A Louisville & Nashville railroad surveyor asked Beverly A. Williamson: "Who owned the land?"

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23 km2), all land.

As of the 2010 United States Census[update], there were 7,851 people, 3,183 households and 2,057 families residing in the city.

Milan is connected to four Class I rail lines and is served by West Tennessee Railroad (formerly Illinois Central, then Norfolk Southern).

[21] Milan's elevation of 424 feet (129 m) is the highest point between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico on the former Illinois Central Railroad.

[1] In 1866, Milan was incorporated by an act of the Tennessee Legislature; John G. Shepherd was the first mayor.

[1][2] In 1873, the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad brought importance to the town as a commercial point.

[24] In 1951, led by Dr. Robert P. Denney, Milan became the first city in Tennessee, second in the Southeast, to fluoridate its drinking water.

Water, sewer, and electricity are provided by the city through Milan Public Utilities.

The park has a 10 station fitness course, several sports fields & courts, playgrounds, reservable pavilions and swimming pool, and a saddle club arena.

[26] The Mildred G. Fields Library contains 35,000 volumes and is housed in a building on Van Hook Street.

The city is served by Milan General Hospital, a 70-bed acute care facility located on Highland Avenue.

Milan General Hospital became a wholly owned affiliate of West Tennessee Healthcare in 1998.

Bryant Memorial Library, located on First Street, houses a collection of over 2000 historical religious books.

The McKellar and Park Avenue buildings were demolished;[citation needed] Polk-Clark is now a community center.

[10] The station is host of the Milan No Till-Field Day, an agricultural demonstration event held on the fourth Thursday of July in even-numbered years.

[41] The Milan Army Ammunition Plant employed over 10,000 during World War II, dropping to 1,500 in 1947.

[citation needed] In 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the Milan Army Ammunition Plant on the National Priorities List.

Contamination of the city's groundwater in the Memphis Sand Aquifer of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and RDX was of particular concern.

[42] In 1989, the EPA, United States Army and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) signed a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) for the site.

The FFA ensures that the parties would fully investigate environmental impacts associated with past and present activities at the installation and complete appropriate cleanup actions through established schedules and enforceable milestones.

[42] In the early 1990s, the United States Army financed the relocation of the city's drinking water well field.

The United States Army implemented institutional controls to prohibit groundwater use in contaminated areas.

[42] In 2013, the United States Army submitted its Site-wide Feasibility Study to the EPA for approval.

The velocities of the plume vary, but the direction is primarily North towards the Rutherford Fork of the Obion River and from the Northwest boundary towards the city.