TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES:

DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE'S
RESIDENTS AND WORKERS

June 2004

In this Report:

 

THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE DOWNTOWN

 

Total Resident Population

  • 1,300 people lived in downtown Knoxville in 2000.
  • Knoxville’s 2000 CBD population count represented a 12% drop from 1990.
  • 1980 and 1990 figures were constant at 1,470 persons each period.
  • Downtown population represented less than one-half of one percent of the Knox County total and about three-quarters of one percent of the Knoxville population.
  • Since the 2000 Census was taken, several new and converted properties have attracted an estimated 200 additional downtown residents.

Age, Sex, & Race

  • Half of downtown’s residents were under 35 years of age.
  • 25% of the people living downtown were 20-24 years old, reflective of a large student population in the Maplehurst and Neyland Hills apartment complexes in the southwest portion of the CBD, adjacent to the campus of the University of Tennessee.
  • The number of residents aged 35-44 years old doubled since 1980, due in part to property conversions offering residential loft space, an alternative to college-style apartments otherwise dominating much of the downtown housing market.
  • A disproportionate amount of the CBD population was male, holding a nearly 60% share, compared to the countywide average of 48%.
  • 81% of downtown residents were white, and 16% were African- American. The African-American population grew 32% since 1980, twice the countywide rate.

 

Housing

  • 45% of the CBD’s residential units were built between 1970 and 1990. Only 12 additional units were constructed between 1990 and 2000. Net housing supply shrunk 2% (from 849 to 832 units) between 1980 and 2000.
  • Several dwelling units were completed since the 2000 Census, including new construction at Promontory Point and GameDay Condos. Historic building conversion projects like The Phoenix, The Emporium, and Sterchi Lofts also added units to the downtown residential market.
  • Rental properties dominated the CBD residential market: 656 of the 740 occupied units were renter- occupied, covering almost 90% of downtown housing stock.
  • 92% of all downtown dwelling units were found in multifamily complexes. 36% were in developments with 50 or more units each, situated in Neyland Hills and Maplehurst.
  • In 1980, prior to rehabilitation projects, only 11 owner-occupied housing units were found downtown. By 2000, the supply climbed to 84, a 665% increase.

 

Household & Group Quarters Population
  • Non-family arrangements comprised over 90% of downtown Knoxville’s households, largely influenced by the college-student population.
  • Another sizeable demographic group played a role: downtown was home to 342 group quarters residents in 2000. Nearly 200 were in-mates of the Knox County Jail, while indigent residents of a downtown shelter made up the remainder.
  • Indigent and jailed population skewed some social indicators, resulting in higher-than-average male population and lower high school graduation rates, for example.

 

Income

  • Median income was a modest $10,426 among CBD households in 1999. By comparison, the countywide median was $37,454. Downtown households lived on incomes of less than 30% of other county residents.
  • Per capita income was a little higher than household income figures, reaching over $13,000, about 60% of the county level of $21,875.
  • Incomes were deflated because college students, indigents, and jailed populations were included in the census measures.

 

Labor Force

  • 42% of downtown’s residents participated in the local labor force. By comparison, nearly 65% of the county’s working age population was in the labor force.
  • The unemployment rate among CBD dwellers was 9.5%, twice the county rate.