Knoxville, TN Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Knoxville

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Knoxville leans heavily Republican by roughly 32 points: about 34% of voters vote Democratic and 66% Republican.

 

About 70% of adults in the Knoxville area typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in the Knoxville area, ~24% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Knoxville compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Knoxville leans more Republican than 3 of 56 neighbors.

Politically, Knoxville sits close to the rest of Tennessee.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Knoxville. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+12) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+56), a spread of about 68 points.

Why Knoxville leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Knoxville, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Knoxville votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 55%, far above the Tennessee average of 21%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Knoxville, TN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.

Why turnout in Knoxville looks the way it does

Turnout in the Knoxville area sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.

Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.