What is the cost of living in Knoxville?

Knoxville has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 82.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,471/month.

What is the median salary in Knoxville?

The median salary in Knoxville is $63,333 annually (mean: $66,954). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Knoxville?

The violent crime rate in the Knoxville area is 602 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2058 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Knoxville?

The state of TN has 1,844 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1. Charter schools make up 6.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Knoxville?

Infant center-based childcare in the Knoxville area averages $7,860 per year. Preschool averages $6,190/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Knoxville a good place to relocate?

Knoxville has a Life Score of 39.2/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Knoxville in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Knoxville sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Knoxville ranks #341 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Knoxville, TN

LiveAbility 37.5/100 places Knoxville #341 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.6
Cost index (US=100): $1,471
2BR rent / mo: $63,333
Median salary: 37.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Knoxville ranks #341 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (37.5/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and climate.

#341
of 387 US metros · Below median: 7,227,750
metro-area population: 602
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,844
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (2/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Knoxville ranks #341 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,471/mo, median salary $63,333; LiveAbility Score 37.5/100, strongest in cost of living and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 37.5/100 places Knoxville #341 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.6 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,471/mo.

LiveAbility 37.5/100 puts Knoxville in the bottom third (#341 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Knoxville area is 415,720.

Knoxville vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

38 Top 88% higher than 12% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Knoxville housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Knoxville MSA; housing RPP 82.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,471/mo.

Studio

$1,177

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,184

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,471

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,864

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,172

/month

Knoxville wages and employment

Knoxville posts 415,720 total employment with median salary $63,333.

Median Salary

$63,333

Mean Salary

$66,954

Total Employment

415,720

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,720
Retail Salespersons	$31,150
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$37,400
Registered Nurses	$77,240
General and Operations Managers	$104,590

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Knoxville area from NCES.

Schools

1,844

Enrollment

994,264

Student:Teacher

15.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Knoxville area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,860

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,190

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,190

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Knoxville's composite Life Score is 39.2/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

59/100

Above average

Wages

41/100

Below average

Rent

33/100

Weak

Crime

2/100

Bottom decile

Schools

51/100

Average

Childcare

67/100

Strong

Environment

21/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Knoxville ranks #341 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 37.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (59/100)

Cost of living

59
Climate

56
Schools

49
Job market

41
Low hazard

38
Housing

33
Air quality

14
Safety

2

What this shows Knoxville's strongest dimensions are cost of living and climate; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 2/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Knoxville to

Colorado Springs Columbia Columbia Columbus Columbus Columbus

Metros near Knoxville on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Knoxville on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Knoxville cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Knoxville wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Knoxville?

Knoxville runs a $63,333 median salary at a 92.6 cost index, ranking #341 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Knoxville's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Knoxville head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Knoxville
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.