• county
  • FIPS 47093
  • Largest town: Knoxville

Knox County, Tennessee

Knox County had 506,748 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 508.3 square miles of land. It ranks 3rd of 95 in Tennessee by population and 36th by land area.

Population
506,748
#3 of 95 in Tennessee · #147 in US
Area
508.3 sq mi
#36 of 95 in Tennessee · #2,041 in US
Density
997 / sq mi
#3 of 95 in Tennessee · #161 in US
Median household income
$70,457
#18 of 95 in Tennessee · #966 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Knox County within Tennessee. Pin: Nashville.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Knox County

Knox County population, land area and income

Knox County had 506,748 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 508.3 square miles of land. It ranks 3rd of 95 in Tennessee by population and 36th by land area. That works out to 996.9 people per square mile, 10.4 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Tennessee has 32,883 residents, so Knox County is 15.4 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $70,457 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

506,748

3144th1st

147th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

508 sq mi

3144th1st

2041st of 3,144 (US)

Density

996.9 / sq mi

3144th1st

161st of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$70,457

3143rd1st

966th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Tennessee (95)

Population

506,748

95th1st

3rd of 95 (TN)

Land area

508 sq mi

95th1st

36th of 95 (TN)

Density

996.9 / sq mi

95th1st

3rd of 95 (TN)

Median household income

$70,457

95th1st

18th of 95 (TN)

How Knox County's population changed since 2020

Knox County gained 26,218 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 5.5%. That ranks 33rd of 95 in Tennessee for growth. The median Tennessee county changed by +4.4%, and the state as a whole by +4.3%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Knox County recorded 22,651 births and 23,578 deaths, a natural change of -927. Net international migration added +5,118 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +23,037. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 23,037 people.

480.5k2020486.0k2021495.9k2022501.6k2023506.7k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
22,651
Deaths
23,578
Net international migration
+5,118
Net domestic migration
+23,037
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+5,172

Where Knox County is

The Census internal point of Knox County is at 35.992700, -83.937700. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades Tennessee's 95 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Knox County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Warren County: +6.2%Bledsoe County: +4.3%Cheatham County: +3.7%Crockett County: +0.5%Putnam County: +6.0%Houston County: +2.8%Macon County: +7.6%Sequatchie County: +11.2%Fayette County: +6.2%Trousdale County: +4.5%Union County: +6.1%Claiborne County: +3.1%Weakley County: +0.8%Coffee County: +5.4%Johnson County: +2.8%Overton County: +4.3%Lake County: -8.1%Moore County: +4.7%Hardeman County: -0.0%Jefferson County: +7.8%Smith County: +4.1%Robertson County: +7.5%Gibson County: +1.9%Henry County: +2.3%Grundy County: +4.4%Decatur County: +3.2%Greene County: +4.3%Hamblen County: +4.9%Humphreys County: +2.9%Knox County: +5.5%Roane County: +5.7%Lewis County: +6.4%Rhea County: +4.4%Rutherford County: +9.8%Montgomery County: +11.2%Lauderdale County: -2.0%Shelby County: -2.1%Tipton County: +1.9%Perry County: +7.2%Stewart County: +4.8%Chester County: +2.8%Washington County: +4.8%Polk County: +4.4%Van Buren County: +8.3%Dyer County: -0.8%Davidson County: +1.9%Cocke County: +4.3%Williamson County: +7.8%Benton County: +2.0%Dickson County: +5.9%Lawrence County: +5.2%Hamilton County: +5.0%McNairy County: +0.9%Meigs County: +8.8%Hawkins County: +4.7%Blount County: +4.8%White County: +6.1%Marshall County: +9.8%Sullivan County: +2.8%Campbell County: +2.4%Haywood County: -4.1%Bradley County: +4.5%Franklin County: +5.4%Sumner County: +7.2%Hardin County: +2.4%Grainger County: +6.4%Hickman County: +3.6%Pickett County: +2.2%Carroll County: +2.4%Henderson County: +1.3%Sevier County: +1.3%Hancock County: +6.2%Scott County: +2.9%McMinn County: +6.4%Morgan County: +4.3%Lincoln County: +4.0%Obion County: -1.7%Unicoi County: -0.0%Wayne County: -1.5%Cannon County: +4.0%Fentress County: +8.6%Loudon County: +12.7%Wilson County: +14.3%Bedford County: +7.6%Monroe County: +5.9%DeKalb County: +7.7%Marion County: +3.2%Carter County: +1.9%Clay County: +3.5%Madison County: +1.6%Cumberland County: +6.9%Anderson County: +5.3%Maury County: +11.4%Giles County: +2.1%Jackson County: +6.4%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < +1.9%
  2. < +3.7%
  3. < +4.9%
  4. < +6.4%
  5. ≥ +6.4%
no data

Orange pin: Knox County internal point. Dark pin: Nashville.

Internal point

Decimal
35.992700, -83.937700
DMS
35°59'33.72"N 83°56'15.72"W
UTM
17N 235171.5E 3987130.7N
Geohash
dnkkcbq2t
Plus code
867RX3V6+3W

Towns in Knox County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Knox County, 223,964 people together, or 44% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Knox County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Knoxville with 198,722.

  1. 01Knoxville198,722
  2. 02Farragut25,242
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Knox County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for Knox County. The most populous is Blount County, TN, with 142,211 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Nashville and the nearest big city

Nashville is 159.4 miles W of Knox County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Knoxville, TN (population 198,722), 1.7 miles away.

Knox County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Knox County is 47093: state code 47 for Tennessee plus county code 093. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $70,457.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Knox County, Tennessee?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 506,748. That is up 26,218 people (5.5%) from the July 2020 estimate of 480,530.

What is the FIPS code of Knox County?

47093. The first two digits (47) are Tennessee; the last three (093) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Knox County?

Knoxville, with 198,722 residents inside Knox County in 2024.

Which counties border Knox County?

8 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Blount County, TN; Sevier County, TN; Anderson County, TN; Loudon County, TN; Jefferson County, TN; Roane County, TN; Grainger County, TN; Union County, TN.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.