| Tri-Cities | |
| Official Name: | Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN–VA |
| Settlement Type: | Combined statistical area |
| Map Alt: | Map of The Tri-Cities Area |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tennessee Virginia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: |
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| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 514,899 (87th) |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2019 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
The Tri-Cities is the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. All three cities are located in Northeast Tennessee, while Bristol has a twin city of the same name in Virginia.
The Tri-Cities region was formerly a single Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); due to the U.S. Census Bureau's revised definitions of urban areas in the early 2000s, it is now a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with two metropolitan components: Johnson City and Kingsport–Bristol, TN–VA. https://web.archive.org/web/20041118101118/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy04/b04-03_attachment.pdf However, the Tri-Cities are usually still considered one population center, which is the fifth-largest in Tennessee.
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As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 480,091 people, 199,218 households, and 138,548 families residing within the CSA. The racial makeup of the CSA was 96.22% White, 2.12% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.02% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.
The median income for a household in the CSA was $30,331, and the median income for a family was $37,254. Males had a median income of $29,561 versus $21,014 for females. The per capita income for the CSA was $16,923.
Interstate Highways I-26 and I-81 intersect in the region, while I-40, I-77, and I-75 are nearby. Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) has non-stop service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Airlines include Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Allegiant Air and American Eagle Airlines. Additionally, TRI manages an aggressive Air Cargo program, administers Foreign Trade Zone 204, supports and promotes U.S. Customs Port 2027, and provides trade development assistance. The Region has both CSX and Norfolk Southern mainline railway access.
The region is served by the Tri-Cities Regional Airport which has scheduled airline passenger jet service.
The Kingsport Higher Education Center is a complex in downtown Kingsport, Tennessee that combines classes from five area colleges and universities, including The University of Tennessee.
The All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States. In 1999, the Tri-Cities were collectively designated as an All-America City by the National Civic League.
The award is the oldest community recognition program in the nation and recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results.
Since the program's inception in 1949, more than 4,000 communities have competed and over 500 have been named All-America Cities.
