In 1963, when the city of Nashville merged with the government of Davidson County, Goodlettsville chose to remain autonomous.

The city is home to the corporate headquarters of Dollar General and the Rivergate Mall shopping center.

Long hunter and early Middle Tennessee settler Kasper Mansker was reportedly born on an immigrant ship bound for the American colonies.

Mansker began to explore the wilds of Kentucky and Tennessee with a group of long hunters in 1769.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread in the state and city in the spring of 2020, the Metro Health department investigated a reported cluster of COVID-19 cases in April among employees working at the plant.

They worked in close quarters and had difficulty avoiding contracting the disease, especially at a time when so little was known about its transmission.

[11] The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) participated in this investigation.

[12] Food processing plants proved to be high-risk environments for frontline employees as the pandemic progressed, although the company instituted social distancing and other measures.

[13] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,789 people, 6,779 households, and 4,343 families residing in the city.

Goodlettsville Little League won the state of Tennessee in 2011, but failed to win any of the 3 games played during the Southeast Regional.

They won the United States Championship and qualified to play for the World Series title against the international champion.

The current mayor is Rusty Tinnin, City Commissioners are Jimmy D. Anderson, Jennifer Duncan, Cisco Gilmore and Jesse Walker.

[18] The Sumner County portion of the city is in District 45 of the Tennessee House of Representatives,[19] represented by Rep. Johnny Garrett, Republican,[20][21] who gained national notoriety for leading the expulsion of two Democrats from the Tennessee Legislature in March–April 2023.

A portion of the city is zoned for Millersville Elementary, which feeds White House Middle and High Schools.

Furthermore, residents on the Davidson County side have the opportunity to send students to Head Magnet Middle School, which feeds to Martin Luther King Jr.