The best place to live in Tennessee

We recently prepared a report on The 16 best places to live in Tennessee and in this article we will talk about the top position according to our methodology.

Tennessee Economic Outlook

Tennessee’s economy is supported by a variety of sectors, including health care, automotive, finance, electronics and tourism. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Tennessee’s GDP grew 2.8% in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023 compared to a national growth rate of 3.4%. Moreover, Tennessee’s real GDP increased 3.2% from $412.10 billion in 2022 to $425.41 billion in 2023. Economic growth during the year was primarily driven by retail growth, which was the largest contributor to GDP growth, amounting to 0.86%. This was followed by the real estate and leasing sector and the professional, scientific and technical services sector, which contributed 0.35% and 0.28%, respectively. In addition to GDP, personal incomes in the country are also increasing. Individual personal income grew 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023, outpacing the national growth of 4.0% in the same quarter. While net earnings for individuals in Tennessee increased by 4.8% in the final quarter of 2023, dividends, interest payments and rents also increased significantly – by 8.2%, thus reducing personal income in the state. If you want to read more about Tennessee’s economy and population growth in the state, you can check out the 15 fastest-growing cities in Tennessee.

Tennessee labor market projections

Health care and social assistance, manufacturing and retail are among the largest sectors employing the majority of the state’s workforce. According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, employment in the state is projected to grow 2.3% annually and reach 3.6 million jobs by 2025. Based on the sector analysis, healthcare and social assistance are expected to remain the largest sector employing almost people until 2025. In addition to the healthcare sector, the manufacturing sector is also a major contributor to job creation in the labor market. By 2025, the manufacturing sector is projected to create more than 374,000 jobs for Tennesseans. Growth in the manufacturing sector is largely attributed to the state’s positive economic outlook, which is attracting businesses and Tennessee’s rapidly growing automotive industry. Car manufacturing alone and other related industries are expected to create more than 25,500 jobs by 2025. On March 21, PPG Industries, Inc (NYSE:PPG), a U.S.-based international paint manufacturer and distributor, announced the construction of a new paint and coatings facility in Tennessee. PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) will invest $300 million to build a 250,000-square-foot plant in Loudon County, Tennessee, in a move to expand and increase operational efficiency in the automotive coatings industry. PPG Industries, Inc. plant construction (NYSE:PPG) will begin in August 2024 and is expected to be completed by 2026.

Another company leading the Tennessee economy is HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA). HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) is a leading acute care company that owns and operates hospitals, medical services, surgical services, patient care and much more. The company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. On April 26, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) reported earnings for the first fiscal quarter of 2024. The company reported earnings per share of $5.36, which was $0.27 above market expectations. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 11.21% year-over-year to $17.34 billion and exceeded the market consensus by $523.72 million. Here are the comments from HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) to announce first quarter 2024 results:

Compared to the prior year, adjusted diluted earnings per share increased nearly 9% to $5.36 in the first quarter. Same-facility volumes were beneficial across the company. Inpatient admissions increased by 6% year over year, inpatient surgeries increased by almost 2%, equivalent admissions increased by 5%, and emergency room visits increased by 7%. Most other volume categories, including cardiac procedures and rehabilitation admissions, also saw solid growth in the quarter. Although outpatient surgery revenues increased year-over-year, primarily due to a favorable payer mix, total case volume decreased 2%. We attribute most of this decline to the calendar effect and the redetermination process, which has resulted in significant declines in Medicaid volume. All national branches recorded an increase in the number of hospital admissions and equivalent admissions.

Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash

Our methodology

To create a list of the 16 best places to live in Tennessee in 2024, we conducted a survey on Reddit. First, we aggregated a list of the best places by looking at 5 online rankings. We then used Reddit to find 13 threads asking people about the best places to live in Tennessee. We have read and analyzed all comments and added pluses for each best place on our list. Finally, we shortlisted places that received at least 150 total upvotes and ranked the top places on our list in ascending order of total upvotes on Reddit.

Note: This list is not exhaustive and does not reflect our opinion. The ranking is based solely on the opinions of Reddit users. Please also note that we have added information on city populations, literacy rates, and employment rates to our list items from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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The best place to live in Tennessee

1.Nashville

Number of positive votes: 2038

Nashville is the best place to live in Tennessee in 2024. It is the capital of Tennessee and is home to some of the country’s music venues, Vanderbilt University, and other music-related venues such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In 2020, the city had 689,447 inhabitants and approximately 316,349 apartments. Additionally, in 2022, the city of Nashville had a literacy rate of 48.7% (Bachelor’s degree or higher) and an employment rate of 70.1%. Additionally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city’s median household income was approximately $65,254 in 2022.

To learn about other best places to live in Tennessee, you can check out our detailed report on The 16 best places to live in Tennessee.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.