Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is named in honor of Winfield Scott, (1786-1866), War of 1812 soldier and commander of U.S. troops at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Molino del Rey and Buena Vista in the Mexican-American War. As of 2000, the population was 21,127. Its county seat is Huntsville.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 21,127 people, 8,203 households, and 6,012 families residing in the county. The population density was 15/km² (40/mi²). There were 8,909 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (17/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.53% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,203 households out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.