Since 2002, Manchester has been the host city for the annual Bonnaroo Music Festival.

[8] According to historians, "A small village, “Mitchellsville” was already in existence near the proposed site for the new county seat, but when the new county was formed, it was renamed “Manchester” after the industrial city of Manchester, England.

U.S. Route 41 passes through the center of town as Hillsboro Boulevard; US 41 runs parallel to I-24 and leads 8 miles (13 km) southeast to Hillsboro and northwest 5 miles (8 km) to I-24 Exit 105.

Tennessee State Route 55 passes through the east side of Manchester as McArthur Street; it leads northeast 25 miles (40 km) to McMinnville and southwest 12 miles (19 km) to Tullahoma.

The Little Duck River begins at the confluence of Hunt Creek and Huckleberry Creek and passes through the city before joining the Duck River just west of the city limits.

Both rivers drop over waterfalls above their confluence, within Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park.

[5] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,213 people, 4,141 households, and 2,582 families residing in the city.