Knox County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Knox County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                508 36th  1.2%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798           82,938  58th   0.8%
Number of Farms                 79,280             1,224  17th   1.5%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                 68  93rd   49.3%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 430,019 3rd  6.9%
2000 Census 5,689,283 382,032 3rd  6.7%
1990 Census 4,877,203 335,749 3rd  6.9%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 46,283 4th  5.7%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 13.8% 61st  82.8%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8             845.7 3rd  560.9%
2000 Census                   138.0             751.4 3rd  544.3%
1990 Census                   118.3             660.3 3rd  558.0%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968         332,094 3rd  9.2%
1990 Census            2,969,948         261,720 3rd  8.8%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 26.9% 32nd  123.0%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 86.9% 4th  136.7%
1990 Census 60.9% 78.0% 4th  128.0%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 36 73rd  100.3%
1990 Census 34 34 73rd  100.3%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 22.3% 76th 
18-24 9.6% 11.6% 7th 
25-44 30.2% 30.4% 22nd 
45-64 23.2% 23.1% 76th 
65 & over 12.4% 12.7% 67th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 22.5% 87th 
18-24 10.9% 12.7% 8th 
25-44 31.8% 32.7% 11th 
45-64 19.6% 19.4% 78th 
65 & over 12.6% 12.7% 73rd 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Knox County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 94.6 41st  99.2%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 6.8 85th  63.6%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 5.3 65th  112.8%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Knox County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $33,963 7th  105.6%
2000 $26,097 $28,554 6th  109.4%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 2.93% 71st  82.64%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $45,157 17th  106.5%
2000 $35,760 $39,129 16th  109.4%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 2.07% 43rd  84.09%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 12.8% 14th  81.01%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 15.9% 6th  70.67%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 19.2% 83rd  145.81%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 24.7% 85th  155.27%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 11.1% 8th  70.33%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 9.7% 8th  68.34%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 1.6% 39th  66.45%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 1.6% 46th  65.01%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Knox County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               12.9 40th  90.8%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 34.9% 22nd  81.5%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 8.8% 46th  93.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               72.2 36th  89.5%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               11.1 38th  79.9%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                0.9 54th  69.2%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3                8.9 15th  95.7%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             194.6 16th  83.4%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             210.7 21st  97.9%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
31st 
42nd 
31st 
Tennessee Knox County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                3.0 6th  164.9%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                6.8 7th  161.6%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               35.9 80th  73.0%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 8.0% 14th  93.4%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Knox County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 7.2% 3rd  75.5%
2000 4.0% 3.2% 4th  79.8%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 11.4% 13th  72.9%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Knox County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 227,658 3 8.3%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.1% 18 18.3%
Construction 4.9% 5.5% 3 113.1%
Manufacturing 13.8% 6.8% 5 49.4%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 23.8% 3 107.4%
Information 1.8% 2.4% 3 135.1%
Financial Activities 5.2% 5.3% 4 102.4%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 13.0% 3 110.6%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 14.0% 3 112.8%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 11.7% 3 116.2%
Other Services 2.6% 2.8% 3 107.8%
Government 14.9% 14.1% 3 94.4%
Federal 1.8% 1.6% 4 91.4%
State 3.3% 5.5% 2 170.4%
Local 9.9% 6.9% 3 69.9%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
13th 
42nd 
9th 
20th 
7th 
6th 
9th 
20th 
6th 
8th 
25th 
18th 
7th 
3rd 
8th 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Knox County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      438,547 48th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         6,472 2nd 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000  $ 19,379,000 50th 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Knox County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $  517,013 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $  134,104 25.9%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%      112,983 21.9%
All Other               555,838 6.9%        21,121 4.1%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $    27,627 5.3%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $  355,282 68.7%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%      177,651 34.4%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%      104,937 20.3%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%        72,694 14.1%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Knox County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $   9,217,311
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $21,435 3rd  101.2%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.69 23rd 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $   6,779,704
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $15,766 2nd  142.0%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.25% 27th 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Knox County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Non K-12 Education  $         3,015,869  $   1,083,498 1st 35.9%
