Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kingston gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $334K for a typical one, or 4.6 years of the Knoxville metro’s $72K median household income. It grades B overall, 34th among Tennessee's 175 graded towns. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. Kingston has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Southwest Point and Roane County Courthouse (Additional Documentation). 24% of residents are 65 or older in Kingston, against 18% in Tennessee’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 7 of the 134 Tennessee towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Kingston.
Where Kingston beats most towns.
Roane County Courthouse (Additional Documentation)
Census counts: 386 in 1850, a low of 307 in 1860, 5,953 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1810 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Kingston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingston, 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 Kingston.
Kingston fares better on crime within Tennessee than nationally and looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally.
In 3 parks and preserves, walkers have 2.9 miles of trail. Southwest Point Park, at 54 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Kingston: 3, covering 67 acres.
| Kingston | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Southwest Point Park | 1 mi | 54 |
| 2. Kingston City Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 3. Gertrude Porter Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Roane County High School, with 625 students. The Roane County school district runs its public schools. Public school enrollment in Kingston: 1,856 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 736 | A− |
| Roane County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 625 | C+ |
| Cherokee Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 495 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
At 8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 95% of Tennessee’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
Kingston’s violent offense rate comes in at 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 61% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Just over a tenth of Kingston adults worry about having enough food. This Tennessee town does better than the Tennessee average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 4. Among adults here, 14% binge drink and 29% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Kingston | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 29% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 19% | 14% |
| What stands out | Kingston | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.4% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.4% | 13.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect July afternoons of 88° and January nights of 29°, with about 2 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Federal aid has come to Kingston households in 8 declared disasters; the latest was in 2026. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in two thirds of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 45% come from inland flooding and 20% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The age of the median resident for Kingston comes to 44.7 years. People 65 and older are nearly a quarter of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). Population is up 3.5% here since 2020, to 6,299 by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. College graduates make up 24% of adults 25 and older, against 31% across Tennessee.
| Kingston | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 44.7 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 22% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Kingston | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.7% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.1% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.9% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 10.1% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.9% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The top destinations are Oak Ridge (21%), Knoxville (16%) and Harriman (4%). Just 8% of Kingston’s working residents have a job in town. Also worth knowing: for residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 7.1%. Since 2013, Kingston has added 189 jobs, to 2,172 in 2023.
| Kingston | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.7% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes sold in Kingston spent a median 23 days on the market. Zillow values the typical Kingston home at about $334,000, up 4.1% in a year, close to the Tennessee typical home. Its midpoint rent is $716 a month.
| Kingston | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $716 a month | $950 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kingston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
33 mi LookoutSunsphere
7 mi National Historical ParkManhattan Project National Historical Park56K visitors a year
24 mi CaveCraighead Caverns
18 mi State parkFrozen Head State ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Neyland Stadium: Neomrbungle, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sunsphere: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Manhattan Project National Historical Park: Unknown, Public domain · Craighead Caverns: Brenda, CC BY 2.0 · Frozen Head State Park: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kingston
About 5 of every 100 Kingston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
4 places in Kingston on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Tennessee, United States
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States. This city is thirty-six miles southwest of Knoxville. As of the 2020 census, Kingston had a population of 5,953. It is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Kingston is adjacent to Watts Bar Lake.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Kingston grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #34 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades C for health, A− for safety and B− for schools.
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 A−.
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