Kingsport Spirit

MOVE TO KINGSPORT MONTHLY REPORT

The November 2025 relocation data confirm that Kingsport has entered a new phase of steady, durable growth—one that is less explosive than the post-pandemic wave, but far more sustainable. In November 2025, Kingsport welcomed 39 new families from 18 states, averaging 2.29 new families per workday. The median home price of $333,000 and $173 per square foot reflects a market that remains strong but measured, balancing demand with affordability.

Over the past 12 months ending November 2025, Kingsport attracted 594 new families from 45 states—an average of 2.42 families per workday. This annual figure signals remarkable consistency. While not as record-breaking as the prior year, it demonstrates that Kingsport’s appeal no longer depends on extraordinary national circumstances. Families continue to choose the city for its affordability, schools, quality of life, and welcoming civic culture.

One of the most defining features of the 2025 pattern is the geographic shift. The November 2025 map shows fewer long-distance relocations and far more concentration within a 300-mile radius—including Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and the rapidly growing corridors of Middle and East Tennessee, along with Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and the broader Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic.

Kingsport is increasingly drawing from the Southeast’s and Tennessee’s fastest-growing metros as families look for a more balanced, more affordable alternative within the same regional ecosystem. This transition reflects a maturing market—one that is more rational, more locally sourced, and more aligned with the long-term demographic momentum reshaping both Tennessee and the broader Southeast.

Only after understanding this new equilibrium does the comparison to November 2024 add meaningful context. November 2024 was a very different moment—62 new families from 28 states, averaging 3.4 families per workday, with a median price of $372,500. Migration was broader, stretching across the entire U.S., reflecting the tail end of a highly mobile era driven by remote work and national housing volatility. Prices were higher, fueled by demand from distant markets with far greater purchasing power.

Likewise, the 12 months ending November 2024 brought 659 new families from 49 states—a historic high-water mark. Median pricing across that year hovered around $335,092 and $156 per square foot, reflecting a market still absorbing pandemic-era demand.

The year-over-year comparison makes the trend unmistakable: Kingsport has shifted from extraordinary growth to sustainable growth. The decline from 659 to 594 annual relocations is real, but it is not a weakening—it is a normalization. The price correction from $372,500 to $333,000 reflects stabilization, not softness. And the geographic tightening around the Southeast demonstrates that Kingsport is becoming a preferred choice within its natural competitive region, not merely a beneficiary of national upheaval.

What does this mean for Kingsport?
It means the city now operates in a healthier market environment—strong demand without overheating, broad appeal without volatility, and steady inflow without displacement pressures. The post-pandemic frenzy has settled, but the momentum remains. Kingsport continues to attract more than two new families every workday, a level of in-migration that would have seemed implausible just five years ago.

The opportunity ahead is to steward this sustainable phase wisely: expand housing supply, maintain affordability, and nurture the community strengths that make Kingsport distinct. In 2025, Kingsport didn’t slow down. It leveled up—moving from a boom to a balanced, resilient future.