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Towns / Tennessee

Plainview, Tennessee

Plainview is a small town of about 2,300 people in Union County, Tennessee. It has grown about 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 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 17 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,263
up 9.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$168,500
Union County prices up 30% since 2022
Household income
$63,965
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Knoxville area
92.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Powell, TN
To Knoxville
17 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 2.6 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 Plainview 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Union County High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byPhysicians Regional Medical Center in Powell, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 17 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 Plainview 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
$168,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 30%Union County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$869 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$63,965U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$623 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%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 Plainview 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
2,2632020: 2,059
Median age
41.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (24%); construction (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Physicians Regional Medical Center, Powell, TN, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

There are no public schools inside Plainview itself. 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
58%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
25°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
101 a year
Rain and melted snow
57.7 inches a year
Snow
3 inches a year
Elevation
1,135 feet

Weather station: Norris (15 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: Physicians Regional Medical Center, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park25 miles
  • Great Smoky Mountains National Park31 miles
  • Manhattan Project National Historical Park37 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail42 miles
  • Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area45 miles

Read about Plainview's history on Wikipedia.

Know Plainview?

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

  • John Sevier, TN (unincorporated)1,177 people, 10 miles
  • Andersonville, TN (unincorporated)353 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.