Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Tennessee River within the Appalachian Mountains, it is the largest city in the Grand Division of East Tennessee. Knoxville had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most-populous city in Tennessee. The Knoxville metropolitan area has an estimated 958,000 residents. Settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee.