Maryville, Tennessee, is located in Blount County. It’s at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and it’s part of the Knoxville metro area. The surrounding area is known for its tourist attractions like Dollywood, but Maryville stands on its own as one of the best places in the country for families.
According to Matt Ward Homes, Maryville is affordable and picturesque. It’s also a wonderful place to call home if you like the outdoors. There are almost 29,000 residents.
If you’re thinking about moving to Maryville, the following is a guide to some of the most important things to know.
An Overview
Maryville is in north-central Blount County. As mentioned, it’s at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and Chilhowee Mountain is to the south. This is the outer ridge of the Western Smokies. To the north is Alcoa, Maryville’s twin city.
The city was established in 1795, and it was named in honor of the wife of Governor William Blount, Mary Grainger Blount.
A recent ranking from HomeSnacks named Maryville as one of the best places to live in Tennessee. HomeSnacks gave Maryville an overall rating of 8.5, citing factors like the low crime rate and the low cost of living, which we’ll talk more about.
Cost-of-Living
In general, Tennessee is known as one of the cheapest states to call home in the country. The average cost of living in Tennessee, according to the SoFi financial company, is just $37,499 a year. It’s ranked number six on the list of the ten most affordable states in the country based on data from the third quarter of 2024.
In Tennessee, average spending on housing and utilities is just over $7,050, and health care is slightly under $6,300 a year. Food and beverage average annual per-capita costs in the Volunteer State are $2,906, and gas and energy are around $773 a year.
That means the average Tennessean spends around $3,125 a month on expenses.
In late 2024, the typical home value in Tennessee was around $253,000, and you have to consider that this data was likely skewed by prices in Nashville. Maryville, which is in the eastern part of the state, is one of the cheaper areas to call home.
Tennessee is also one of few states that don’t charge a state income tax. Property taxes in the area are pretty modest too to go along with the lack of a state income tax.
Overall, the real estate and housing prices in Tennessee are around 20% lower than U.S. medians, and the cost-of-living index is around 12% lower than the rest of the country.
Crime and Safety
Maryville, according to Neighborhood Scout, is safer than almost half of all U.S. citizens. The violent crime rate per 1,000 residents is just 2. In all of Tennessee, a person has a 1 in 149 chance of becoming the victim of a violent crime. In Maryville, it’s just 1 in 499.
As far as property crime, the chances of being a victim are 1 in 40 in Tennessee and 1 in 98 in Maryville.
Good Schools
Maryville is regularly ranked as having among the best schools in Tennessee. It’s often described as exemplary in the state, and that designation was only given to seven districts across the state out of 147.
Maryville receives an A from Niche for schools, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 16 to 1.
Niche ranks Maryville as number one for the district with the best teachers in Tennessee, the number one school district for athletes in the state, and it’s ranked by Niche overall as the top school district in the entire state.
Specific schools that perform and rank especially well are Sam Houston Elementary School, Foothills Elementary School, and John Sevier Elementary School. Coulter Grove Intermediate School is also A-rated, as is Maryville High School.
The Pros and Cons of Maryville
Maryville is a small town, and the pros, along with the schools, cost of living, and low crime, include the fact that it is so close to the Smoky Mountains. You can easily drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Maryville is often described as the gateway to this part of the state.
There is a lot of hiking, and there are abundant outdoor activities in Maryville and nearby.
Maryville has a charming downtown with some local shops, bars, and restaurants, and Maryville College is at the center of the community. This small, private college has a beautiful property and adds an element of culture to this small town.
Of course, as with anything, there are potential downsides to think about. One is that Maryville might be too quiet for some. There’s not going to be much in the way of nightlife, and if you’re a single person or you want to meet people, the vast majority of residents in Maryville are families and older people.
Of course, Knoxville is just a few minutes away, and being home to the University of Tennessee, you can likely find what you’re looking for in terms of nightlife. Knoxville has live music, a lot of restaurants and breweries, and bars and clubs.
Another downside is that as with everywhere in Tennessee, summers can be hot and humid.
Since Maryville is so close to the Great Smoky Mountains, during the high seasons for tourists, including the summer and fall, there can be a lot of traffic as people head to the mountains.
Maryville and most of East Tennessee tend to be politically conservative, so you might not see that as something you’d like, although that’s, of course, a personal preference.
Overall, Maryville has a lot of charm and amenities that have appealed to people looking for a lower cost of living throughout the pandemic. It’s near enough to Knoxville that you can find some of the features of a larger city, but you still get that small-town feel when you return home. Plus, if you like the outdoors, you have easy access to one of the most beautiful national parks in the country.
