What a Fence Costs in Knoxville, TN

Most fences in Knox County land between $10 and $70 per installed foot. Where a particular yard falls in that range has less to do with the fence than with what is under it. Below are the ranges we actually install at in 2026, what moves a quote inside them, and a worked example on a common Knoxville lot.

Installed cost per foot, by material

These are installed prices — material, posts, concrete, labor, and haul-away of the old fence if there is one. They are not material-only numbers, which is what most online fence calculators quote, and it is why those calculators come in low.

Gates are priced separately, and they are the most common reason a final quote lands above what a per-foot estimate suggested. A walk gate is modest. A double drive gate with an operator, a safety loop and a keypad is its own line item and can exceed the cost of a hundred feet of fence.

Why two identical-looking Knoxville yards get different quotes

This is the part no cost calculator can do, because it requires knowing what is under a specific address. In Knox County the ground changes more over a quarter mile than it does over entire counties elsewhere.

Depth to bedrock is the biggest single variable

Knoxville sits in the Valley and Ridge province on Knox Dolomite — karst, which dissolves into pinnacles and voids rather than weathering into an even layer. Knox County has enough sinkhole activity that the USGS published a dedicated map sheet for it. Per the NRCS Soil Survey of Knox County:

Two neighbors on the same street can sit on different series. It is the honest reason a firm price for a Knox County fence needs someone to look at the site.

Frost depth is not what sets post depth here

Knox County’s adopted frost line is 12 inches. That is shallow, and it is not the governing number. Posts go deeper than frost depth because of overturning load and soil movement, not freezing — a 6 ft privacy fence is a sail, and the county’s adopted design wind value is 90. Anyone quoting a Knoxville fence on frost depth alone is quoting the wrong problem.

The clay

Knox County soils run 7 to 27 percent clay at the surface and 35 to 60 percent in the subsoil. Combined with 51.93 inches of rain a year, that subsoil swells wet and shrinks dry, and it works on anything set in it. It is why post embedment, the shape of the concrete collar and drainage matter more here than the panel style does — and why a fence that was cheap to install is often the one that needs straightening in five years.

Slope, access and what is already there

• Grade. A fence on slope is either stepped or racked. Both cost more than a flat run — more posts, more cuts, more layout time.
• Access. If equipment cannot reach the back line, material and spoil move by hand. That is labor, and it shows up in the quote.
• Removal. Taking out an old fence, especially one set in oversized concrete, is real work before the new fence starts.
• Rock. When the auger stops, the method changes. This is the most common source of variance between a phone estimate and a site quote.

A worked example

A common Knox County job: a back yard enclosed on three sides, 150 linear feet, 6 ft pressure-treated pine privacy, one walk gate, mild slope, good access, no rock.

Change one variable and the number moves. Board-on-board instead of dog-ear pushes the fence line toward $5,000 to $7,500. Hitting Montevallo rock on a third of the holes adds a day. A double drive gate with an operator can add more than the entire fence above.

On cedar

Cedar comes up in almost every wood fence conversation in Knoxville, and our answer is not the popular one. We can source cedar by request, but it is expensive here and it does not hold up well in East Tennessee clay without special installation. Ground contact and a heavy, wet subsoil are hard on it. For nearly every Knox County yard we recommend ground-contact-rated pressure-treated pine — it costs less, it handles this ground, and the money saved is better spent on post depth, better hardware, and gates that still swing true in five years.

Costs people forget to budget for

• The utility locate. Free, but it takes time. Tennessee 811 requires three working days notice, the ticket is good for 15 days, and there is a 4-foot tolerance zone around every marked line. The fence-post exemption people cite is narrow — it only applies outside recorded easements and more than 100 feet from pavement, which rarely describes a Knoxville subdivision lot.
• Permits and HOA review. The rules differ inside the city and out, and an HOA can be stricter than either. See our East Tennessee height and permit guide.
• Property line certainty. A survey costs money. Moving a fence built on the wrong line costs far more, and it is the most expensive avoidable mistake in this trade.
• Shared-fence cost splitting. Tennessee has rules about who pays for a fence between neighbors, and they surprise people. See who pays for a fence between neighbors.

How to compare quotes so the cheapest one is not the most expensive one

1. How deep are the posts, and what is the plan if you hit rock? A quote that does not answer this in Knox County is a quote that will change.
2. Post material and spacing. Steel posts in a wood fence cost more up front and are the main reason a fence stays straight in this clay.
3. Is removal and haul-away included, or is it a line you will be handed later?
4. Is the below-grade material ground-contact rated? It looks identical to the wrong product on the day it goes in.
5. License and insurance. Tennessee licenses contractors. Ask for the number and verify it.

Get a real number for your yard

Go deeper

• Fence installation in Knoxville, TN
• Why fence posts are hard to set in East Tennessee
• Residential fencing in Knoxville
• Commercial fencing in Knoxville
• All 28 fence answers

Installed ranges reflect Loudon County Fence pricing for Knox County work as of 2026 and are estimates, not quotes. Soil and bedrock figures from the NRCS Soil Survey of Knox County; frost depth and design wind from Knox County’s amendments to the 2018 IRC, Table R301.2(1); rainfall from NOAA climate normals for Knoxville (TYS), 1991–2020; 811 requirements from TCA §§ 65-31-101 to 120.