How Current COVID-19 Cases in Tennessee Compare to the Nation

By Steven M. Peters Published Mar 6, 4:45AM EST

How Current COVID-19 Cases in Tennessee Compare to the Nation — © Tomas Ragina / iStock via Getty Images

The omicron variant brought new daily cases of COVID-19 to all time highs in the United States. Though omicron appears to have peaked, the virus is still spreading.

Since the first known COVID-19 case was identified in the U.S. on Jan. 21, 2020, there have been a total of about 78,308,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States — or 23,935 for every 100,000 people.

In Tennessee, the infection rate is far higher than the national average. Since the first known case of COVID-19 was reported in Tennessee on Mar. 5, 2020, there have been 2,006,591 total infections in the state — or 29,639 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states and Washington D.C., Tennessee ranks No. 4 by cumulative COVID-19 cases, adjusted for population.

Just as COVID-19 infections are more concentrated in Tennessee, so too are deaths. So far, there have been 24,495 COVID-19 related deaths in Tennessee, or 362 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, the national COVID-19 death rate stands at 288 per 100,000 Americans.

Tennessee implemented strict measures early in the pandemic to help slow the virus’s spread. On Mar. 31, 2020, Tennessee implemented a temporary statewide stay-at-home order to limit person-to-person contact.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of March 2, 2022.

These are all the counties in Tennessee where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

Rank	State	COVID cases per 100,000 people	Total COVID cases	COVID deaths per 100,000 people	Total COVID deaths
1	Rhode Island	32,000	338,338	323	3,412
2	Alaska	31,412	231,645	153	1,130
3	North Dakota	31,320	238,053	288	2,192
4	Tennessee	29,639	2,006,591	362	24,495
5	Utah	29,194	922,852	140	4,411
6	South Carolina	28,739	1,461,127	332	16,864
7	Kentucky	28,586	1,277,352	310	13,856
8	Arizona	27,565	1,976,890	390	27,946
9	Florida	27,271	5,808,620	330	70,247
10	Arkansas	27,207	819,984	349	10,524
11	West Virginia	27,140	490,111	350	6,317
12	Wisconsin	27,040	1,571,997	229	13,297
13	Wyoming	26,846	155,101	297	1,718
14	South Dakota	26,737	235,882	318	2,805
15	Delaware	26,533	256,621	280	2,709
16	Mississippi	26,450	789,940	403	12,039
17	Kansas	26,311	766,045	273	7,946
18	Alabama	26,195	1,280,357	374	18,287
19	Oklahoma	25,877	1,020,367	329	12,990
20	Minnesota	25,192	1,413,576	219	12,289
21	Indiana	25,130	1,681,685	341	22,843
22	New York	25,121	4,909,134	342	66,769
23	Montana	25,094	266,579	300	3,187
24	Louisiana	24,947	1,162,537	356	16,606
25	North Carolina	24,938	2,589,517	217	22,570
26	New Mexico	24,407	511,434	330	6,919
27	New Jersey	24,331	2,167,515	369	32,915
28	Idaho	24,294	426,164	271	4,751
29	Massachusetts	24,214	1,671,292	339	23,424
30	Iowa	23,892	754,073	288	9,085
31	Illinois	23,791	3,031,220	290	36,910
32	Michigan	23,614	2,360,399	345	34,505
33	Nebraska	23,524	453,838	207	3,986
34	Georgia	23,433	2,465,056	337	35,415
35	Colorado	23,067	1,313,779	207	11,772
36	Texas	22,818	6,549,206	291	83,549
37	Missouri	22,799	1,396,745	308	18,858
38	Ohio	22,704	2,653,940	313	36,580
39	California	22,653	8,960,997	214	84,700
40	Nevada	22,534	683,766	320	9,704
41	New Hampshire	21,996	298,362	175	2,377
42	Pennsylvania	21,527	2,757,036	337	43,216
43	Connecticut	20,248	723,389	293	10,470
44	Washington D.C.	19,659	134,564	193	1,318
45	Virginia	19,271	1,641,453	221	18,812
46	Washington	18,897	1,423,990	157	11,866
47	Maine	16,985	227,331	154	2,065
48	Vermont	16,631	104,160	91	568
49	Maryland	16,592	1,002,634	234	14,135
50	Oregon	16,559	693,929	158	6,622
51	Hawaii	16,224	230,458	93	1,322