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Best Software Engineering Schools Near Knoxville, TN (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Knoxville, Tennessee is home to about 193,721 residents. Median household income is $50,994 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 33.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Knoxville, TN metro area, the top-earning software engineering-related role is Computer and Information Systems Managers at a median $143,650 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Software Engineering Schools to Knoxville
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer software engineering programs near Knoxville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Knoxville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Knoxville.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Knoxville is part of the Knoxville, TN metro area (BLS area code 28940). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Software Developers
$121,750
Knoxville, TN
$131,479
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
$85,970
Knoxville, TN
$92,840
Computer Programmers
$66,760
Knoxville, TN
$72,095
Web Developers
$80,710
Knoxville, TN
$87,160
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$143,650
Knoxville, TN
$155,130
Computer Occupations, All Other
$66,960
Knoxville, TN
$72,311
Computer Network Architects
$117,480
Knoxville, TN
$126,868
Computer Systems Analysts
$85,730
Knoxville, TN
$92,581
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Knoxville at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
193,721
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$50,994
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
33.7%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
92.6 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Knoxville-Area Cities With Software Engineering Programs
What are the highest-paying software engineering roles near Knoxville?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying software engineering-related roles near Knoxville are: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($143,650), Software Developers ($121,750), Computer Network Architects ($117,480). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Farragut instead of Knoxville?
Farragut, TN is 14.6 miles from Knoxville and has its own set of local software engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Knoxville an affordable place to study software engineering?
Knoxville’s median household income of $50,994 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Knoxville while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Tennessee public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
