Knoxville, Tennessee demographics

Knoxville, TN demographics: median age 33.5; 34.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Knoxville city, Tennessee · Incorporated city · GEOID 4740000. The survey estimates a population of 195,185 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Knoxville is 33.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.5 years. There are 86,263 households (±1,084). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	33.5 ±0.5	38.9 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 195,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Under 18	34,839 ±1,289	17.8% ±0.7 pp	22.2%	22.0%
18–34	67,186 ±2,074	34.4% ±1.1 pp	22.7%	22.8%
35–64	65,040 ±1,906	33.3% ±1.0 pp	38.0%	38.0%
65 and older	28,120 ±1,210	14.4% ±0.6 pp	17.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 195,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Male	94,332 ±1,181	48.3% ±0.6 pp	49.1%	49.5%
Female	100,853 ±1,178	51.7% ±0.6 pp	50.9%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 195,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
White alone	139,580 ±1,872	71.5% ±1.0 pp	72.4%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	30,817 ±1,121	15.8% ±0.6 pp	15.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	328 ±203 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,097 ±508	1.6% ±0.3 pp	1.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	51 ±77 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	3,930 ±806	2.0% ±0.4 pp	2.7%	7.1%
Two or more races	17,382 ±1,694	8.9% ±0.9 pp	7.0%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 195,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	180,222 ±1,501	92.3% ±0.8 pp	92.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	14,963 ±1,499	7.7% ±0.8 pp	7.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 86,263
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Married-couple family	24,897 ±907	28.9% ±1.0 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,427 ±427	4.0% ±0.5 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	10,804 ±848	12.5% ±1.0 pp	12.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	35,472 ±1,385	41.1% ±1.5 pp	29.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	11,663 ±853	13.5% ±1.0 pp	6.3%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 86,263
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Households with people under 18	18,433 ±800	21.4% ±0.9 pp	29.3%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	67,830 ±1,487	78.6% ±1.4 pp	70.7%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 86,263
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	35,472 ±1,385	41.1% ±1.5 pp	29.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	27,913 ±1,171	32.4% ±1.3 pp	35.2%	33.8%
Three-person households	10,557 ±795	12.2% ±0.9 pp	15.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	6,899 ±605	8.0% ±0.7 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	3,488 ±542	4.0% ±0.6 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,052 ±257	1.2% ±0.3 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	882 ±247	1.0% ±0.3 pp	1.2%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 195,185
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Native	181,181 ±1,587	92.8% ±0.8 pp	93.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	14,004 ±1,599	7.2% ±0.8 pp	6.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 185,323
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
English only	168,096 ±1,826	90.7% ±0.9 pp	91.4%	77.7%
Spanish	10,239 ±1,279	5.5% ±0.7 pp	5.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	343 ±142	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	420 ±192	0.2% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	459 ±259 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,106 ±302	0.6% ±0.2 pp	0.7%	2.0%
Korean	45 ±37 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	764 ±306	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.2%	1.1%
Vietnamese	128 ±81 · low precision	0.1% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	189 ±91	0.1% ±0.0 pp	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	502 ±270 · low precision	0.3% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	1.1%
Arabic	1,506 ±766 · low precision	0.8% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,526 ±719	0.8% ±0.4 pp	0.4%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 124,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	12,735 ±1,029	10.2% ±0.8 pp	10.0%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	33,442 ±1,662	26.8% ±1.3 pp	31.2%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	24,728 ±1,284	19.8% ±1.0 pp	19.9%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	10,663 ±928	8.5% ±0.7 pp	7.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	25,979 ±1,231	20.8% ±1.0 pp	19.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	17,182 ±995	13.8% ±0.8 pp	11.7%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 193,374
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Tennessee	U.S.
Same house	157,996 ±2,341	81.7% ±1.2 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	19,224 ±1,779	9.9% ±0.9 pp	6.4%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	8,786 ±1,150	4.5% ±0.6 pp	3.1%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	6,176 ±737	3.2% ±0.4 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,192 ±506	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

11.6% of Knoxville residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 10.0% in Tennessee and 8.4% nationally. 85.0% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Knoxville	Tennessee	U.S.	Compared with Tennessee
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	11.6% ±0.8 pp	10.0%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.0% ±0.7 pp	89.2%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.5% ±0.4 pp	7.3%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Knoxville . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Knoxville housing and cost context or return to the city profile.