diff --git a/app/jobs/onceoff/init_category_tag_stats.rb b/app/jobs/onceoff/init_category_tag_stats.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c108ca91632
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/onceoff/init_category_tag_stats.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+module Jobs
+  class InitCategoryTagStats < Jobs::Onceoff
+    def execute_onceoff(args)
+      CategoryTagStat.exec_sql <<~SQL
+    INSERT INTO category_tag_stats (category_id, tag_id, topic_count)
+         SELECT topics.category_id, tags.id, COUNT(topics.id)
+           FROM tags
+     INNER JOIN topic_tags ON tags.id = topic_tags.tag_id
+     INNER JOIN topics ON topics.id = topic_tags.topic_id
+            AND topics.deleted_at IS NULL
+       GROUP BY tags.id, topics.category_id
+      SQL
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/jobs/scheduled/ensure_db_consistency.rb b/app/jobs/scheduled/ensure_db_consistency.rb
index a4826316214..03060c5d3eb 100644
--- a/app/jobs/scheduled/ensure_db_consistency.rb
+++ b/app/jobs/scheduled/ensure_db_consistency.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ module Jobs
       CategoryUser.ensure_consistency!
       UserOption.ensure_consistency!
       Tag.ensure_consistency!
+      CategoryTagStat.ensure_consistency!
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/models/category_tag_stat.rb b/app/models/category_tag_stat.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e9c8275d618
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/category_tag_stat.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+class CategoryTagStat < ActiveRecord::Base
+  belongs_to :category
+  belongs_to :tag
+
+  def self.topic_moved(topic, from_category_id, to_category_id)
+    if from_category_id
+      self.where(tag_id: topic.tags.map(&:id), category_id: from_category_id)
+        .where('topic_count > 0')
+        .update_all('topic_count = topic_count - 1')
+    end
+
+    if to_category_id
+      sql = <<~SQL
+        UPDATE #{self.table_name}
+           SET topic_count = topic_count + 1
+         WHERE tag_id in (:tag_ids)
+           AND category_id = :category_id
+     RETURNING tag_id
+      SQL
+
+      tag_ids = topic.tags.map(&:id)
+      updated_tag_ids = self.exec_sql(sql, tag_ids: tag_ids, category_id: to_category_id).map { |row| row['tag_id'] }
+
+      (tag_ids - updated_tag_ids).each do |tag_id|
+        CategoryTagStat.create!(tag_id: tag_id, category_id: to_category_id, topic_count: 1)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  def self.topic_deleted(topic)
+    topic_moved(topic, topic.category_id, nil)
+  end
+
+  def self.topic_recovered(topic)
+    topic_moved(topic, nil, topic.category_id)
+  end
+
+  def self.ensure_consistency!
+    self.update_topic_counts
+  end
+
+  # Recalculate all topic counts if they got out of sync
+  def self.update_topic_counts
+    CategoryTagStat.exec_sql <<~SQL
+      UPDATE category_tag_stats stats
+      SET topic_count = x.topic_count
+      FROM (
+        SELECT COUNT(topics.id) AS topic_count,
+               tags.id AS tag_id,
+               topics.category_id as category_id
+        FROM tags
+        INNER JOIN topic_tags ON tags.id = topic_tags.tag_id
+        INNER JOIN topics ON topics.id = topic_tags.topic_id AND topics.deleted_at IS NULL
+        GROUP BY tags.id, topics.category_id
+      ) x
+      WHERE stats.tag_id = x.tag_id
+        AND stats.category_id = x.category_id
+        AND x.topic_count <> stats.topic_count
+    SQL
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/tag.rb b/app/models/tag.rb
index 2e8a2c66944..45d900d4222 100644
--- a/app/models/tag.rb
+++ b/app/models/tag.rb
@@ -59,13 +59,19 @@ class Tag < ActiveRecord::Base
       scope_category_ids &= ([category.id] + category.subcategories.pluck(:id))
     end
 
-    tags = DiscourseTagging.filter_allowed_tags(
-      tags_by_count_query(limit: limit).where("topics.category_id in (?)", scope_category_ids),
-      nil, # Don't pass guardian. You might not be able to use some tags, but should still be able to see where they've been used.
-      category: category
-    )
+    return [] if scope_category_ids.empty?
 
-    tags.count(COUNT_ARG).map { |name, _| name }
+    tag_names_with_counts = Tag.exec_sql <<~SQL
+      SELECT tags.name as tag_name, SUM(stats.topic_count) AS sum_topic_count
+        FROM category_tag_stats stats
+  INNER JOIN tags ON stats.tag_id = tags.id AND stats.topic_count > 0
+       WHERE stats.category_id in (#{scope_category_ids.join(',')})
+    GROUP BY tags.name
+    ORDER BY sum_topic_count DESC, tag_name ASC
+       LIMIT #{limit}
+    SQL
+
+    tag_names_with_counts.map { |row| row['tag_name'] }
   end
 
   def self.include_tags?
diff --git a/app/models/topic.rb b/app/models/topic.rb
index 3bc8d72b4ac..3b3c74b956a 100644
--- a/app/models/topic.rb
+++ b/app/models/topic.rb
@@ -54,14 +54,20 @@ class Topic < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def trash!(trashed_by = nil)
-    update_category_topic_count_by(-1) if deleted_at.nil?
+    if deleted_at.nil?
+      update_category_topic_count_by(-1)
+      CategoryTagStat.topic_deleted(self) if self.tags.present?
+    end
     super(trashed_by)
     update_flagged_posts_count
     self.topic_embed.trash! if has_topic_embed?
   end
 
   def recover!
-    update_category_topic_count_by(1) unless deleted_at.nil?
+    unless deleted_at.nil?
+      update_category_topic_count_by(1)
+      CategoryTagStat.topic_recovered(self) if self.tags.present?
+    end
     super
     update_flagged_posts_count
     unless (topic_embed = TopicEmbed.with_deleted.find_by_topic_id(id)).nil?
@@ -122,8 +128,8 @@ class Topic < ActiveRecord::Base
   has_many :allowed_users, through: :topic_allowed_users, source: :user
   has_many :queued_posts
 
-  has_many :topic_tags, dependent: :destroy
-  has_many :tags, through: :topic_tags
+  has_many :topic_tags
+  has_many :tags, through: :topic_tags, dependent: :destroy # dependent destroy applies to the topic_tags records
   has_many :tag_users, through: :tags
 
   has_one :top_topic
@@ -226,6 +232,12 @@ class Topic < ActiveRecord::Base
     UserActionCreator.log_topic(self)
   end
 
+  after_update do
+    if saved_changes[:category_id] && self.tags.present?
+      CategoryTagStat.topic_moved(self, *saved_changes[:category_id])
+    end
+  end
+
   def initialize_default_values
     self.bumped_at ||= Time.now
     self.last_post_user_id ||= user_id
diff --git a/app/models/topic_tag.rb b/app/models/topic_tag.rb
index f8dc3cfee01..2dc203290bc 100644
--- a/app/models/topic_tag.rb
+++ b/app/models/topic_tag.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,24 @@
 class TopicTag < ActiveRecord::Base
   belongs_to :topic
   belongs_to :tag, counter_cache: "topic_count"
+
+  after_create do
+    if topic.category_id
+      if stat = CategoryTagStat.where(tag_id: tag_id, category_id: topic.category_id).first
+        stat.increment!(:topic_count)
+      else
+        CategoryTagStat.create(tag_id: tag_id, category_id: topic.category_id, topic_count: 1)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  after_destroy do
+    if topic.category_id
+      if stat = CategoryTagStat.where(tag_id: tag_id, category: topic.category_id).first
+        stat.topic_count == 1 ? stat.destroy : stat.decrement!(:topic_count)
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end
 
