(Above: Skyline of the City of Nashville, TN.)
(Above: Skyline of the City of Memphis, TN.)
(Above: Skyline of the City of Knoxville, TN.)
(Above: Skyline of the City of Chattanooga, TN.)
(Above: The State Flag of Tennessee.)
(Above: The Great Seal of the State of Tennessee, Admitted as the 16th State of the Union in 1796.)
Despite what the vast majority of my liberal friends claim that my home state of Tennessee is a bastion of social, racial, and economic repression and is an enemy to progress (They often cite some of the peculiar legislation of State Sen. Stacey Campfield, R -Knoxville), I love where I live. According to CNN Money, between 2000 and 2010, my hometown of Knoxville (I live in the suburb of Powell) was the eighth fastest growing city in the U.S., with the rate of growth increasing at a remarkable 33.1% and the city's population reaching 558,696. The description of the city is glowing in its detail:
Knoxville currently has the best employment outlook in the nation, with 25% of employers in the area saying they expect to add jobs this spring, according to staffing firm Manpower Group.
The area's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has a budget of $1.65 billion and employs 4,400 people, has had a huge impact on the city's jobs picture. Not only does it hire a lot of workers with advanced degrees, but its research has also spawned several start-ups, said Mike Edwards, CEO of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce.
One project the lab is pursuing is ethanol production from switchgrass, a perennial prairie grass that can be fermented to produce alcohol. That could open up a whole new industry in the area, said Edwards.
In addition, Knoxville and the surrounding area have excellent transportation facilities, including rail, interstate roads and river barges, making it a prime spot for local auto suppliers and food processors to ship goods.
The cost of living is also low -- about 80% of the national average -- as is crime. There are also good public schools and plenty to do outdoors with nearby mountains, fishing streams and lakes.
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The irony in the remarks of the majority of my liberal friends regarding the repressive nature and the lack of social and economic progression is astounding. With Knoxville having "the best employment outlook in the nation, with 25% of employers in the area saying they expect to add jobs this spring," with the "cost of living is also low -- about 80% of the national average -- as is crime," this is the very essence of economic growth, with people earning more in income due to good jobs at such places as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the University of Tennessee and having to cope with less inflation than the majority of Americans. This is not a result of the Democratic Party enacting Keynesian economic policies, but instead of conservative monetarist applications: less taxes and fewer state government regulations.
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Nashville, too, has seen significant progress in the city's economic and population growth patterns according to Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization:
Understanding emerging real estate trends, demographics, and economic conditions is an important step to identifying where and when growth is occurring in the region and for land use/transportation planning for communities. The MPO tracks and analyzes several key components of the regional economy in order to develop a multi-jurisdictional transportation plan that supports and promotes regional economic goals.The following provides a quick snapshot of how the Nashville region, as defined by the 13-county Metropolitan Statistical Area, compares to other region's of similar size throughout the United States forquality of life, business climate, and labor force.Quality of Life
Even more so today than in the past, non-economic factors play a role in where residents, employees and employers want to be located. There are several factors that contribute to a metropolitan region's quality of life. These factors include, but are not limited to: cost of living, quality of schools, climate, transportation/infrastructure, recreational amenities and parks, entertainment options and cultural attractions and quality of the neighborhoods.In addition to its low cost of living, the Nashville region enjoys a high quality of life with its affordable housing in a range of diverse neighborhoods, education, arts and music, seasonal / mild climate, nationally recognized amateur and professional sporting events (Tennessee Titans NFL football and Nashville Predators NHL hockey), abundant parks and recreational areas and lively cultural base, including a world class symphony.Recent quality of life accolades that the Nashville region has received include:
