Our Region

East Tennessee is centrally located within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. and located at the crossroads of three major interstates, rail lines, and waterways, providing seamless connectivity to key markets across the country. Key advantages include:

• Strategic junction of I-40, I-75, and I-81
• Major regional airport with 30+ non-stop destinations
• Rail service: Norfolk Southern, CSX, and local short-line railroads
• Barge service: via the Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway System
• Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains

With a population of nearly 1.3 million, our region offers a strong talent pool ready to support diverse industries. Following is a closer look at our region’s demographics:

• Population of 1,292,781 in the 15-county region
• Knoxville MSA population of 985,636
• 57% of the population is ages 19-64

Source: Lightcast, 2026

East Tennessee is home to a highly skilled workforce of 600,000, including thousands of technical professionals and STEM-focused graduates. Our region also boasts of:

• Over 81,000 college and university students
• 35,000 technical professionals
• Over 10,000 students concentrating in mathematics, science, or engineering.
• 62,000 employed in manufacturing

From a world-class research university to specialized training centers, our region offers educational opportunities where breakthroughs in the classroom break barriers in technology, manufacturing, business, and healthcare. East Tennessee offers:

• University of Tennessee flagship campus
• 10 four-year colleges
• 4 two-year community colleges
• 4 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology
• Numerous vocational and specialty schools

East Tennessee has a rich history steeped in technology, beginning in the early 1940s with the establishment of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Since then, our region propels the world forward in advanced research and development through these tremendous resources:

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF)
• Frontier and Discovery (2027) Supercomputers
• National Transportation Research Center
• Spallation Neutron Source