency response time of five minutes (police just under 3 minutes & fire department 5.4 minutes). The parks and recreation department is nationally accredited. The Arbor Day Foundation has designated Germantown a "Tree City USA" for 33 consecutive years. In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the City of Germantown earned the 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The city is one of only five municipalities nationwide to have ever received the award. Only 2.7% of Germantown citizens are below the poverty line.
History Germantown was founded along the Chickasaw Trace on a ridge between the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek, about east of the Mississippi River.
The first settlers arrived in Germantown about 1825. Between 1825 and 1830, Miss Frances Wright established Nashoba Plantation, a utopian community intended to educate emancipated slaves and teach them a trade. By 1830, the first store was opened as more settlers moved into the area.
The community became known as Pea Ridge in 1833. Town lots were laid out in 1834 by surveyor N. T. German. The name was changed to Germantown in 1836. This coincidentally also reflected the settling of German families.
The town was incorporated in 1841. The Memphis-Charleston Railroad was built through the community in 1852. Germantown experienced setbacks through the period of the Civil War (1861–1865); the yellow fever epidemics reduced its population to a few hundred.
The town rebounded slowly. Churches destroyed in the war were rebuilt, schools were constructed and the population began to return around the turn of the century. The city name was briefly changed to Neshoba, a Chickasaw word meaning 'wolf', during World War I, because of widespread anti-German sentiment in the United States at that time.
During the twentieth century, the community derived its strength through involvement of citizens, as evidenced in the churches, garden clubs and civic organizations. The Poplar Pike Improvement Association and the Germantown Civic Club played vital roles in the physical and social development of the community.
In the last half of the century, after WWII the population grew from about 400 to more than 40,000. Over several decades, elected and civic leadership, with support of citizens, worked proactively to control suburban growth through development regulations, aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts.
Historical sites "Old Germantown" is centered around the railroad depot in downtown Germantown on Germantown Road. This was chosen as a central location by settlers in the late 19th century due to its high ground and central location. The depot was rebuilt in 1948 to replace the original structure from 1868. The depot is now home to the Germantown Train Museum. There are signs to commemorate historical sites and parks in "Old Germantown."
Fort Germantown, located on Honey Tree Drive off of Poplar Pike, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was at this site that 250 Union Soldiers built their fortification from the ground in order to guard the Memphis and Charleston railroad during the Civil War. Now, there are replicas of howitzer cannons to mark the fort.
The John Gray House, located in Municipal Park, is one of the oldest brick homes in Shelby County. Built prior to 1851, it was originally located in Eads, Tennessee, but was moved to Germantown in 1989 to prevent demolition.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.12%) is water.
Government and politics The City of Germantown operates under a Mayor-Alderman form of government. The mayor and five aldermen are elected for four year terms and are part-time positions. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen is the legislative and policy-making body of the city. The mayor does not vote except to break a tie. By charter, the mayor is the chief administrative officer; however, oversight of day-to-day management is assigned to a professional city administrator, appointed by the mayor but subject to board approval. Mike Palazzolo was elected as Mayor in November 2015 and re-elected in 2018.
More than 200 citizens annually volunteer their time, expertise and energy in service on the city's 20-plus advisory commissions and boards. Most appointments, made by the mayor and aldermen each December, are for one year terms; most groups meet monthly. Their responsibilities range from recommendations on City government matters and community interests to identifying opportunities, challenges and solutions to conducting special activities. The commissions are Audit, Beautification, Design Review, Economic Development, Education, Environmental, Financial, Athletic Club, Great Hall, Historic, Industrial Development, Neighborhood Preservation, Parks and Recreation, Personnel, Planning, Public Safety Education, Retirement Plan Administration, Other Postemployment Benefits, Senior Citizens, and Telecommunications. The boards are Zoning Appeals, Industrial Development and Library.
Political makeup Germantown, Tennessee is a majority conservative suburban city and usually votes Republican in federal and statewide elections, consistent with voting patterns in eastern Shelby County’s suburban communities.
The city lies entirely within Tennessee's 8th congressional district, which is represented by Republican David Kustoff. +Germantown Presidential election results Year Republican Democratic Third parties202462.24% 14,30335.76% 8,2181.99% 458202062.47% 15,751 36.13% 9,1091.40% 354201666.12% 14,41528.92% 6,3054.96% 1,082
Education Public schools Germantown is served by two school districts, Shelby County Schools and Germantown Municipal School District.
Elementary Schools: Farmington Elementary School, Forest Hill Elementary School, Dogwood Elementary School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Elementary School (SCS)
Middle School: Houston Middle School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Middle School (SCS)
High School: Houston High School: In 2015, Houston High School was rated by The Washington Post as one of America's Most Challenging High Schools. Germantown High School (SCS): Germantown High School is an International Baccalaureate School, Blue Ribbon School, and is one of the largest high schools in the state of Tennessee, rated as a Reward School in Tennessee for Growth and Achievement measured by perfect scores of 5 each of the past 5 years.
Jason Manuel, former principal of Houston Middle School, is Superintendent of Germantown Municipal Schools. The School Board consists of 5 at large, elected positions.
Germantown Elementary, Middle, and High School remain with the Shelby County Schools district, although they are located within the borders of the city of Germantown and continue to serve a large proportion of Germantown K-12 students as well as students from unincorporated Shelby County.
Private schools Daybreak Specialized School Evangelical Christian School Farmington Presbyterian Madonna Learning Center Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School (preschool – 8th grade) St. George's Independent School The Bodine School The Phoenix School for Creative Learning Union University – Germantown
Demographics
According to realtor website Zillow, the average price of a home as of March 31, 2026, in Germantown is $485,879.
As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there were 15,568 estimated households in Germantown with an average of 2.60 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $149,920. Approximately 2.7% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Germantown has an estimated 58.7% employment rate, with 71.9% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 98.3% holding a high school diploma. There were 16,106 housing units at an average density of .
The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (90.4%), Spanish (1.8%), Indo-European (2.4%), Asian and Pacific Islander (3.4%), and Other (2.0%).
The median age in the city was 44.3 years.
+Germantown, Tennessee – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 White alone (NH) 31,057 34,389 34,23334,033 94.42% 92.08% 88.13%82.34% Black or African American alone (NH) 604 867 1,3811,671 1.84% 2.32% 3.56%4.04% Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 63 52 7164 0.19% 0.14% 0.18%0.15% Asian alone (NH) 887 1,302 1,9942,855 2.70% 3.49% 5.13%6.91% Pacific Islander alone (NH) — 13 75 — 0.03% 0.02%0.01% Other race alone (NH) 4 16 45126 0.01% 0.04% 0.12%0.30% Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — 302 3801,337 — 0.81% 0.98%3.23% Hispanic or Latino (any race) 278 407 7331,242 0.85% 1.09% 1.89%3.00%Total32,89337,34838,84441,333100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 41,333 people, 15,568 households, and 12,080 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 16,300 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.96% White, 4.11% African American, 0.20% Native American, 6.93% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from some other races and 4.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.00% of the population.
There were 15,568 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 67.6% were married-couple living together, 20.6% had a female householder and no husband present, 9.9% had a male householder and no wife present, and _% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.00.
Of the residents, 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.0 males age 18 and over. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.1%.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 38,844 people, 14,910 households, and 11,650 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 15,536 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.55% White, 3.57% African American, 0.21% Native American, 5.15% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from some other races and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.89% of the population.