Rocky Top, Tennessee

Population

Growing. Up 3.0% since 2020.

1,681

people, the 194th-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.

95.0%

of 758 jobs located in Rocky Top are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is $690 a month.

$690

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 $810 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Anderson County.

• $732 Tract 210.02
• $1,542 Tract 206

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

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$759–$1,139

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $690 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

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 87% of all homes were built before 2000

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

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.0% to the 772 homes here.

3–8

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 48% less than Tennessee's.

$149,100

median home value in Rocky Top.

• $149,100 Rocky Top
• $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