Elevation of Knoxville
899ft
above sea level · 274 m
Knoxville is a city in Tennessee with 202,021 people, the 3rd most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 67th highest.
By the All Map Tools Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 35.96° N · 83.92° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 35° 57′ 38″ N · 83° 55′ 15″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 17S · 236,594 E · 3,983,527 N
- Zone 17 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 202,021 people
- 98.7 sq mi of land · 2,046 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from March 2016: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Knoxville had 202,021 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 6.0% more than in April 2020, when it had 190,660. Its 98.7 sq mi of land work out to 2,046 people/sq mi; the state average is 177 people/sq mi.
It’s the 3rd most populous of the 504 places the Census counts in Tennessee (cities, towns and CDPs), after Nashville (721,074), and holds 2.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Knox County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 1.7 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Knoxville sits at 899 ft (274 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Knoxville is 37 ft above it.
The state capital, Nashville, is 161 mi away in a straight line and 344 ft lower than Knoxville.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Lexington (Kentucky), 143 mi away in a straight line and 69 ft higher.
Of the 6 cities in Tennessee with a page, Knoxville is the highest. The others are Chattanooga (676 ft), Murfreesboro (613 ft), Nashville (555 ft), Clarksville (474 ft), and Memphis (259 ft).
The highest point in Tennessee is Kuwohi, at 6,643 ft according to the USGS: 5,744 ft above Knoxville, 36 mi away in a straight line.
- 67 Knoxville 899 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Knoxville.
What is the elevation of Knoxville?
Knoxville is 899 feet (274 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Knoxville?
Latitude 35.96064 and longitude -83.92074, in decimal degrees (35° 57′ 38″ N · 83° 55′ 15″ W). In UTM, zone 17: 236,594 E and 3,983,527 N, on NAD83.
How does Knoxville rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 67th highest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Knoxville in?
Knox County, Tennessee.
Which is higher, Knoxville or Nashville?
Knoxville. Knoxville sits at 899 ft and Nashville at 555 ft: a difference of 344 ft, 161 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know