Photo taken by Frederik Schutz
New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago– these are some of the biggest cities in the United States, and some of the most economically and culturally significant in the world. They are centers of finance, media, energy and technology. Many Vanderbilt students have their eyes on these cities as their next destination once they graduate from Vanderbilt and start their “actual” lives. However, we might be overlooking a dynamic economic and cultural “hidden gem” right under our noses — Nashville.
Calling Nashville a hidden gem is perhaps a misnomer. The metro area has seen tremendous growth over the last decades, consistently ranking as one of the fastest growing cities in America. Since 1990, the Nashville metropolitan area has grown by 81%. In the 24 years since the start of the century, the population has grown nearly 60%, by approximately 800 thousand individuals. In 2022 alone, the metro area experienced an increase of 35,624 people: nearly 100 people a day.
People have been flooding into Nashville over the past few decades. Nevertheless, compared to cities like Austin, Raleigh, and Orlando, Nashville’s growth has been relatively overshadowed. States like Florida and Texas have been at the forefront of the headline of the southward migration which exploded during the covid lockdowns of 2020 through 2022. Certainly, Nashville has also become a go-to place, but perhaps not as “sexy” of a destination as some other cities. This unique situation created a market inefficiency that is ripe to seize upon, especially given the enormous upside to residing in Music City.
Nashville’s population growth has slowed down in the last few years, with 2024 year over year growth slowing to 1.37%, compared to 1.62% the year prior, and the past decade’s peak of 2.68% in 2015. But in the long term, Nashville’s population growth is projected to go upward, with Davidson County alone projected to add another approximately 110 thousand people by 2040. The pattern of migration of individuals from geographically and culturally northern states to those in the south and west (“the sun belt”) is certain to continue. The enormous cost of living in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and so on, is driving people out in droves. High tax burdens and overbearing regulation all under the umbrella of an ever lower quality of life is causing people to move to states where the overall cost of living is lower and more affordable.
Tennessee has no state income tax, only a 7% sales tax, which goes up to around 9% when the Davidson county sales tax is placed on top of it. Property taxes are 0.81%, compared to the national average of 1.1%. To take residents of New York City as a contrast, they are saddled with a 1.54% property tax rate, along with a combined state and local sales tax of 8.875%. On top of that, residents are faced with both state and city income tax, which can reach up to 14.776% for top earners, even without mentioning the federal income tax. In terms of cost of living, moving to Nashville from San Francisco or New York means significantly decreases in the cost of living, with costs being 83% and 74% lower, respectively.
This lower financial burden coexists with exploding economic growth and opportunity. By FRED data, Nashville’s total real domestic product increased over 20 billion from 2020 to 2022. This number has been fueled by major multinational corporations moving to the Music City: including HCA Healthcare, one of the world’s largest healthcare providers, Oracle, a tech giant, Alliance Berstein, a financial heavyweight, IHeartRadio, a top media company, and Amazon. The companies listed represent some of the biggest players in various fields. It shows the dynamic nature of the Nashville economy and indicates Nashville’s development into a major center for a variety of industries, bringing with them investments, job opportunities and economic prosperity.
Nashville is thriving, and it will continue to do so. Aside from the economy, its quality of life is unrivaled, offering a little of everything, from Broadway and country music, characteristic southern hospitality, three separate major sports teams, and a plethora of major academic institutions, with Vanderbilt as the crown jewel of them. The net migration pattern toward the sun belt will continue, slowly hollowing cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to the benefit of places like Nashville. Economic opportunities are and will continue to follow with low costs of living and no state tax. Thus, when you start to apply to jobs on Handshake and Indeed, consider choosing Nashville in the location filter and take advantage of the potential Nashville embodies.
