Tennessee ranks #25 among US states for total patents filed all time, with 90,895 patents from 20,272 inventors across 431 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 13.2 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Tennessee All Time
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Knoxville, TN | 12,959 | 2,927 |
| #2 | Memphis, TN | 9,065 | 1,908 |
| #3 | Nashville, TN | 8,609 | 2,243 |
| #4 | Kingsport, TN | 6,550 | 821 |
| #5 | Germantown, TN | 3,691 | 458 |
| #6 | Oak Ridge, TN | 3,632 | 833 |
| #7 | Franklin, TN | 2,702 | 577 |
| #8 | Collierville, TN | 2,600 | 343 |
| #9 | Brentwood, TN | 2,188 | 421 |
| #10 | Cordova, TN | 2,076 | 351 |
| #11 | Chattanooga, TN | 1,822 | 608 |
| #12 | Cookeville, TN | 1,516 | 316 |
| #13 | Murfreesboro, TN | 1,510 | 388 |
| #14 | Johnson City, TN | 1,251 | 299 |
| #15 | Jackson, TN | 1,135 | 267 |
| #16 | Cleveland, TN | 858 | 243 |
| #17 | Bartlett, TN | 820 | 176 |
| #18 | Jonesborough, TN | 751 | 169 |
| #19 | Hendersonville, TN | 751 | 209 |
| #20 | Bristol, TN | 727 | 183 |
| #21 | Maryville, TN | 713 | 209 |
| #22 | Elder Mountain, TN | 659 | 106 |
| #23 | Arlington, TN | 619 | 67 |
| #24 | Signal Mountain, TN | 603 | 103 |
| #25 | Soddy-Daisy, TN | 587 | 186 |