Transportation           17,106,712         648,237 6th 3.8%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355         194,486 3rd 5.0%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735         129,645 3rd 6.8%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581         104,919 4th 5.8%
Recreation            1,118,527           82,188 3rd 7.3%
Public Health Facilities               323,093           65,796 1st 20.4%
Business District Development               375,758           40,850 3rd 10.9%
Stormwater               371,227           23,769 4th 6.4%
School System-wide Need                 63,021           19,553 2nd 31.0%
Other Facilities                 32,755           10,778 2nd 32.9%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201           10,751 32nd 0.6%
Solid Waste                 54,314             2,930 8th 5.4%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785             2,665 13th 0.9%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362             1,840 40th 0.8%
Public Buildings               526,288             1,614 38th 0.3%
Community Development               367,547             1,100 24th 0.3%
Other Utilities               598,698                    - 32nd 0.0%
Fire Protection               220,725                    - 57th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
Telecommunications                 17,009                    - 5th 0.0%
Property Acquisition                   3,956                    - 8th 0.0%
Grand Total  $       34,202,707  $   2,424,616 3rd 7.1%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Knox County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 82.5% 3rd 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 29.0% 3rd 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 74.6% 5th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 23.9% 3rd 
 Number of Post-secondary Institutions (2008)      
Four-year Colleges and Universities 77 6
Public 14 2
Private 63 4
Other Public Institutions 93 4
Community Colleges 13 1
Technology Centers 27 1
Two-Year Private Institutions 20 0
Off-campus Sites 33 2
2007 - 2008 Enrollment (full-time equivalent) at Post-secondary Institutions    
Four-year Colleges and Universities*          214,260              30,398
Public 134,696 27,751
Private 79,564 2,647
Other Public Institutions* 134,278 10,688
Community Colleges 80,454 8,818
Technology Centers 13,939 611
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 0
Off-campus Sites 28,836 1,259
* Note: By location of instiution, not county of residence of students
IX.  Public School Systems  (Total number of school systems is 136)
Statewide Knox County    
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                   54,293               
Percent of Statewide 5.7%          
1997-1998                 834,318                   48,920               
Percent of Statewide 5.9%          
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 5,373          
Percent Change 13.2% 11.0%          
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 42.8%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 12.3%
Special Education 14.7% 11.2%
English Language Learners 3.2% 2.3%
Statewide Knox County    
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 65.2%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 80.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      15.0               
1997-1998                      15.8                      15.1               
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (0.1)                    
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 98.5%          
1997-1998 96.6% 98.7%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 10.8%
1997-1998 4.5% 2.7%
*Classroom teachers include art, music and physical education teachers.  Because these auxiliary teachers are
included, ratios of students to classroom teachers do not represent and tend to be lower than actual class sizes.
Statewide Knox County    
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $7,629
Percent of Statewide 98.5%          
1997-1998 $5,123 $5,525
Percent of Statewide 107.8%          
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $2,104          
Percent Change 51.1% 38.1%          
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $43,719
Percent of Statewide 97.5%
1997-1998 $34,584 $34,182
Percent of Statewide 98.8%
Gain $10,236 $9,537
Percent Change 29.6% 27.9%          
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 31.4%
Federal 10.8% 9.2%
Local 41.6% 59.5%
System Rank for Percent Local 3rd 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 28.1%
Federal 11.0% 9.1%
Local 43.5% 62.9%
System Rank for Percent Local 3rd 
Statewide Knox County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $3,952 5th 
Sources of Information for County Profiles
I. Geography & Demographics
U.S. Bureau of the Census--all data except for marriage and divorce rates.
www.census.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
TN Dept. of Health - marriage and divorce rates.
http://health.state.tn.us/
II. Income & Poverty
U.S. Bureau of the Census--median household income data & poverty rates.
www.census.gov
TN Dept. of Human Services--Food Stamp data and Families First data.
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.htm
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_tanf.htm
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - per capita income data
www.bea.gov
III. Health & Healthcare
TN Dept.of Health, Health Statistics & Research--pregnancy, births, mortality & healthcare access data.
http://health.state.tn.us/statistics/healthdata.htm
IV. Employment
TN Dept. Of Labor and Workforce Development - unemployment data. 
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/
U.S. Department of Labor - employment data.
ww.bls.gov/lau/home.htm
V. Value of Farmland and Agricultural Product Sold
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
VI. County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
TN County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), Resource Center--county revenue data.
www.ctas.utk.edu
TN Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessment--equalized assessed property values.
http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/taxaggr.htm
TN Dept. of Revenue--total taxable sales.
www.state.tn.us/revenue/files.htm
VII. Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--all data. 
http://tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure.html
VIII. Adult & Post-secondary Education
U.S. Bureau of the Census--educational attainment.
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
TN Higher Education Commission--post-secondary institution and enrollment data.
www.state.tn.us/thec
IX. Public School Systems (Total number of school systems is 136)
TN Department of Education--all data except fiscal capacity.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mdata.shtml
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--education fiscal capacity.
http://tn.gov/tacir/fiscalcapacity.html
Prepared by TACIR