Knoxville vs Newport News
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights the two cities tie at 62. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
University town at the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains
Full Knoxville profile →Plan a trip to Knoxville →Shipbuilding city on the James River in Hampton Roads
Full Newport News profile →Plan a trip to Newport News →Where they differ
Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, cost of living, getting there & around, internet, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Knoxville if you want
- to spend about $161 less a month
Pick Newport News if you want
- no clear edge over Knoxville in the data
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 24 ✓ | 22 |
| Safety | 51 | 51 |
| Healthcare | 85 | 85 |
| Internet | 85 | 86 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 10 ✓ | 8 |
| Climate | 50 | 50 |
| Air quality | 93 | 97 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 96 | 96 |
Cost
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,777 ✓ | $2,938 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 5.76 | 5.76 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 60.3 | 60.3 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 88 | 88 |
| Life expectancy | 78.5 yrs | 78.5 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 94.2 Mbps ✓ | 93.6 Mbps |
| Upload | 20.5 Mbps | 29.8 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | home country | home country |
| Entry, EU passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, UK passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 35 ✓ | 19 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 2 | 2 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 1 | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Knoxville | Newport News |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 6 | 6 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 8.3 µg/m³ | 6.3 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Knoxville or Newport News?
- Knoxville is cheaper: about $2,777 per month versus $2,938 for one person.
- Is Knoxville or Newport News safer?
- Knoxville and Newport News score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Knoxville or Newport News?
- Knoxville: a measured median of 94.2 Mbps versus 93.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Knoxville vs Baton Rouge
- Knoxville vs Greensboro
- Newport News vs Virginia Beach
- Newport News vs Winston-Salem
- All comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); OpenFlights airports and routes; Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.