TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES:

KNOX COUNTY PORTRAITS: A LOOK AT COMMONALITY
AND DIVERSITY IN LOCAL POPULATION CHARACTER

July 2003

This report is a follow-up to a countywide demographic comparison prepared in 2002.
With information recently provided by the Census Bureau, MPC has compiled an
expanded look at similarities and differences in local population.

We’re From Knox County
Often people characterize themselves by making an association to the places they live—we might hear statements like, “I’m a Tennessean” or “I’m from Halls,” and we make inferences based on impressions of the social, economic, and housing character of those places. Such demographic generalizations, however, can be misleading because they can never describe us all – and our differences are equally important contributors to the complexion of a place. Still, it is useful to study demographics as a starting point to describe the people and places that make up our part of the world. So, let’s put a face with the name and see how we might characterize Knox Countians.

Using information collected in the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, this study presents demographic traits that comprise an overall profile of Knox County’s residents. It compares local pockets of population to see which communities are most similar to the Knox County average and those that differ most. The report then offers a glimpse of Tennessee and U.S. profiles to see how locals compare with folks elsewhere.

How the Comparisons
Were Made The Census Bureau divided Knox County into 83 areas, or tracts, to allow closer study of the population. Statistics for 47 demographic indicators were collected for every census tract in the county (the list of variables is shown in Figure 1). Values were converted to percentage shares to allow direct comparisons of local tracts to county, state, and national figures. In tract 7, for example, there were 662 males and 984 females, for a total population of 1,646: 40.2 percent were males, while 59.8 percent were females. A statistical procedure (multiple correlation analysis) then measured the degree of association, or similarity, between the census tracts, the county, and the state and national standings to identify tracts that most closely matched the broader area averages and those that showed higher degrees of diversity.

And the Verdict Is…
Presented in Map 1 are the results of the demographic comparisons (see page 1). Among the area’s 83 census tracts, the one that was most similar in character to the overall Knox County profile was Tract 39, the Norwood community in northwest Knoxville. It closely mirrored Knox County averages in several characteristics: median age (35.6 years), African-American residents (8.2%), Hispanic ethnicity (1.4%), single-family detached housing inventory (66.8%), families with children under 18 years old (28.3%), and other indicators.

The area with the most variation from the countywide demographic average was census tract 7, the Town View neighborhood in center-city Knoxville, just east of downtown. It differed in its greater than average shares of females (59.8%), African-Americans (78.1%), unemployment (33.1%), and non-family households (61.5%). Also, less than one percent of the tract’s housing stock was found in single-family detached units, compared to the Knox County average of 66 percent – Town View is home to some of Knoxville’s largest apartment complexes which comprised the bulk of its housing inventory.

Map 1: Comparison of Local Tract Demographics

Figure 1: Indicators Used to Build Population Portraits

Census Tracts Most Similar to the Knox County Demographic Portrait
The 10 local census tracts that were most closely associated with the Knox County portrait are shown in Map 2. Six of the tracts formed a cluster around north and northwest Knoxville, extending from Norwood and Inskip eastward to Whittle Springs, then north into Fountain City, Dry Gap, Dante, and a portion of Powell and Halls. Other similar tracts were found in west Knox County in the vicinity of Piney Grove Church and Bakertown Roads, and further southwest to Seven Oaks and the Westland Drive area. Southeast city areas along Delrose and Riverside Drives and east county communities of Mascot, Skaggston, Ellistown, Three Points, and Shipetown rounded out the list of areas most consistent with the countywide demographic profile.

Data for 38 census indicators illustrate how selected tracts ranked most closely to the countywide average (Table 1). At the same time, the figures show that differences also occurred across the areas that were supposed to best represent the county as a whole. In tract 39 (Norwood), for example, 21 percent of residents were born out of state, while the countywide average was over 31 percent. In tract 57.03 (Seven Oaks/Gettysvue), 47 percent of residents were not native Tennesseans. Furthermore, in the Seven Oaks and Gettysvue neighborhoods, median household income topped $61,000, about 1.6 times the county median. Norwood, on the other hand, reported a median well below the county’s at $29,520. As a final example, the divorce rate in Tract 40 (Inskip) was over 18 percent, sharply higher than the Knox standard of 11.4 percent. So, while these areas had a lot in common with countywide measures, many differences could still be found. (A few of those differing traits are highlighted in Map 2.)

Map 2: Tracts Most Similar to Knox County Demographic Profile

Table 1: Census Tracts Most Similar to the Knox County Demographic Profile

Census Tracts Least Similar to the Knox County Demographic Portrait
Central-city Knoxville neighborhoods dominated the landscape of diversity (Map 3). The core divergent communities extended from Bearden and Sequoyah Hills, east to the three tracts comprising the UT area (campus itself and two Fort Sanders tracts), into downtown, then east to Morningside and Town View, and, finally, to two adjacent tracts north of the city’s center.

While these neighborhoods formed a contiguous core geographically, they varied greatly in their demographic makeup, not just from the Knox average, but even amongst themselves. Tract 25 (Sequoyah Hills), for example, recorded the county’s highest median house value ($268,500) and a median age almost 10 years higher than the county standard. The population was predominantly white (97.2%), college-educated (71.4%), and among Knoxville’s wealthiest (median family income of $102,951). In sharp contrast, the Morningside community (tract 6) was home to an 87.7 percent majority African-American population residing in houses with a median value of $58,000. A small percentage of the population had a college degree (7.3%), and median family income ($17,554) was one-third the county level.

In the UT neighborhoods, on and off campus (tracts 9, 10, and 11), the student population had high rates of high school graduation (96.7% in tract 9), low rates of labor force participation (58.4% not in labor force in tract 9), predominantly non-family households (86% to 94% across the three tracts), median household incomes among the county’s lowest, and median ages ranging from 19.9 years (tract 9) to 23.5 years (tract 11), well below the areawide standard of 36 years.

Additional details for the five tracts that were least similar to Knox County’s general portrait are provided in Table 2.

Map 3: Tracts Least Similar to Knox County Demographic Profile

Table 2: Census Tracts Least Similar to the Knox County Demographic Profile

Comparisons to Tennessee and U.S. Standings
Maps 4 and 5 show areas of Knox County that were most similar or dissimilar to Tennessee and US population profiles. The Tennessee comparisons revealed a list of tracts that was identical to the Knox County collection of least similar neighborhoods, while eight of those ten also made the US list of variants. The Ball Camp area (tract 46.01) and Topside/Mount Olive/Grandview (tract 56.01) joined the group least like the US average.

Among places having the most in common with Tennessee’s demographics, north-side communities like Fountain City, Halls, Powell, Heiskell, and portions of Karns made up the largest share. In contrast, population pockets most similar to US standings were distributed across the county with no geographic clustering.

Map 4: Comparison to Tennessee Demographics

Map 5: Comparison to US Demographics

Additional Information
If you would like more local demographics, the Metropolitan Planning Commission assembles and maintains an extensive collection of data products, like population projections, technical reports, thematic maps, and summary spreadsheets reporting on Knoxville, Knox County, and the five-county metropolitan area. Contact the MPC library or visit the Local Development Data and the Census 2002 sections of this website for more information.

MPC contact person: Terry Gilhula

Printed copies of this report are available by contacting Gretchen Beal at 215-2500.

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