- Ranked among the Top 100 Places to Live in America based on education, employment, economy, crime, parks, recreation and housing (Relocate-America, 2008)
- Ranked 22nd in AmericanStyle magazine's annual Top 25 Arts Destination reader poll
- Ranked 2nd Most Affordable and Friendliest City in a survey that asked travelers to rank 25 top U.S. cities in 45 categories, ranging from food and shopping to people, culture, nightlife and more (Travel + Leisure and CNN Headline News, 2008)
- The Today Show named Nashville one of America's five most friendliest cities
- Ranked No. 79 in 100 Best Places to Live and Launch based on business friendliness and lifestyle offerings (CNNMoney.com)
The following table provides an overall cost of living index as well as indices for major basic costs for the Nashville MSA and several other major U.S. metropolitan areas. Overall, the cost of living in Nashville region is below the national average (100) and all of the comparison regions with the exception of the Knoxville, Tennessee region. Housing costs in Nashville (78.3) are particularly low compared to the national average, and the region has relatively lower costs in groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods than most of the other comparison regions.Cost of Living Index for Nashville MSA and Benchmark Regions (2007)
City Index Groceries Housing Utilities Transportation Health Care Misc Goods 98.2 95.4 90.1 109.0 97.3 99.4 102.7 Louisville, KY 97.5 89.6 89.6 109.1 110.2 97.3 99.8 Columbus, OH 97.4 96.3 95.9 102.3 103.5 104.1 94.9 Austin, TX 96.2 92.3 87.1 91.5 100.0 99.3 104.9 Atlanta, GA 96.1 98.7 91.8 84.9 103.5 103.4 98.7 Birmingham, AL 92.1 96.6 77.6 98.8 96.1 99.4 98.0 Raleigh-Durham, NC 89.8 96.6 79.8 90.5 93.4 96.3 93.4 Charlotte, NC 89.7 99.1 75.6 83.2 92.3 104.3 96.8 Memphis, TN 89.3 90.4 76.5 83.8 92.2 97.1 99.0 Nashville, TN 88.1 90.5 78.3 87.7 94.3 85.5 93.8 Knoxville, TN 87.0 89.5 75.2 89.8 87.2 89.3 94.5 Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index, 2007
The Nashville MSA rated relatively lower than comparable regions in terms of the quality of public schools in 2007. However, it did rank above one of its major competitors, Atlanta, another large and economically prominent metropolitan area in the Southeast region.
Public Schools Quality Ratings (2007)
Source: Expansion Management, Logistics Today, 2004
Metropolitan Area Rating Raleigh-Durham, NC 91 Austin, TX 80 Knoxville, TN 54 Columbus, OH 51 Birmingham, AL 41 Nashville, TN 35 Atlanta, GA 28
Business Climate
Many factors contribute to the business climate of a metropolitan area. Expansion Management and Logistics Today magazine, two publications covering national site location and business expansion, conduct a periodic analysis and rating of major metro areas across the U.S. called the 5-Star Business Opportunity Metro Ratings. These ratings provide a measure of each metro area's strengths and weaknesses in terms of different factors contributing to an attractive business climate for relocating or expanding firms.
Select "5-Star Business Opportunity" Metro Ratings* (2007)
Source: Expansion Management, Logistics Today, 2007
Metropolitan Area Overall Rating Logistics Infrastructure Healthcare Costs Taxes & Govt. Spending Reputation Among Site Consultants Austin, TX 99 83 32 99 97 Raleigh-Durham, NC 99 72 88 75 99 Knoxville, TN 97 85 65 92 98 Nashville, TN 95 93 65 92 98 Birmingham, AL 93 94 77 59 94 Atlanta, GA 90 96 8 80 98 Columbus, OH 88 92 63 17 88 * All ratings are percentile with 99 being the highest & 1 being the lowest
Among benchmark regions, Nashville rates average among its peers with a 95 out of 99 rating. Nashville rates above the Birmingham, Atlanta and Columbus regions. The Nashville metro is rated highly in Logistics Infrastructure (third behind Atlanta and Birmingham), Taxes & Government Spending (tied for second with Knoxville behind the Austin region), and Reputation Among Site Consultants (tied for second with Knoxville and Atlanta behind the Raleigh-Durham region).
