akashic
1876–2024
Knoxville·Tennessee

Knoxville has voted Republican in twenty-one straight presidential elections — R+46 in 2024.

Appalachian anchor where Tennessee's university city meets deep-red rural counties

1876 — 2024·38 elections
TN
LatestR+46in 2024
TypologyStable Rural Rightcluster typology
Population1,449,3752024 ACS

Knoxville, Tennessee: Stable Rural Right market. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+53 in 1928.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+46MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Stable Rural RightAkashic 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
2024 presidential election
Knoxville
TrumpR+46
—
2024 presidential margin by county for Knoxville, TNA map of the constituent counties of Knoxville, TN, each outlined and filled by its 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic).Fentress County, TN · R+76Hancock County, TN · R+76Sevier County, TN · R+61Scott County, TN · R+80Claiborne County, TN · R+70Loudon County, TN · R+53Anderson County, TN · R+36Morgan County, TN · R+74Hamblen County, TN · R+59Blount County, TN · R+48Cumberland County, TN · R+59McCreary County, KY · R+79Harlan County, KY · R+76Cocke County, TN · R+68Bell County, KY · R+69Campbell County, TN · R+70Roane County, TN · R+54Union County, TN · R+71Grainger County, TN · R+74Monroe County, TN · R+67Jefferson County, TN · R+64Knox County, TN · R+19
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican72.2%479,003
Kamala HarrisDemocratic26.4%175,041
OtherAll other candidates1.5%9,653
D+60
R+60
22 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −45.8% in 2024.flipped R · 1944−45.8%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892−29.0%
1896−41.9%
1900−36.2%
1904−41.2%
1908−41.4%
1912+4.4%
1916−38.7%
1920−49.8%
1924−39.6%
1928−52.9%
1932−8.1%
1936+0.3%
1940+0.6%
1944−18.4%
1948−14.2%
1952−26.7%
1956−28.7%
1960−26.9%
1964−2.7%
1968−27.7%
1972−46.4%
1976−1.0%
1980−20.5%
1984−28.9%
1988−26.5%
1992−3.7%
1996−5.5%
2000−17.1%
2004−28.5%
2008−34.0%
2012−41.3%
2016−45.3%
2020−41.7%
2024−45.8%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−45.8%
175,041479,003663,697
R
−41.7%
180,971447,615640,057
R
−45.3%
131,394370,174526,671
R
−41.3%
143,095350,806502,436
R
−34.0%
170,607350,544529,327
R
−28.5%
182,029328,956514,933
R
−17.1%
178,469253,452439,431
R
−5.5%
173,875195,686399,501
R
−3.7%
177,020192,307417,053
R
−26.5%
123,317212,748338,103
R
−28.9%
125,977229,540357,851
R
−20.5%
131,586202,764346,378
R
−1.0%
155,685158,949318,101
R
−46.4%
66,664186,215257,398
R
−27.7%
71,145145,274267,965
R
−2.7%
125,420132,426257,943
R
−26.9%
95,154165,961262,752
R
−28.7%
84,877154,192241,820
R
−26.7%
84,726146,709231,913
R
−14.2%
63,51385,439154,032
R
−18.4%
58,86985,498144,891
D
+0.6%
71,11870,237142,133
D
+0.3%
70,95870,581141,994
R
−8.1%
52,40061,773115,366
R
−52.9%
24,47379,787104,467
R
−39.6%
25,11161,26591,338
R
−49.8%
26,32679,172106,016
R
−38.7%
17,36439,77657,875
O
+4.4%
15,98013,66453,004
R
−41.4%
16,16439,68756,782
R
−41.2%
13,00331,80245,678
R
−36.2%
17,49237,80256,046
R
−41.9%
18,06244,68063,466
R
−29.0%
16,28330,65049,538
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———

Demographics

2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 42.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.2%
2.8%
75–84
3.3%
5.6%
65–74
6.3%
6.7%
55–64
7.1%
6.2%
45–54
6.3%
5.9%
35–44
6.0%
6.4%
25–34
6.2%
4.5%
18–24
4.3%
7.9%
5–17
7.5%
2.7%
<5
2.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2024 ACS
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.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
29.3%
Other Christian
12.3%
Methodist
6.0%
Catholic & Orthodox
3.0%
Mainline Protestant
2.3%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.9%
Non-Christian
0.6%
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.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of four points in 1912 and a Republican high of fifty-three points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-six points.

A population of 1,449,375, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,040 describe the market.

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.
Knoxville, Tennessee. Akashic. https://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 typology?
Akashic places Knoxville, Tennessee in the "Stable Rural Right" typology. 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 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 typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.