Kingsport Facts

Kingsport – I Love It Here! Situated at the crossroads of pristine beauty and cutting-edge technology, Kingsport, Tennessee, is the Perfect Place to Live! As the below facts showcase, Kingsport is nationally recognized for its extremely low cost of living, great recreational amenities, wonderful attractions and shopping opportunities, proud heritage and history, beautiful natural surroundings, seasonal climates, safe community, excellent school systems, unparalleled medical facilities, superb city services, vibrant arts community, thriving business community, hospitable people and unsurpassed quality of life. Kingsport truly has it all!

Best Place to Live

Kingsport has been listed as one of America’s Top 100 Places to Live by Money Magazine, Sperling’s, Relocate-America.com and US Airways magazine!

Kingsport has been named as one of the Top 100 Retirement Locations in America by BizJournals and also ranked 3rd nationally for Top Location to own a 2nd home by EscapeHomes.

The population of Kingsport is approximately 50,000. At a one-mile radius of the city, the population is 91,000 and at a 5-mile radius the population is 150,000. Kingsport is part of the Tri-Cities region including Bristol and Johnson City, which combined, has a population of nearly 500,000. Kingsport was named anAll-America City by the National Civic League.

Kingsport is home to 3,600 new residents that have moved from 44 states since 2006. That breaks down to about 150 residents a month!

Kingsport has Four Distinctive Seasons – a vibrant fall, mild winter, gorgeous spring and moderate summer…a perfect climate year round with a comfort index 74 percent better than the national average

Kingsport lies at the crossroads of two major interstate systems- Interstates 26 and 81. Kingsport, Tennessee is within a day's drive to 70 percent of the U.S. population including 5 national parks, 15 state parks and 6 TVA lakes.

Kingsport is only 15 minutes from the Tri-City Airport with jet and direct flights nationwide.

Kingsport's cost of living is 14 percent below the national average (no income tax, no personal property tax, no wheel tax, and no vehicle inspection).

Kingsport’s House Price Appreciation ranks 14th nationally; according to OFHEO and MSN Money.

Kingsport is listed among the lowest crime rates and utility costs of all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 40 percent fewer than the national average.

All levels of Kingsport Schools have been acknowledged, honored and rewarded as some of the Best Schools in the nation. Newsweek magazine named Kingsport’s Dobyns-Bennett High School with this honor. Kingsport’s Washington Elementary School was named a Scholastic and Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School by Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. Kingsport’s Andrew Jackson Elementary School was named a Distinguished Title I School by the Tennessee Department of Education.

Kingsport City Schools are one of only three school systems in Tennessee named a District of Excellence in Child Nutrition by the American School Nutrition Association and several Kingsport school teachers have been named Tennessee State Teachers of the Year for their disciplines.

Downtown Kingsport is home to the newly developed Academic Village. The Academic Village has been recognized locally and nation wide for it’s excellence in continuing education for those with interest in the medical and technical fields and soon will finish the center for Masters Programs. These programs are partnered with, but not limited to the, University of Tennessee, East Tennessee State University and Northeast State Community College.

Our Business

Kingsport has been listed by Forbes magazine as a Great Place for Business with the Lowest Cost of Doing Business in the nation.

The Wall Street Journal quoted “Much of the world may be struggling with the economic downturn, but life has been getting better in Kingsport, Tenn…”

Kingsport’s Eastman Chemical Co. is spending 1.3 billion to upgrade its sprawling chemical plant on the strength of its global sales in plastics and fibers.

The construction and building business in Kingsport is booming. With more than $180 million dollars in new residential and commercial construction last year (2007-2008 fiscal year), Kingsport has set another record for building investment for the second straight year. New housing starts also increased for the sixth consecutive year with 102 new single-family homes being built in the model city.

Kingsport is home to two Malcolm Baldrige Award winners – Eastman Chemical Company and Pal's Sudden Service (the first restaurant in the nation to ever garner the honor). The Malcolm Baldrige is the nation's most distinguished award for quality and is bestowed by the President of the United States.

