Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Norris’ best subject grade is an A+ for the outdoors; its weakest is a C− for walkability. 40% of residents are 65 or older in Norris, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 3 of the 178 Tennessee towns we compare have a higher median age than Norris. Norris’ trail density is 4.8 miles per square mile, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Only 1 of Tennessee’s 292 towns score higher on the outdoors. Norris Municipal Park and Forest, at 2,338 acres with 24.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Norris has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Norris beats most towns.
Where Norris’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Norris is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,134 in 1950, 1,599 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 5 maps from 1936 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Norris. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
Big draw36 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
19 mi LookoutSunsphere
40 mi MuseumAlcatraz East
in town MuseumMuseum of Appalachia
20 mi Stadium & arenaThompson-Boling Arena at Food City CenterNeyland 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 · Museum of Appalachia: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0 · Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center: TN 66, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Norris, 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 Norris.
Its public schools are run by the Anderson County school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norris Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 448 | B− |
| Norris ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 257 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
The typical Norris home is worth about $497,000, up 4.5% in a year, 50% above the Tennessee typical home.
| Norris | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 74% | 66% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,053 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Norris for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Norris has added 189 jobs, to 461 in 2023. 6.6% of Norris residents live below the poverty line.
| Norris | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.6% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Norris has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 28° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Norris beats the Tennessee average on 13 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 45% of adults have high blood pressure in Norris. Only 3 of the 177 Tennessee towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Norris.
| Norris | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 41% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 78% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Norris | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.4% | 13.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.1% | 9.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.7% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Norris Municipal Park and Forest | 24.6 mi | 2,338 |
| 2. Norris Dam State Park | 11.6 mi | 592 |
| 3. Museum of Appalachia | — | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Norris; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Norris residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee.
3 places in Norris on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Tennessee, United States
Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee. Its population was 1,599 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Norris was built as a model planned community by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933 to house workers building Norris Dam on the Clinch River. It is named in honor of George W. Norris, a Senator from Nebraska, who was a long-term supporter of the TVA.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 6.9 years of the area's median household income ($72,422 across the Knoxville, TN 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 B−.
