Knoxville, Tennessee: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+53 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,449,3752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,0402024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+4 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+53 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Knoxville, TNOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 175,041 | 479,003 | 663,697 | ||
| R | 180,971 | 447,615 | 640,057 | ||
| R | 131,394 | 370,174 | 526,671 | ||
| R | 143,095 | 350,806 | 502,436 | ||
| R | 170,607 | 350,544 | 529,327 | ||
| R | 182,029 | 328,956 | 514,933 | ||
| R | 178,469 | 253,452 | 439,431 | ||
| R | 173,875 | 195,686 | 399,501 | ||
| R | 177,020 | 192,307 | 417,053 | ||
| R | 123,317 | 212,748 | 338,103 | ||
| R | 125,977 | 229,540 | 357,851 | ||
| R | 131,586 | 202,764 | 346,378 | ||
| R | 155,685 | 158,949 | 318,101 | ||
| R | 66,664 | 186,215 | 257,398 | ||
| R | 71,145 | 145,274 | 267,965 | ||
| R | 125,420 | 132,426 | 257,943 | ||
| R | 95,154 | 165,961 | 262,752 | ||
| R | 84,877 | 154,192 | 241,820 | ||
| R | 84,726 | 146,709 | 231,913 | ||
| R | 63,513 | 85,439 | 154,032 | ||
| R | 58,869 | 85,498 | 144,891 | ||
| D | 71,118 | 70,237 | 142,133 | ||
| D | 70,958 | 70,581 | 141,994 | ||
| R | 52,400 | 61,773 | 115,366 | ||
| R | 24,473 | 79,787 | 104,467 | ||
| R | 25,111 | 61,265 | 91,338 | ||
| R | 26,326 | 79,172 | 106,016 | ||
| R | 17,364 | 39,776 | 57,875 | ||
| O | 15,980 | 13,664 | 53,004 | ||
| R | 16,164 | 39,687 | 56,782 | ||
| R | 13,003 | 31,802 | 45,678 | ||
| R | 17,492 | 37,802 | 56,046 | ||
| R | 18,062 | 44,680 | 63,466 | ||
| R | 16,283 | 30,650 | 49,538 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.7%
American
11.7%
Irish
10.6%
German
10.5%
Scottish
2.7%
Italian
2.3%
French
1.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 42.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$66,040
Knoxville ranks near the middle of US counties.
Knoxville$66,040
Tennessee$69,595
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.3%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)11.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.8%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 44.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Knoxville media market blends a mid-size college city with heavily Republican surrounding counties, producing lopsided federal margins even as municipal races occasionally trend more competitive.
The Democratic margin in Knoxville peaked at four points in 1912. By 1944 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $66,040 sits well below state and national norms, and 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Knoxville, Tennessee — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/557/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Knoxville, Tennessee vote in 2024?
In 2024, Knoxville, Tennessee voted Republican by 45.8 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 663,697 votes cast, 175,041 went Democratic and 479,003 went Republican.
What is Knoxville, Tennessee's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Knoxville, Tennessee as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 2 times, Republican 31 times, and other 1 times.
When did Knoxville, Tennessee last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Knoxville, Tennessee voted Democratic was 1940.
How many people live in Knoxville, Tennessee?
Knoxville, Tennessee has a population of 1,449,375 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Knoxville, Tennessee?
Median household income in Knoxville, Tennessee is $66,040 — below the national median of $80,734. The Tennessee state median is $69,595.
What is the political history of Knoxville, Tennessee?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Knoxville, Tennessee from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 31 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.