McNairy County, Tennessee

McNairy County is a county in Tennessee, United States, about 90 miles east of Memphis on the
Mississippi state line. It had a population of 25,866 at the 2020 census, an estimated 26,236 by
2025, and covers 564 square miles (1,460 km2) centred near 35°11′N 88°34′W.

Selmer is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 38375. The
county holds 4 cities, 7 incorporated towns, 1 census-designated place and 9 unincorporated
communities across McNairy County, and it runs on Central Time. Purdy was the original county
seat until 1890, when the courts moved to Selmer.

Towns & Villages in McNairy County

McNairy County has 21 named places on record: 11 incorporated cities and towns, one census
designated place, and 9 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP
stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no
formal boundary. McNairy County has no civil townships, so places are listed without one.

Two names on this list are easy to confuse. The unincorporated community of McNairy shares its
name with the county itself but is a separate crossroads community near the Mississippi line.
Adamsville’s city limits reach across the county line into a small slice of Hardin County,
though most of its 2,265 residents live on the McNairy County side. Hornsby sits on the McNairy
County/Hardeman County line and carries the 38044 Hardeman County ZIP even though its incorporated
limits extend into McNairy. The old scrape list also carried Mount Vinson, Mount Zion, Mud Creek,
Needmore, New Hope, New Lawton, Old Lawton, Pebble Hill, Gravel Hill, Good Hope, Gilchrist, Cypress,
Chambers, Beauty Hill, Sulphur Springs, Rose Creek, Forty Forks, Hickory Flats and West Shiloh as
unincorporated places; none of them could be confirmed against Census Bureau, USPS or Wikipedia
records in this pass, so they are omitted here rather than republished on an unverified list.

ZIP Codes

• 38375 — Selmer (the county’s largest ZIP and government seat)
• 38310 — Adamsville
• 38315 — Bethel Springs
• 38357 — Michie
• 38339 — Guys
• 38379 — Stantonville
• 38367 — Ramer
• 38334 — Finger
• 38359 — Milledgeville
• 38393 — Chewalla
• 38044 — Hornsby (a Hardeman County ZIP that also covers the town’s McNairy County
  side)

Eastview has no ZIP code of its own; mail there is delivered under Selmer’s 38375 code,
since the town sits on Selmer’s southern edge.

Geography

McNairy County lies in Tennessee’s southwestern corner, in the Gulf Coastal Plain, a belt
of gently rolling hills and pine-hardwood forest that runs south into Mississippi. Of its 564
square miles, 563 are land and 0.8 are water, about 0.1 percent — the county has no large
lake, and its streams drain south toward the Tombigbee and Hatchie river systems. Big Hill Pond
State Park, a 5,000-acre tract in the county’s southeast corner, holds the county’s
largest protected wetland and the Big Hill Pond itself, a natural sinkhole lake.

Chester County lies to the north, Hardin County to the east, Alcorn County, Mississippi to the
south, and Hardeman County to the west. Chester County,
Hardin County and
Hardeman County all border McNairy
directly; Alcorn County across the state line has no page on this site.

Demographics

McNairy County had a population of 25,866 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 26,236 residents. Selmer and Adamsville are by far the two largest communities,
together holding more than a quarter of the county’s population. Median household income
runs $53,473 (2024 Data USA estimate), below Tennessee’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of
$67,631. Population density works out to roughly 46 people per square mile of land, low even for
rural West Tennessee, reflecting the county’s spread-out pattern of small towns and farmland.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 2,680 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 1,383 and retail trade at 1,253. McNairy County Schools, with about
4,000 students across eight schools, is one of the county’s largest public employers. Finger
hosts an annual barbecue festival that has run for more than 110 years, one of the county’s
oldest continuous community events. Selmer’s Highway 45 South corridor carries the state
legislature’s 2009 “Rockabilly Highway” designation, recognizing the region’s
role in the genre’s development.

History

The Tennessee General Assembly formed McNairy County on 8 October 1823, carving it out of
Hardin County. It was named for John McNairy, a federal judge who served the western district of
Tennessee. Purdy served as the original county seat until 1890, when a courthouse fire and a
railroad line that bypassed the town pushed the seat to Selmer, incorporated in 1901 and named for
Selma, Alabama.

Buford Pusser served as McNairy County sheriff from 1964 to 1970, campaigning against
moonshine and gambling operations along the state line; his story became the basis for the
“Walking Tall” film series. In August 2025, following a three-year investigation,
authorities concluded Pusser had killed his wife, Pauline, in 1967 — a death long
attributed to an ambush by the criminal networks he pursued. On 3 April 2025, an EF3 tornado
struck Selmer before dawn, killing five people, injuring fourteen and causing an estimated $27.6
million in property damage.

Getting There

No interstate crosses McNairy County. U.S. Route 64 runs east–west through Selmer and
Adamsville, and U.S. Route 45 runs north–south through Selmer, Michie and Guys. Tennessee
State Routes 22 and 57 also cross the county.

• Memphis — about 90 miles west
• Jackson — about 35 miles north
• Corinth, Mississippi — about 20 miles south
• Savannah — about 20 miles east

McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport in Jackson, about 35 miles north of Selmer, is the nearest
airport with scheduled commercial service. Memphis International Airport, roughly 90 miles west,
offers the widest range of flights. McNairy County has no Amtrak service; the nearest station is
in Newbern, more than 90 miles to the north.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is McNairy County located?
It sits in Tennessee’s southwestern Gulf Coastal Plain, on the Mississippi state line, about
90 miles east of Memphis, bordered by Chester, Hardin and Hardeman counties.

What is the population of McNairy County?
25,866 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 26,236 by 2025.

How big is McNairy County?
564 square miles (1,460 km2), of which 563 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of McNairy County?
Selmer, the county’s largest city, has been the county seat since 1890; Purdy held the role
before it.

How many towns and cities are in McNairy County?
Eleven incorporated places — Selmer, Adamsville, Eastview, Bethel Springs, Michie, Guys,
Stantonville, Ramer, Finger, Milledgeville and Hornsby — plus the Chewalla census designated
place and nine unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does McNairy County use?
38375 for Selmer, 38310 for Adamsville, 38315 for Bethel Springs, 38357 for Michie, 38339 for
Guys, 38379 for Stantonville, 38367 for Ramer, 38334 for Finger, 38359 for Milledgeville and 38393
for Chewalla.

What is McNairy County known for?
Sheriff Buford Pusser, whose 1964–1970 tenure inspired the “Walking Tall” films,
and Big Hill Pond State Park, a 5,000-acre tract in the county’s southeast corner.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Tennessee.