Knox County, Tennessee: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+19%. Republican peak: R+45 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 494,1482024 5-year
- Median household income
- $74,2222024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 80.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 8.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+24 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Benton County, AR · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Knox CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Knox County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −2.3% |
| 1896 | −21.3% |
| 1900 | +4.7% |
| 1904 | −14.4% |
| 1908 | −16.8% |
| 1912 | +20.9% |
| 1916 | −15.6% |
| 1920 | −27.5% |
| 1924 | −19.9% |
| 1928 | −43.3% |
| 1932 | +4.7% |
| 1936 | +23.8% |
| 1940 | +18.5% |
| 1944 | −5.7% |
| 1948 | −13.1% |
| 1952 | −24.8% |
| 1956 | −21.3% |
| 1960 | −22.6% |
| 1964 | −0.4% |
| 1968 | −25.2% |
| 1972 | −44.9% |
| 1976 | −2.7% |
| 1980 | −17.5% |
| 1984 | −27.7% |
| 1988 | −27.1% |
| 1992 | −4.8% |
| 1996 | −6.9% |
| 2000 | −17.2% |
| 2004 | −25.1% |
| 2008 | −23.0% |
| 2012 | −29.2% |
| 2016 | −23.7% |
| 2020 | −15.0% |
| 2024 | −19.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 87,516 | 130,815 | 223,658 | ||
| R | 91,422 | 124,540 | 220,556 | ||
| R | 62,878 | 105,767 | 180,697 | ||
| R | 59,399 | 109,707 | 172,507 | ||
| R | 70,215 | 113,015 | 186,086 | ||
| R | 66,013 | 110,803 | 178,419 | ||
| R | 60,969 | 86,851 | 150,586 | ||
| R | 61,158 | 70,761 | 140,045 | ||
| R | 59,702 | 66,607 | 142,476 | ||
| R | 41,829 | 73,092 | 115,521 | ||
| R | 43,448 | 76,965 | 120,987 | ||
| R | 45,634 | 66,153 | 117,585 | ||
| R | 53,034 | 56,013 | 110,409 | ||
| R | 24,076 | 64,747 | 90,484 | ||
| R | 24,528 | 47,202 | 90,007 | ||
| R | 42,463 | 42,797 | 85,260 | ||
| R | 31,990 | 50,811 | 83,300 | ||
| R | 29,768 | 46,167 | 76,831 | ||
| R | 26,681 | 44,358 | 71,178 | ||
| R | 15,946 | 21,074 | 39,196 | ||
| R | 18,482 | 20,742 | 39,452 | ||
| D | 20,226 | 13,877 | 34,304 | ||
| D | 19,837 | 12,183 | 32,120 | ||
| D | 10,755 | 9,774 | 20,927 | ||
| R | 5,767 | 14,627 | 20,443 | ||
| R | 6,935 | 10,709 | 18,984 | ||
| R | 6,801 | 12,005 | 18,931 | ||
| R | 4,214 | 5,791 | 10,111 | ||
| D | 4,069 | 1,984 | 9,991 | ||
| R | 4,090 | 5,817 | 10,285 | ||
| R | 3,196 | 4,309 | 7,748 | ||
| D | 4,389 | 3,982 | 8,592 | ||
| R | 4,020 | 6,243 | 10,435 | ||
| R | 3,987 | 4,182 | 8,516 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.7%
American
13.1%
German
11.1%
Irish
10.0%
Scottish
2.8%
Italian
2.7%
French
1.5%
African American
6.5%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 37.4 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$74,222
Knox County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Knox County$74,222
Tennessee$69,595
United States$80,734
Knox County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.9%
Working age (18–64)11.8%
Seniors (65+)10.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.3%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Knox County anchors East Tennessee's urban core around Knoxville, but its Republican lean has deepened over successive cycles, with the 2024 presidential margin reaching nearly 20 points despite a large public-university population.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty-four points in 1936; the Republican margin reached forty-five points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nineteen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 80% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $74,222, and a 12% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Benton County and Coweta County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Knox County, Tennessee. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/47093/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Tennessee
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Knox County, Tennessee vote in 2024?
In 2024, Knox County, Tennessee voted Republican by 19.4 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 223,658 votes cast, 87,516 went Democratic and 130,815 went Republican.
What is Knox County, Tennessee's political typology?
Akashic places Knox County, Tennessee in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did Knox County, Tennessee last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Knox County, Tennessee voted Democratic was 1940.
How many people live in Knox County, Tennessee?
Knox County, Tennessee has a population of 494,148 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Knox County, Tennessee?
Median household income in Knox County, Tennessee is $74,222 — below the national median of $80,734. The Tennessee state median is $69,595.
What is the political history of Knox County, Tennessee?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Knox County, Tennessee from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.