 # == Schema Information
diff --git a/db/migrate/20180207163946_create_category_tag_stats.rb b/db/migrate/20180207163946_create_category_tag_stats.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6ee70da8e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20180207163946_create_category_tag_stats.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+class CreateCategoryTagStats < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.1]
+  def change
+    create_table :category_tag_stats do |t|
+      t.references :category, null: false
+      t.references :tag, null: false
+      t.integer :topic_count, default: 0, null: false
+    end
+
+    add_index :category_tag_stats, [:category_id, :topic_count]
+    add_index :category_tag_stats, [:category_id, :tag_id], unique: true
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/integration/category_tag_spec.rb b/spec/integration/category_tag_spec.rb
index cbc58c0d8a4..36979b45d5b 100644
--- a/spec/integration/category_tag_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/category_tag_spec.rb
@@ -183,3 +183,92 @@ describe "category tag restrictions" do
     end
   end
 end
+
+describe "tag topic counts per category" do
+  let(:user)  { Fabricate(:user) }
+  let(:admin) { Fabricate(:admin) }
+  let(:category) { Fabricate(:category) }
+  let(:category2) { Fabricate(:category) }
+  let(:tag1) { Fabricate(:tag) }
+  let(:tag2) { Fabricate(:tag) }
+  let(:tag3) { Fabricate(:tag) }
+
+  before do
+    SiteSetting.tagging_enabled = true
+    SiteSetting.min_trust_to_create_tag = 0
+    SiteSetting.min_trust_level_to_tag_topics = 0
+  end
+
+  it "counts when a topic is created with tags" do
+    expect {
+      Fabricate(:topic, category: category, tags: [tag1, tag2])
+    }.to change { CategoryTagStat.count }.by(2)
+    expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+    expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+  end
+
+  it "counts when tag is added to an existing topic" do
+    topic = Fabricate(:topic, category: category)
+    post = Fabricate(:post, user: topic.user, topic: topic)
+    expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category).count).to eq(0)
+    expect {
+      PostRevisor.new(post).revise!(topic.user, raw: post.raw, tags: [tag1.name, tag2.name])
+    }.to change { CategoryTagStat.count }.by(2)
+    expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+    expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+  end
+
+  context "topic with 2 tags" do
+    let(:topic) { Fabricate(:topic, category: category, tags: [tag1, tag2]) }
+    let(:post)  { Fabricate(:post, user: topic.user, topic: topic) }
+
+    it "has correct counts after tag is removed from a topic" do
+      post
+      topic2 = Fabricate(:topic, category: category, tags: [tag2])
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(2)
+      PostRevisor.new(post).revise!(topic.user, raw: post.raw, tags: [])
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+    end
+
+    it "has correct counts after a topic's category changes" do
+      PostRevisor.new(post).revise!(topic.user, category_id: category2.id, raw: post.raw, tags: [tag1.name, tag2.name])
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category2, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category2, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+    end
+
+    it "has correct counts after topic's category AND tags changed" do
+      PostRevisor.new(post).revise!(topic.user, raw: post.raw, tags: [tag2.name, tag3.name], category_id: category2.id)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag3).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category2, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category2, tag: tag2).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category2, tag: tag3).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "topic with one tag" do
+    let(:topic) { Fabricate(:topic, tags: [tag1], category: category) }
+    let(:post) { Fabricate(:post, user: topic.user, topic: topic) }
+
+    it "counts after topic becomes uncategorized" do
+      PostRevisor.new(post).revise!(topic.user, raw: post.raw, tags: [tag1.name], category_id: SiteSetting.uncategorized_category_id)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: Category.find(SiteSetting.uncategorized_category_id), tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+    end
+
+    it "updates counts after topic is deleted" do
+      PostDestroyer.new(admin, post).destroy
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(0)
+    end
+
+    it "updates counts after topic is recovered" do
+      PostDestroyer.new(admin, post).destroy
+      PostDestroyer.new(admin, post).recover
+      expect(CategoryTagStat.where(category: category, tag: tag1).sum(:topic_count)).to eq(1)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/models/topic_list_spec.rb b/spec/models/topic_list_spec.rb
index dde096ae0a9..d5022065f79 100644
--- a/spec/models/topic_list_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/topic_list_spec.rb
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ describe TopicList do
       let!(:other_tag) { Fabricate(:tag, topics: [topic], name: "use-anywhere") }
       let(:topic_list) { TopicList.new('latest', topic.user, [topic], category: category.id, category_id: category.id) }
 
-      it 'should only return tags allowed in the category' do
-        expect(topic_list.top_tags).to eq([tag.name])
+      it 'should return tags used in the category' do
+        expect(topic_list.top_tags).to eq([tag.name, other_tag.name].sort)
       end
 
       it "with no category, should return all tags" do