Why is Memphis declining unlike the remaining TN cities?

[thebeloitmoderate]

I noticed all of Tennessee's biggest cities growing with the big and noticeable exception being Memphis in this census but why?

[Skill and Chance]

It's a cultural extension of Mississippi, which is also declining. 

[Nyvin]

The entire Mississippi Delta/River area from New Orleans all the way to St Louis is doing really poorly.   

[Del Tachi]

The industry mix of Memphis (i.e., logistics and transportation) is not really conducive to hosting a 21st century knowledge economy.  The city is becoming less important as a transit hub as MS River and transcontinental rail traffic continue their terminal declines and there isn't really a top-tier research university nearby from which local industries/start-ups can draw reliable STEM talent.  Memphis is also almost two-thirds Black, which is another major reason tech bros aren't very interested in investing or living there lol

That being said, comparing Memphis and Nashville proper is very apples-and-oranges.  Nashville is a combined city-county; if you include all of Shelby County in with Memphis it still bests Nashville's population by more than 200k (combined Memphis-Shelby still has almost flat growth, 0.2% between 2010 and 2020.)

[Skill and Chance]

The industry mix of Memphis (i.e., logistics and transportation) is not really conducive to hosting a 21st century knowledge economy.  The city is becoming less important as a transit hub as MS River and transcontinental rail traffic continue their terminal declines and there isn't really a top-tier research university nearby from which local industries/start-ups can draw reliable STEM talent.  Memphis is also almost two-thirds Black, which is another major reason tech bros aren't very interested in investing or living there lol

That being said, comparing Memphis and Nashville proper is very apples-and-oranges.  Nashville is a combined city-county; if you include all of Shelby County in with Memphis it still bests Nashville's population by more than 200k (combined Memphis-Shelby still has almost flat growth, 0.2% between 2010 and 2020.)

Do you mean passenger rail?  Freight rail is still going very strong and probably has yet to peak.