Knoxville, TN business phone guide

About the Knoxville, TN metro area

The Knoxville, TN metro area covers 9 counties in Tennessee and had 958,000 residents in July 2024, up 6.0% since April 2020. The U.S. population grew 2.6% over the same period. Knox County, TN is the most populous, with 507,000 people. By population it ranks 60th of the 925 metro and micropolitan areas and 67th by business establishments.

Knoxville, TN's business base

County Business Patterns counted 19,652 establishments in the area in 2023, employing 385,052 people in mid-March with $22.7 billion in annual payroll. That is an average of 19.6 employees per establishment. 46.8% of establishments with employees had fewer than five people. By establishment count, the largest sectors are retail trade (2,994), health care and social assistance (2,352), and other services (except public administration) (2,154).

How Knoxville, TN's businesses compare

Knoxville, TN has 20.5 business establishments per 1,000 residents, 16.5% below the U.S. figure of 24.6. Establishments average 19.6 employees against 16.7 nationally, and payroll per employee is $58,972 (13.7% below the U.S. $68,342). 46.8% of establishments with employees have fewer than five people (U.S.: 55.5%), while 6.6% have 50 or more. Most establishments are far smaller than the average suggests, so it pays to price a phone plan at the headcount you actually have rather than the average.

Small-business industries in Knoxville, TN

Of the 141 industries these guides cover, 137 have a published Census count in Knoxville, TN. The largest are limited-service restaurants (728), physician practices (590), and full-service restaurants (578). Relative to population, marinas are the most over-represented: 2.6 per 100,000 residents against 1.1 nationally.

Area codes in Knoxville, TN

The area's named cities and towns have 436 NANPA-assigned exchanges across 2 area codes; 865 has the most (94%). Callata includes up to 3 local numbers, so a business serving several parts of the area can hold a number in each.

Local numbers by city

Pages for 17 cities and towns in the area list their area codes, prefixes and carriers.

Phone costs for a typical Knoxville, TN business

The comparison below uses 20 users, the rounded average establishment size in Knoxville, TN. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $499.00 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $600.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. Callata comes to $399.00 a month for 20 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Callata in Knoxville, TN

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

Porting a number you already use in Knoxville, TN is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.