Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kingsport grades C− overall, 130th among Tennessee's 175 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 327 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. Residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: its schools outperform 81% of the state's. 42% of working residents work locally in Kingsport, against 12% in Tennessee’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 20 of Tennessee’s 292 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Long Island of the Holston and Boatyard Historic District.
Where Kingsport beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Long Island of the Holston
Long Island of the Holston is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 5,692 in 1920, 55,442 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 5 maps from 1935 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Kingsport is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingsport, 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 Kingsport.
Kingsport draws workers from Johnson City and beyond, looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Tennessee.
40 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The trail density in Kingsport is 0.7 miles per square mile. Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, at 410 acres with 7.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium | 7.4 mi | 410 |
| 2. Borden Park | 1 mi | 19 |
| 3. Riverbend Park | 0.5 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− is the best School Grade on its borders; Mount Carmel (B−) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Kingsport school district. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross N. Robinson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 918 | A− |
| Dobyns - Bennett High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,315 | A− |
| John Adams Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 506 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
40,519 jobs are based in Kingsport, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.1 minutes, against 25.7 across Tennessee.
21% of residents live below the poverty line in Kingsport. Since 2013, Kingsport has added 2,713 jobs, to 40,519 in 2023. Kingsport’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 2,393 to 1,602 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Kingsport reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.2 per 1,000 residents | 11.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Tennessee it is less healthy than 67% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
31% of Kingsport adults have been diagnosed with depression. Kingsport beats the Tennessee average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 16% of Kingsport adults have diabetes.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| What stands out | Kingsport | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12% | 14.6% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.3% | 76.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.1% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 45 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kingsport.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Kingsport home is worth about $253,000, down 1.1% in a year, 23% below the Tennessee typical home.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $907 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 49% | 45% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 27.5°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 83% of Tennessee places with climate records; July afternoons average 87.1°.
Kingsport has chilly winters and warm summers. About 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 87°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 28°F | 29°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). Kingsport has grown 3.6% since 2020, to 57,530 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee.
| Kingsport | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 43 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 23% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.0, men 41.8.
| Kingsport | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.5% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.4% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.1% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.9% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kingsport
About 5 of every 100 Kingsport residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
48,205 counted in 2010 and 55,442 in 2020; an estimated 57,530 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
20 places in Kingsport on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Kingsport.
City in Tennessee, United States
Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had 307,613 residents in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020. Kingsport was chartered in 1822. The city's name is a simplification of King's Port, originally referring to the area on the Holston River known as King's Boat Yard, the head of navigation for the Tennessee Valley. Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the "Mountain Empire" in southwest…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Kingsport.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Bloomingdale (C−) is closest. Colonial Heights next door grades lower for schools (C+ to Kingsport’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B+ to C+).
| Town | TN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsport | #130 | C− | C+ | D | A− | D |
| Colonial Heights | #36 | B | B+ | — | C+ | B |
| Bloomingdale | #110 | C− | A− | — | C+ | D |
| Sullivan Gardens | — | — | A− | — | C+ | D |
| Orebank | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mount Carmel | #64 | C+ | A | — | B− | C |
Sullivan Gardens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Colonial Heights, Bloomingdale, Sullivan Gardens and Mount Carmel report no FBI crime data of their own. Orebank isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Kingsport with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kingsport grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #130 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades D for health, D for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($57,792 across the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
35 notable people were born here, including Lisa Alther and Cyrus Thomas.
