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Towns / Tennessee

Bean Station, Tennessee

Bean Station is a suburb of about 3,200 people in Grainger County, Tennessee, in the Morristown area. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Knoxville, is about 45 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Morristown

Population
3,190
up 7.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$164,600
Grainger County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$44,785
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Knoxville area
92.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Morristown, TN
To Knoxville
45 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.4% below the U.S. average in the Knoxville metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Bean Station itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Morristown East High, about 9 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMorristown Hamblen Hospital Association in Morristown, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 45 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bean Station meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bean Station runs into the built-up area around Morristown (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$164,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Grainger County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$44,785U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$888 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.6U.S. average = 100 (the Knoxville metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Knoxville metro area, not Bean Station alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,1902020: 2,962
Median age
48.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (31%); schools, health care and social services (24%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Morristown Hamblen Hospital Association, Morristown, TN, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Bean Station, run by Grainger County. The nearest public high school is Morristown East High, about 9 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
27°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
84 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.1 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
1,129 feet

Weather station: Morristown Radio Wcrk (9 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Morristown Hamblen Hospital Association, Kingsport, Knoxville.

Grainger County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park23 miles
  • Andrew Johnson National Historic Site28 miles
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park35 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail36 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway56 miles

Read about Bean Station's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bean Station?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Mooresburg, TN (unincorporated)755 people, 3 miles
  • Russellville, TN (unincorporated)684 people, 7 miles
  • Bulls Gap, TN768 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.