Tennessee Located in the Southeastern part of the country, Tennessee is a landlocked state with official name State of Tennessee. Its borders are as follows: Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south; Missouri to the northwest; Virginia to the northeast; North Carolina to the east; and Arkansas to the southwest. Tennessee ranks 15th in terms of population and 36th in terms of area among the 50 states. East, Middle, and West Tennessee are the three Grand Divisions that legally and culturally make up the state of Tennessee. The largest city and capital of the state, Nashville serves as the hub of its major metropolitan region. Clarksville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and Knoxville are a few more significant cities. By the time of the 2020 US census, Tennessee had a population of about 6.9 million.