Knoxville, TN Metro Area
The Knoxville, TN metro area is made up of 9 counties in Tennessee; the largest are Knox County, Blount County, and Anderson County. About 968,137 people lived there on July 1, 2025 (Census estimate), 7.2% more than in April 2020.
- Population, July 2025
- 968,137 7.2% more than in April 2020
- Type
- Metropolitan statistical area
- Counties
- 9: 4 central, 5 outlying
- Land area
- 3,501 sq mi (9,067 km²)
- Time zone
- Eastern TimeUTC-05:00 in January; UTC-04:00 in July
- State
- Tennessee
- Combined statistical area
- Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN
- CBSA code
- 28940
Counties in the Knoxville, TN metro area, largest first
| County | Role | Population, July 2025 | Share of the area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | Central | 511,453 | 52.8% |
| Blount County | Central | 143,820 | 14.9% |
| Anderson County | Central | 82,066 | 8.5% |
| Loudon County | Central | 63,764 | 6.6% |
| Roane County | Outlying | 57,395 | 5.9% |
| Campbell County | Outlying | 40,290 | 4.2% |
| Grainger County | Outlying | 25,739 | 2.7% |
| Morgan County | Outlying | 22,160 | 2.3% |
| Union County | Outlying | 21,450 | 2.2% |
A central county holds the area’s core, an urban area of at least 50,000 people. An outlying county is in the area because of commuting: at least a quarter of its workers have jobs in the central counties, or at least a quarter of the people working there live in them. A county belongs to one metro or micro area at most, and it counts whole, countryside included.
Principal city
- Knoxville195,185 people
OMB names the area after its largest principal cities. A principal city is the area’s largest city, plus any other city that is very large or a big job center, and smaller ones with at least as many jobs as working residents (2020 Census and commuting figures). People counts are American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
Part of the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN combined statistical area
OMB joins neighboring metro and micro areas into a combined statistical area when enough people commute between them. The other 3 areas in this one, largest first:
- Morristown, TN Metro Area128,867 people
- Sevierville, TN Micro Area101,342 people
- Newport, TN Micro Area37,889 people
Bordering metro and micro areas, nearest first
Areas with a county on this area’s edge. Distances are straight lines between the areas’ largest cities.
- Sevierville, TN Micro Area21 mi east
- Morristown, TN Metro Area40 mi northeast
- Athens, TN Micro Area51 mi southwest
- Crossville, TN Micro Area60 mi west
- Corbin, KY Micro Area67 mi north
- Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Metro Area87 mi northeast
Before using this answer on a form
A metro or micro area is a statistical area that OMB draws for federal statistics. It is not a city, a local government or a mailing address, and it is not a measure of urban and rural: whole counties count, rural parts included. Programs that use metro areas, such as housing income limits or wage rates, can use their own version of these lists; check the program’s own list for an address.
Find the metro area where you are now, find your county, or see every metro and micro area by population.