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Knoxville, TN is a mid-sized river city on the Tennessee River and the home of the University of Tennessee, whose 30,000-plus students give the place a serious college-town pulse. Orange shows up everywhere, especially on football Saturdays when Neyland Stadium fills and the Vol Navy ties up along the water. Students spread across Fort Sanders right next to campus, the Cumberland Avenue strip, and the bars and music venues of the Old City downtown. Market Square anchors a walkable downtown with festivals, a farmers market, and year-round events, while World's Fair Park and its Sunsphere sit between campus and the center. Add the greenways along the river and the nearby Smoky Mountains, and you get a city that's both genuinely urban and outdoorsy.
The classic UT student neighborhood, packed tight against campus with old houses and complexes where you can walk to class.
The main drag with shops and restaurants and an easy walk to The Hill.
Around Market Square and the Old City, it suits students who want loft living, nightlife, and festivals, with The T and KAT linking back to campus.
Here's what you need to know about getting around Knoxville.
UT students ride The T, the free university transit system, with frequent fixed routes and on-demand vans serving campus and parts of Fort Sanders every several minutes. The city's KAT buses connect wider neighborhoods and downtown if you're farther out. Market Square and the Old City are a short ride from campus on these routes. Students near campus can lean on free transit for most daily trips.
Fort Sanders and Cumberland Avenue are walkable straight into class, and downtown's Market Square and Old City are a short walk or bike from there. Biking is doable on the greenways and flatter streets, though Knoxville's hills are real. The riverfront greenways give cyclists a scenic, flatter route. Many students near campus skip driving entirely.
If you live out toward the suburbs or want easy grocery runs and trips to the Smokies, you'll want a car. Plenty of students near campus skip one entirely thanks to free transit and walkable neighborhoods. Keep campus parking and permits in mind if you bring a vehicle. Game-day traffic around Neyland Stadium is worth planning around.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Rooms in Fort Sanders houses and shared units commonly run $500 to $800 a month per person, while two-bedroom apartments near campus and World's Fair Park average around $1,300 total and downtown two-beds can top $2,300. Splitting a house in the Fort is the cheapest way most UT students live close to class.
Browse student housing near each Knoxville-area university.