Kingsport is home to three nationally-recognized major healthcare systems (Wellmont, Mountain States and Holston Medical Group) and has a number of award-winning healthcare providers and facilities that have sterling national reputations.

Kingsport was ranked as one of America’s Best Places to Practice Medicine by Medical Economics Magazine. Kingsport was the only city in Tennessee to make the prestigious list, one of only 6 cities in the Mid-South and South Atlantic regions and one of only 29 nationwide.

Kingsport has been ranked as the 13th metro in the nation in the number of highly-concentrated high tech industries by the Milliken Institute’s Best Performing Cities list.

Kingsport is home to the world-class MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center, a winner of numerous global first-place awards for customer service and guest satisfaction and one of the top performing Marriott properties worldwide and is now investing 14 million in expansion.

Just For Fun

Kingsport and the Tri-Cities have been ranked by Golf Digest Magazine as one of the Best Places to Live in the U.S. for Golfers.

Kingsport is home to a world-class professional symphony orchestra, a superb ballet company that offers professional dance training and boasts a vibrant and active arts and theatre guild.

Kingsport has a newly opened Dog Park situated on 3 acres fenced in with a natural wooded environment.

Kingsport is investing 14 million dollars on an elaborate public Aquatic Center that will open in the summer of 2012.

With its endless hiking trails, events and countryside, Kingsport was named as one of the Top Ten Cities for Walking by Walking Magazine. Kingsport's popular Greenbelt is a 10-mile walking and biking trail that extends from one end of the city to the other, winding its way along the Holston River and through beautiful open meadows, marshlands, historic sites, flower gardens, quaint neighborhoods and even shopping and eating destinations.

Kingsport is home to Bays Mountain Park, a 3,500-acre nature preserve with 22 miles of hiking and biking trials, a 44-acre reservoir lake, nature center and museum, planetarium and native wildlife habitats. Bays Mountain is the nation's largest municipally-owned park.

Kingsport is home to Warriors Path State Park, the most visited state park in Tennessee.

Kingsport is home to Fun Fest, a nine-day summer family festival that is consistently ranked as one of the Top 20 Events to attend in the Southeast in July by the Southeast Tourism Society. More than 180,000 people attend more than 100 Fun Fest events each year.

The Fun Fest Crazy 8’s Road Race, which holds both men’s and women’s 8-K world records, was listed by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine as one of the Top Five Best Road Races in the South.

Kingsport is home to the world-famous Santa Train, a 110-mile annual train journey through Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee where scores of Kingsport volunteers distribute more than 15 tons of gifts, clothes, toys and candy to thousands of kids along the route.

Our Community

Because of its legendary hospitality and first-rate amenities, popular attractions and visitor accommodations, Kingsport continues to be selected among cities nationwide to host numerous Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships and other amateur sports tournaments. Thousands of dollars from tournament proceeds are given to area schools each year.

Kingsport created the state’s very first senior leadership program (ENCORE – Enrich and Nurture Our Community, Offer Our Resources and Experience). This complements the youth leadership program, S.H.O.U.T.!® (Students Helping Others Understand Tomorrow), and the adult leadership program, LINK (Lead, Innovate, Nurture Kingsport).

Kingsport is a caring community where local giving to the United Way is three times the national average.

Kingsport’s Keep America Beautiful affiliate program (Keep Kingsport Beautiful) has won more than 50 state and national awards for its beautification and environmental preservation efforts.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corporation have named Kingsport as a National Sustainable Community Award Winner. The honor was presented to Kingsport for the city’s ability to face 21st century challenges, such as environmental stewardship, economic growth and social capital, with great success. Kingsport was one of only three cities in the nation to garner the national award.

Kingsport is listed among the best water and air quality rankings of all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs); with the air quality index 6.2 points better than the national average, a perfect score with its watershed quality index and even voted the region’s Best Tasting Water.

Kingsport has been listed as One of the Best Green Cities in the Southeast by CountryHome magazine.

Trust me, it will be hard to find a reason not to Move to Kingsport!

Kingsport, Tennessee…I Love It Here!

www.MoveToKingsport.com
www.kingsportchamber.org

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