 Knudstorp was born in 1968, grew up in Fredericia and graduated from Fredericia Gymnasium before attending Aarhus University.After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Knudstorp began an academic career as a researcher at his alma mater as well as obtaining a master's degree (1995) and a PhD (1998) in Economics from Aarhus University.He stayed in academia, but worked as a business consultant from 1998 to 2000.