Another notable thing is that Gatlinburg is a major vacation destination. Much of the city’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Gatlinburg’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
It is a fairly quiet city because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Gatlinburg has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Gatlinburg has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Gatlinburg than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Gatlinburg may be for you.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Gatlinburg spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.29 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
Despite the fact that it is a small city, Gatlinburg has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly taxis - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the city for affordable transportation.
In terms of college education, Gatlinburg is somewhat better educated than the 21.84% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 28.34% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Gatlinburg in 2022 was $27,682, which is middle income relative to Tennessee, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $110,728 for a family of four. However, Gatlinburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Gatlinburg is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Gatlinburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Gatlinburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Gatlinburg also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.90% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Gatlinburg include English, German, Scottish, Irish, and Scots-Irish.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Gatlinburg's cultural character, accounting for 17.16% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Gatlinburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
