Living in Luttrell, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

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 Luttrell 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 Union County High School, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byTennova Healthcare-Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Jefferson City, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 20 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 Luttrell 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $154,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 30%Union County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $41,742U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $525 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Knoxville metro area, not Luttrell 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: 1,1182020: 1,023
Median age: 44.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 0%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: Schools, health care and social services (14%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (11%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line: 22%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Tennova Healthcare-Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Jefferson City, TN, about 15 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 Luttrell, run by Union County. The nearest public high school is Union County High School, about 4 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: 38%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 70%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: 24°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 24 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 103 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.5 inches a year
Snow: 3 inches a year
Elevation: 1,122 feet

Weather station: Jefferson City (16 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

Tennova Healthcare-Jefferson Memorial HospitalEmergency room15

Knoxville, TNMetro of 1 million20

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: Tennova Healthcare-Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Knoxville.

Union 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, including the Booker Farm.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park23 miles
Great Smoky Mountains National Park33 miles
Manhattan Project National Historical Park40 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail44 miles
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area47 miles

Read about Luttrell's history on Wikipedia.

Know Luttrell?

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

Plainview, TN2,300 people, 3 miles
Maynardville, TN2,700 people, 4 miles
Blaine, TN2,200 people, 5 miles
Mascot, TN3,300 people, 10 miles
Strawberry Plains, TN2,700 people, 12 miles
Rutledge, TN1,400 people, 13 miles

Smaller places

John Sevier, TN (unincorporated)1,177 people, 13 miles

Sources

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.