Real estate · County · Tennessee
Real estate businesses in Knox County, TN
The real estate businesses in Knox County, TN, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,708 of 2,229 scored counties
#72 of 77 scored counties in Tennessee
- Listings
- 1,075
- 85 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 385
- +27.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.1B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $15,279 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 66
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 53.4
- 39% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 511,453
- +6.5% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Knox County
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Knox County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For real estate businesses, Knox County has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #1,708 of 2,229 scored counties and #72 of 77 scored counties in Tennessee. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,075 real estate businesses in Knox County. 85 of them (8%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 53.4 for every 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
Households in Knox County spend about $3.1B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $15,279 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 34% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
Official counts show 385 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Knox County in 2023, up 27.9% from 2019. That is one for every 522 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $4.6M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Knox County. Population estimates put the population change in Knox County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Knox County compares
The same measures for Tennessee and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | Knox County | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 53.4 | 36.7 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 66 | 93 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 522 | 736 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +27.9% | +19.2% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.5% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $15,279 | $14,833 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $74,222 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 301 → 385+27.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,778
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $276.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3,146Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,07585 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 710The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $4.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Knox County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Knox County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 511,453+6.5% since 2020
- Households
- 201,146
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 508 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 972
- Median household income
- $74,222+29.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,460
- Median home value
- $320,900
- Jobs located here
- 270,203
- Daytime population
- 541,810Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Knox County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Knox County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Knox County marked.
Top counties in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hickman County, TN | 80 | 5 | 5.3 | 620 | +5.0% | #18 of 2,229 |
| 2Hawkins County, TN | 80 | 17 | 7.2 | 430 | +5.0% | #19 of 2,229 |
| 3Union County, TN | 80 | 6 | 7.6 | 421 | +8.1% | #20 of 2,229 |
| 4Fayette County, TN | 80 | 21 | 12.2 | 297 | +7.7% | #25 of 2,229 |
| 5Smith County, TN | 80 | 9 | 11.3 | 295 | +5.1% | #26 of 2,229 |
| 6Bedford County, TN | 77 | 31 | 15.9 | 209 | +9.7% | #74 of 2,229 |
| 7Polk County, TN | 76 | 7 | 9.4 | 343 | +5.9% | #81 of 2,229 |
| 8Gibson County, TN | 75 | 23 | 11.3 | 283 | +2.7% | #104 of 2,229 |
| 9Grainger County, TN | 74 | 7 | 7.2 | 418 | +9.2% | #119 of 2,229 |
| 10Sequatchie County, TN | 74 | 6 | 9.7 | 322 | +12.7% | #123 of 2,229 |
| 72Knox County, TN | 39 | 1,075 | 53.4 | 66 | +6.5% | #1,708 of 2,229 |
Other business types in Knox County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Knox County, TN?
There are 1,075 real estate businesses on map listings in Knox County as of September 2026. 85 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 385 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 27.9% from 2019. Official counts list 3,146 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Knox County, TN spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $3.1B a year, or $15,279 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 1,075 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 34% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 201,146 households in Knox County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Knox County, TN compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
Knox County has 53.4 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 66, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Knox County would have about 710, against 1,075 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 522 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 27.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is Knox County, TN growing?
Population estimates put Knox County at 511,453 people in 2025, up 6.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 201,146 households. The median household income in Knox County is $74,222 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Knox County scores 39 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #1,708 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Knox County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Knox County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Knox County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Knox County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.