Jobs & Economy in Memphis
Memphis's economy runs on real, diversified anchors beyond FedEx's global logistics empire -- AutoZone and International Paper are both Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Memphis, and a major Nike distribution center adds further logistics-sector scale -- against a genuinely elevated MSA unemployment rate (4.4% as of December 2025) and a real, disclosed city poverty rate of 24.0%, both already sourced in the base Memphis record.
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Learn moreFedEx, St. Jude, and the Airport (Recap From the Base Record)
As detailed fully in the base Memphis record, FedEx is headquartered in Memphis and directly employs more than 30,000 people here (the city's largest private employer), with a total footprint exceeding 80,000 jobs including logistics subcontractors and related work; the Memphis SuperHub spans roughly 880 acres and processes more than 3 million packages daily. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a globally recognized pediatric cancer research institution headquartered in Memphis, is investing a further $1.4 billion in its campus, growing planned new jobs from an initial 1,400 to 2,300. Memphis International Airport (MEM), despite modest passenger traffic (4.8 million passengers in 2025) since Delta closed its passenger hub here, remains one of the top three busiest cargo airports in the world and supports an estimated 67,550 regional jobs, $10.7 billion in economic output, and $5 billion in wages per a 2024 airport-commissioned economic impact study.
Beyond FedEx: A Genuinely Diversified Corporate Base
Memphis's employer base extends beyond logistics: AutoZone, a Fortune 500 automotive-parts retailer, was founded in and is headquartered in Memphis, employing more than 6,000 people locally across its corporate headquarters and distribution operations. International Paper, a global paper and packaging company, is also headquartered in Memphis, with local employment cited in a 2,000-6,000 range across corporate, manufacturing, and engineering roles. Nike operates one of its largest distribution centers globally in Memphis, adding further logistics-sector employment on top of FedEx's footprint. ServiceMaster (whose Terminix brand is well known) maintains a Memphis presence as well, though specific current local employment figures weren't confirmed to a reliable source this pass -- that gap is disclosed rather than filled with an invented number.
Unemployment and Poverty: Disclosed Honestly, Not Softened
The Memphis MSA unemployment rate was 4.4% as of December 2025, per BLS regional data cited in the base Memphis record -- modestly above typical national levels for the same period. City-level poverty is genuinely high and disclosed directly here, consistent with the base record: 24.0% of Memphis city residents live in poverty (with the University of Memphis's 2025 Poverty Fact Sheet citing 27.9% for Black residents, 34.2% for Hispanic/Latino residents, 10.8% for White residents, and 38.8% child poverty specifically), though the broader three-state MSA poverty rate is meaningfully lower at 17.4% -- a real, disclosed gap between the city core and the wider metro.
A Correction Worth Stating Plainly: City Population Rankings
Common assumptions about Tennessee's largest city are worth double-checking against current data: per U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2024 vintage estimates), Nashville-Davidson has actually overtaken Memphis in city-proper population (687,788 vs. 618,639) -- a reversal from the historical pattern, likely tied to Nashville's consolidated city-county government structure (Nashville and Davidson County merged governments decades ago) inflating its 'city' population boundary relative to Memphis's traditional, separate mayor-council municipal government and county structure. What remains unambiguous and consistent across every source reviewed: Nashville's metro area (2,043,713) is substantially larger than Memphis's metro area (1,341,606), which itself spans three states. This distinction -- city-proper population versus metro population, and the effect of consolidated versus traditional city government structures -- matters for accurately describing Memphis's relative scale within Tennessee.
UTHSC and the Medical-Education Anchor
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) maintains a substantial presence in Memphis, contributing to the city's healthcare-sector employment and medical-education base alongside St. Jude and the hospital systems detailed on the healthcare topic page -- a real, if not independently quantified this pass, part of Memphis's broader medical/research economic anchor beyond FedEx's logistics dominance.
Key takeaways
- Beyond FedEx (30,000+ direct employees) and St. Jude (a further $1.4B expansion, 2,300 new jobs), Memphis hosts two more Fortune 500 headquarters -- AutoZone (6,000+ local employees) and International Paper (2,000-6,000 local employees) -- plus a major Nike distribution center, a genuinely diversified logistics/retail/manufacturing base.
- MSA unemployment ran 4.4% as of December 2025 -- modestly elevated -- alongside a real, honestly disclosed city poverty rate of 24.0% (well above the broader three-state MSA rate of 17.4%).
- A disclosed correction: per 2024 Census QuickFacts, Nashville-Davidson has overtaken Memphis in city-proper population (687,788 vs. 618,639), reversing the historical assumption -- likely tied to Nashville's consolidated city-county government structure. Nashville's metro remains unambiguously larger either way (2,043,713 vs. 1,341,606).
- Memphis International Airport, despite modest passenger volume, remains one of the world's top-three busiest cargo airports and supports an estimated 67,550 regional jobs and $10.7B in economic output per a 2024 impact study.
- UTHSC adds a further, not independently quantified, medical-education and healthcare-sector employment anchor alongside St. Jude and Memphis's hospital systems.
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