AreaProfile

Knoxville, TN

Metro Area Profile

932,241 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Knoxville, TN metropolitan area.

74
Area Score
Top 20% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 33% of 99 published metros70
GrowthTop 8% of 99 published metros77
Housing affordabilityTop 47% of 99 published metros86
ClimateTop 22% of 99 published metros76
Physical resilienceTop 43% of 99 published metros63
Access68th of 99 published metros89
Economic stability70th of 99 published metros60
The quick read

A major airport is 18 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 74 places Knoxville in the top 20% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
932,241
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,422
Top 34% nationally
Density
266/sq mi
3501.0 sq mi of land
Median age
40.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Knoxville, TN
Nearest major airport
TYS
18 mi · Mc Ghee Tyson
Median home value
$290,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 87% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 450,136 employed residents.

33% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$976$72,422Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$513$40,856Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.2%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.2 minTop 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher32.7%Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment450,136Bottom 43%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.1%Top 17%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.2%Bottom 34%June 2026
Labor force466,179Bottom 42%June 2026
Labor force participation61.0%Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$59,890Bottom 20%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,080Bottom 26%2025 OEWS
Metro employment424,600Bottom 44%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 38%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 13%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/064.62.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Knoxville, TN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,730$27,720
Retail Salespersons12,430$31,150
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand10,120$37,400
Registered Nurses9,500$77,240
General and Operations Managers8,660$104,590
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers8,130$59,100

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,145 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
19.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,145
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$290,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.01Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.4%Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±182418,905Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$15$1,145Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,868$290,200Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.0%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.7%Bottom 38%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
77/ 100
Top 8% of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 957,608 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 8.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
7,902
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.6
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
35.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024958k906k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 55.5 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station OAK RIDGE ASOS, 5.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation55.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing40°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

63 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, tornado and lightning.

LandslideModerate
EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, inland flooding, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, hurricane, heat wave, hail, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 18 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Mc Ghee TysonTYS18 mi10,000 ft
Asheville RgnlAVL99 mi8,002 ft
Tri-CitiesTRI101 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
74
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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