Population
The 1990 United States census reported that Tennessee had 4,896,641 people. According to the 1990 census Tennessee ranks 17th in Population among the 50 states. About three fifths of the people of Tennessee live in urban areas and about two fifths have lived and still live in now, rural areas. About two thirds of the state's people live in Metropolitan areas. Memphis is the states largest city, followed by Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Each one of these cities has over 100,000 people. The fifth largest city in Clarksville with about 75,000 people. Ten other cities in the state have populations of 25,000 or more. About 16 out of every 100 Tennessean's are black, a lower percentage than in most southern states. About 43 percent of the blacks in Tennessee live in Memphis. Tennessee's other large population groups include people of Irish, German, English, and Scott Irish descent. Education in Tennessee began with privately owned schools, usually controlled by churches. Samuel Doak started the first school in 1780.
