Tennessee · County property tax · ACS 2024
Knox County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Knox County pays $1,367 a year, an effective rate of 0.43%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,367
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.43%
- Effective rate · Very low rate
- -31%
- vs U.S. average
- #69 of 95
- rank in TN
The verdict
Homeowners in Knox County pay a median $1,367 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.43%, more affordable than 91% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,367
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.43%
- Effective rate on median home
- #292 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -31%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($320,900). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Tennessee. Population: 494,148. Owner-occupied homes: 131,117.
The median annual property tax in Knox County is $1,367, which is 5% lower than the Tennessee state average and 31% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.43% on a median home value of $320,900. Property taxes represent 1.8% of the median household income in this county.
Knox County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate is a national tailwind
Knox County's 0.43% effective rate is among the lowest of 3,135 tracked counties: roughly 91% pay a higher rate.
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Knox County pay a median annual property tax of $1,367, well below the national median and modestly below the Tennessee state median. On a $320,900 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.43% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Near the middle of Tennessee counties by effective rate
Knox County ranks #69 of 95 counties in Tennessee by effective rate (27% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Decision signal 4
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Knox County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $74,222 median household income.
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Knox County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
The rate gave way faster than almost anywhere
Between the 2020 and 2024 releases the median home value in Knox County rose 65.2%, from $194,200 to $320,900. The effective rate fell 31.9% over the same span, a steeper move than in 98% of U.S. counties.
The median bill still rose 12.6%, to $1,367. Where the rate drops this far and the bill rises anyway, what changed is the value the rate is applied to.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,214 to $1,367, a gain of 13%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The fullest band here is the $800 to $1,499 range, holding 49,798 of 131,117 owner-occupied homes (38.0%). The band shows where the largest share of reported owner-occupied households falls; it is not an individual-bill estimate.
Incomes run above the national midpoint and the rate is in the lowest quarter, leaving the median bill at 1.8% of median household income. Both figures move in the same direction here, so the ratio above is not pulled in two directions the way it is in most counties.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Knox County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Knox County homeowners, 49,798 of 131,117 owner-occupied homes (38.0%), pays $800 to $1,499 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 17.4% (22,792)
- $800 to $1,499 38.0% (49,798)
- $1,500 to $1,999 16.4% (21,460)
- $2,000 to $2,999 14.3% (18,807)
- $3,000 or more 10.6% (13,923)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
4,337 homes here (3.3%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Tennessee handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Knox County, mortgaged homeowners pay 10% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Knox County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Knox County's effective rate is higher than 27% of the 95 counties in Tennessee - ranking #69 of 95.
Where Knox County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.43% Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Among the lowest-taxed counties in the country
At 0.43%, Knox County sits in the lowest 9% of all U.S. counties by effective property-tax rate. A low rate does not by itself mean a low bill: the median here is $1,367, and what a homeowner actually pays depends as much on local home values as on the rate.
Knox County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Knox County | Tennessee Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Very low rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.8% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Knox County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Tennessee counties.
Knox County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,367 +2.6% | 0.43% |
| 2023 | $1,332 +2.5% | 0.48% |
| 2022 | $1,300 +5.2% | 0.52% |
| 2021 | $1,236 +1.8% | 0.59% |
| 2020 | $1,214 | 0.63% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Knox County: tax takes only 1.8% of income
Counties near Knox County's effective rate
On effective rate, Knox County sits nearest Edgefield County (SC), Cherokee County (SC), Haskell County (OK).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Perry County (AR), Potter County (PA), Codington County (SD).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Knox County: only 5% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 10,800 of 227,170 returns from Knox County reported real estate taxes, averaging $4,444 - 49% of those reporters sat in the $200k+ AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Tennessee
Knox County rate FAQs
- What is the tax affordability score for Knox County?
- Knox County, Tennessee scores B (71/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is rate relief at A+ (0.43%). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What is the average property tax in Knox County, Tennessee?
- The median annual property tax in Knox County is $1,367, an effective rate of 0.43% on a $320,900 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Knox County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Knox County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.43% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Knox County?
- Property taxes in Knox County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.8% of the $74,222 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Knox County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Knox County climbed 12.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,214 to $1,367, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Knox County's QUIET rate
Knox County's $1,367 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.8% of Knox County's $74,222 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Knox County's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.43%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,367/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Knox County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Knox County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Saline County, AR
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Knox County at $1,367/yr; rate 0.62% vs Knox County 0.43%.
Campbell County, SD
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,368/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.18% vs Knox County 0.43%.
Dooly County, GA
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,368/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 1.27% vs Knox County 0.43%.
Jackson County, MS
ABS(median_tax) peer · $1,366/yr (near-tied bill ABS $1); rate 0.71% vs Knox County 0.43%.
Tennessee county set
State ACS overview for every published Tennessee county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Knox County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Knox County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.