Best PlacesKnox County, TN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Knox County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Knox County ranks 495th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $84,328, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are an overheated housing market, noise, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in Knox County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Knox County
The parts of Knox County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Knoxville
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Powell
Prices have run up less and more households have young kids.
Corryton, Mascot & Strawberry Plains
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Knox County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Knox County's strengths and weaknesses
Knox County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Fast internet is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. State finances and a strong job market follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. An overheated housing market, noise, and air quality hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Knox County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 93% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of counties
Where Knox County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 15% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 30% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 75 pleasant days a year, better than only 30% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 38% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Knox County
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Knox County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $84,328; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Knox County's effective rate of 0.47%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Knox County
Knox County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Knox County.
Who works in Knox County, and how
Work in Knox County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Knox County
Knox County has more late-night spots per resident than 86% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Knox County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Knox County growing, and who is moving in?
Knox County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Knoxville, TN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Knox County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Knox County, month by month
Knox County sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 31° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Knox County
The nearest airport, McGhee Tyson, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 150 miles away.
The best schools in and around Knox County
Schools across Knox County average a C+, better than 57% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sequoyah ElementaryA+ · 86% proficient
- Blue Grass ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Northshore Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Farragut Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Hardin Valley Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- West Valley Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- L N Stem AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- Farragut High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Bearden High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Knox County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Knox County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Knox County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Knox County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Knox County
Is Knox County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Knox County ranks 495th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, state finances, and a strong job market, and lowest on an overheated housing market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Knox County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $343,641. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $84,328 median income, cost of living beats 93% of counties.
Is Knox County safe?
Knox County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $492 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Knox County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 31. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Knox County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Knoxville, Powell, and Corryton, Mascot & Strawberry Plains. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Knox County good for families?
Schools beat 57% of counties, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $811 a month.
Is Knox County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 98% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Knox County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Knox County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Knox County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Knox County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Knox County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Knox County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Knox County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Knox County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Knox County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.