Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,466, settled in 1801.
Clinton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $332K for a typical one, or 4.6 years of the Knoxville metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 65th of 175 in Tennessee. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its police reported 43 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, its public schools beat 94% of Tennessee towns on state tests and graduation. Clinton’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, above both the Tennessee town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 28 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score higher on the outdoors. Clinton has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Daugherty Furniture Building and Cross - Boggs Place.
Where Clinton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Clinton Elementary | K–6 | 540 |
| South Clinton Elementary | K–6 | 231 |
| North Clinton Elementary | PK–5 | 192 |
Census counts: 325 in 1870, 10,056 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1936 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Clinton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clinton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Theme parkDollywood3.1M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
Big draw31 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
15 mi LookoutSunsphere
37 mi MuseumAlcatraz East
15 mi Stadium & arenaThompson-Boling Arena at Food City CenterDollywood: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 2.5 · Neyland Stadium: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sunsphere: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alcatraz East: EricaLewHouse, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center: TN 66, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clinton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Clinton.
Clinton pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Knoxville and beyond and has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Tennessee.
At 2 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 107 Tennessee towns.
24 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Aspire, 382 acres with 15.9 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Aspire | 15.9 mi | 382 |
| 2. Clinton-Jaycee Park | 0.9 mi | 39 |
| 3. South Clinton Park | 0.6 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $332K.
Its public schools are run by the Anderson County school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Clinton High School, with 1,021 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 624 | B− |
| Clinton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,021 | B− |
| Clinton ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 540 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests
10,416 jobs are based in Clinton, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Clinton’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Clinton has added 1,493 jobs, to 10,416 in 2023. The top destinations are Knoxville (24%), Oak Ridge (17%) and Nashville (3%).
| Clinton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 12% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 9.5% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Tennessee it is less healthy than 61% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
31% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Clinton, above both Tennessee’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (23%). 43% of Clinton adults have high blood pressure. Clinton beats the Tennessee average on 4 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Clinton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 14% |
| What stands out | Clinton | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.9% | 13.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.6% | 9.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 36.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 69% of Tennessee’s graded towns.
The violent crime rate in Clinton is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. Clinton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less. The property crime rate in Clinton is 15.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Clinton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.3 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clinton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clinton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 29° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $332K, against 23% across Tennessee.
The typical Clinton home is worth about $332,000, up 3.4% in a year, close to the Tennessee typical home. 63% of households own their home in Clinton.
| Clinton | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $962 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Clinton
About 3 of every 100 Clinton residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
0.6% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
3 places in Clinton on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Clinton.
City in Tennessee, United States
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, Tennessee. Clinton is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area. Its population was 10,056 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clinton grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #65 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
7 notable people were born here, including Trey Hollingsworth and John C. Houk.
