Though vaccine distribution is well underway across the United States, the novel coronavirus continues to spread through the population. To date, there have been 30,475,900 reported cases of the virus nationwide — and that number is growing every day.
In the Memphis metropolitan area, which covers parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, a total of 138,924 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 10,321 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — above the national rate of 9,315 cases per 100,000 people.
The higher than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Memphis is being driven disproportionately by one area in particular.
The broader Memphis metro area comprises nine counties or county equivalents, which can include independent cities — and of them, Fayette County has the most COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 4,823 infections in Fayette County, or 12,151 for every 100,000 people.
Not only does Fayette County have the most COVID-19 infections per capita in the Memphis area, it also has more deaths attributable to the virus per capita than the metro area as a whole. There have been a total of 197 coronavirus deaths for every 100,000 people in Fayette County, compared to 172 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Memphis metro area.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of April 7, 2021.
| Rank | Geography | COVID cases per 100,000 people | Total cases | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayette County | 12,151 | 4,823 | 197 | 78 |
| 2 | Crittenden County | 12,023 | 5,893 | 196 | 96 |
| 3 | Marshall County | 11,870 | 4,248 | 279 | 100 |
| 4 | Benton County | 11,729 | 968 | 303 | 25 |
| 5 | DeSoto County | 11,717 | 20,638 | 141 | 248 |
| 6 | Tipton County | 11,628 | 7,145 | 169 | 104 |
| 7 | Tate County | 11,245 | 3,204 | 284 | 81 |
| 8 | Tunica County | 10,059 | 1,023 | 246 | 25 |
| 9 | Shelby County | 9,710 | 90,982 | 167 | 1,564 |
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