Wednesday, March 23, 2011 6:12 pm

If you live in Cannon County, you have 13,800 neighbors.

That's according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Census.

At 13, 801, Cannon County has the 17th smallest population of Tennessee counties, which number 95.

Pickett County is the smallest at 5,077. The largest is Shelby with a population of 927,644.

Counties surrounding Cannon have populations of Rutherford (262,604), Wilson (113,993), DeKalb (18,723), Warren (39,839), Coffee (52,796) and Bedford (45,058).

Cannon's population increased 7.6% increase since 2000. There are 52.0 people per square mile on average.

Cannon County is 96.6% white, 1.2% black.

Cannon County's population in 2000 was 12,826. In 2009 it was estimated at 13,860.

Woodbury has a poulation of 2,680, an increase of 10.4% from 2000. Auburntown has 269 residents,    6.7% more than 2000.

Cannon County had a Census response rate of 78%.

The official U.S. Census is described in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. It calls for an actual enumeration of the people every ten years, to be used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives among the states.

Besides providing the basis for congressional redistricting, Census data are used in many other ways.

Since 1975, the Census Bureau has had responsibility to produce small-area population data needed to redraw state legislative and congressional districts.

Other important uses of Census data include the distribution of funds for government programs such as Medicaid; planning the right locations for schools, roads, and other public facilities; helping real estate agents and potential residents learn about a neighborhood; and identifying trends over time that can help predict future needs.