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Ham radio operators in Tennessee: new licenses by county

20,289 licensed amateur radio operators; 605 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
49
New hams · last 12 months
605
▼ 14% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
20,289
Upgrades · 12 mo
342
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
171
Address updates · 12 mo
266
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
1,058

About ham radio in Tennessee

605 people earned a first license in Tennessee over the past 12 months, a 14% drop from the prior year. Tennessee ranks #14 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Montgomery County leads the state with 43 new hams. Among larger counties, Shelby County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 46% of the state’s licensees, close to the U.S. average of 48%.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Tennessee, October 2025 to September 2026 606 in total. Highest: 76 in March 2026. Lowest: 1 in October 2025. Down 14% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 1 new ham 1 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 46 new hams 46 Nov Dec 2025: 62 new hams 62 Dec Jan 2026: 44 new hams 44 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 57 new hams 57 Feb Mar 2026: 76 new hams 76 Mar Apr 2026: 62 new hams 62 Apr May 2026: 57 new hams 57 May Jun 2026: 65 new hams 65 Jun Jul 2026: 38 new hams 38 Jul Aug 2026: 43 new hams 43 Aug Sep 2026: 55 new hams 55 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Tennessee
MonthNew hams
Oct 20251
Nov 202546
Dec 202562
Jan 202644
Feb 202657
Mar 202676
Apr 202662
May 202657
Jun 202665
Jul 202638
Aug 202643
Sep 202655
Total606

License classes

Active licensees in Tennessee by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 9,35246%48%
General 5,39027%25%
Amateur Extra 4,56023%21%
Advanced 6613%3%
Novice / Other 3262%2%

Bar = Tennessee share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 155 operators upgraded to General and 164 to Amateur Extra.

How Tennessee compares

#14 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsTennesseeU.S.
New hams, past 12 months29.832.3
Upgrades, past 12 months16.914.7
Expiring, next 6 months52.157.3

605 new hams in Tennessee this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Tennessee counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Montgomery County430%53081.1
2Shelby County42▲ 14%1,37630.5
3Knox County38▼ 37%1,64923.0
4Hamilton County36▼ 45%1,31427.4
5Davidson County29▼ 22%96030.2
6Rutherford County21▲ 11%67631.1
7Washington County19▼ 17%54235.1
8Williamson County16▼ 33%79520.1
9Blount County14▲ 8%64021.9
10Sumner County14▲ 8%52726.6

All Tennessee counties

49 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Tennessee counties

These 46 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 46 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Benton County470
Bledsoe County840
Campbell County1050
Cannon County572
Carroll County702
Chester County582
Clay County240
Crockett County450
DeKalb County581
Dickson County1660
Dyer County632
Fayette County1302
Fentress County1242
Franklin County1141
Grainger County794
Grundy County520
Hancock County372
Hardeman County422
Hardin County864
Haywood County240
Hickman County892
Houston County291
Humphreys County590
Jackson County404
Johnson County922
Lake County40
Lauderdale County281
Lewis County713
Macon County420
Marion County1040
McNairy County790
Meigs County812
Moore County140
Morgan County1013
Perry County371
Pickett County211
Polk County864
Rhea County933
Scott County831
Smith County580
Stewart County280
Trousdale County160
Union County714
Van Buren County240
Wayne County330
Weakley County852

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Tennessee

How many ham radio operators are in Tennessee?

20,289 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Tennessee as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Tennessee last year?

605 people in Tennessee received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Tennessee counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Montgomery County (43), Shelby County (42) and Knox County (38).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Tennessee licensees could be matched to a county.