Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Population

Growing. Up 4.5% since 2020.

3,715

people, the 126th-largest of Tennessee's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Tennessee's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

89.5%

of 7,673 jobs located in Gatlinburg are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 70% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,098

a month. Tennessee's median is $1,189.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,141 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Sevier County.

• $914 Tract 804.02
• $2,055 Tract 802.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$764–$1,145

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,098 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

70% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 413 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 70% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–1.6% to the 4,830 homes here.

3–77

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 16% more than Tennessee's.

$332,000

median home value in Gatlinburg.

• $332,000 Gatlinburg
• $286,700 Tennessee
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year