Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,739, settled in 1949.
Powell is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 21st among Tennessee's 175 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $82K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 66% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $360K, 5 years of the Knoxville metro’s $72K median household income. Powell has 2 places on the National Register. 4.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Powell, below both Tennessee’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%).
Where Powell’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 Powell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 maps from 1936 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Powell. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi Theme parkDollywood3.1M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaNeyland Stadium
Big draw24 mi National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year
8 mi LookoutSunsphere
8 mi Stadium & arenaThompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
30 mi MuseumAlcatraz EastDollywood: 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 · Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center: TN 66, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alcatraz East: EricaLewHouse, CC BY-SA 4.0
Powell is unincorporated, so Knox County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Powell.
Powell looks healthier within Tennessee than nationally and has home values climbing faster than Tennessee’s, but it has little public open land.
Most working residents leave Powell for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Powell grew to 2,607 in 2023, 549 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Knoxville (43%), Oak Ridge (8%) and Clinton (3%).
| Powell | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 12% | 9.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Knox County school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Powell High School, with 1,253 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powell ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 852 | B |
| Powell High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,253 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Powell.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Powell has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, 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 45% in five years, to about $361K, against 23% across Tennessee.
79% of Powell households own their home. The typical Powell home is worth about $361,000, up 2.4% in a year, 9% above the Tennessee typical home. The median rent in Powell is $1,276 a month.
| Powell | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,276 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Tennessee average. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Tennessee. Powell’s median age is 37.5 years.
| Powell | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.5 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 18% | 18% |
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.6 points). Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Powell | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.2% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.7% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.4% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.9% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.7% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Within Tennessee it is healthier than 78% of the 176 graded towns: much of Tennessee scores lower on these measures.
Powell beats the Tennessee average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of adults have obesity in Powell.
| Powell | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 39% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 39% | 36% |
| What stands out | Powell | TN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.1% | 9.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just 3 of its 5,443 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Powell itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Collier Preserve | 0.1 mi | 12 |
| 2. Powell Station Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Powell
About 10 of every 100 Powell residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
2 places in Powell on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Powell.
CDP in Tennessee, United States
Powell, formerly known as Powell Station, is a census-designated place in Knox County, Tennessee. The area is located in the Emory Road corridor (State Route 131), just north of Knoxville, southeast of Clinton, and east of Oak Ridge. It had a population of 13,802 during the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Powell.
Powell reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Powell with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Powell grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #21 of 175 in Tennessee. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
3 notable people were born here, including Lee Smith and John Cooper.