Labor Force
Factors related to the quality and cost of the labor force area are also important to the economic and market prospects of a metropolitan region. In terms of median hourly wages ($14.50) and mean annual salaries ($37,970), the Nashville area is comparable with benchmark regions such as Birmingham, AL and Louisville, KY. Median hourly wages range from $13.53 (Knoxville, TN) to $17.36 (Raleigh-Durham, NC). Mean annual salaries range from $37,350 (Lexington, KY) to $46,540 (Raleigh-Durham, NC). With midrange wages and salaries, Nashville has the dual appeal of a moderate labor costs for businesses and relatively competitive compensation to appeal to potential new employees.
Cost of Labor - Nashville MSA and Benchmark Regions 2007
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007
Metropolitan Area Median Hourly Mean Annual Raleigh-Durham, NC $17.36 $46,540 Columbus, OH $15.56 $40,770 Atlanta, GA $15.48 $42,170 Charlotte, NC $15.31 $41,200 Austin, TX $14.88 $41,330 Nashville, TN $14.50 $37,970 Louisville, KY $14.36 $37,410 Birmingham, AL $14.25 $37,700 Lexington, KY $14.19 $37,350 Knoxville, TN $13.53 $35,740 Memphis, TN $13.81 $36,870
The education level of workers is a major factor contributing to the quality of a region's workforce. Exhibit 2-5 shows the "College Educated Worker Ratings" component from the Expansion Management/Logistics Today metro business opportunity analysis. The Nashville metropolitan area has a rating of 84 of 99, putting it just behind Atlanta (89) and Columbus (88), and above Knoxville (81) and Birmingham (78).
College Educated Worker Ratings (2007)
Source: Expansion Management, Logistics Today, 2007
Metropolitan Area Rating Raleigh-Durham, NC 93 Austin, TX 91 Atlanta, GA 89 Columbus, OH 88 Nashville, TN 84 Knoxville, TN 81 Birmingham, AL 78
Taken together, the Nashville region's cost of labor and worker education ratings make the region competitive in terms of having a relatively low-cost and an educated workforce. These conditions can position the Nashville MSA for further job and economic growth in the future by providing an appealing environment for both employees and employers.
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Forbes ranked Nashville as the nation's second fastest growing economy. WKRN-News 2, the ABC affiliate in Nashville, describe what some of the city's civic leaders had to say:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
This week, Forbes acknowledged Nashville's economic growth, ranking it 2nd in the nation, next only to San Francisco on its list of Best Big Cities for Jobs in 2013.
Music City's steady and strong growth continues, according to Forbes.Just last year, Music city was ranked 9th for job growth according to the publication."There are such diverse opportunities for people looking for employment," said Melinda Williams with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce.Employees with the Department of Labor said its Metro Career Center added 4,200 new jobs to its data base since January.Nashville resident Dwayne Wilson spent Friday afternoon at a Metro Career Center looking for a job.He has a year left on his residency before he begins a career in internal medicine, but in the meantime he needs something to pay the bills."I was just looking at some of the job fairs that the gentleman told me was coming up," said Wilson.Wilson said so far, he has received good feedback. Right now Nashville's job market is extremely good."A lot of the corporations are looking for more high skilled positions. We have got a huge announcement that we'll be making soon, about a little over 1,500 jobs. So that will be significant for the Middle Tennessee area," said Williams.
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Tennessee was also the twelth fastest growing state in terms of population, and it is no wonder why. In the article from Chief Executive.net, Tennessee is among the very best states in the union in which to conduct business transactions:
| 2012 RANK | STATE | 2011 RANK | 1-YEAR CHANGE |
| 1 | Texas | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Florida | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Indiana | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Virginia | 7 | 1 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | Georgia | 5 | -3 |
| 9 | Utah | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | Arizona | 13 | 3 |
| 11 | Colorado | 12 | 1 |
| 12 | Nevada | 10 | -2 |
| 13 | Louisiana | 27 | 14 |
| 14 | Delaware | 16 | 2 |
| 15 | North Dakota | 21 | 6 |
| 16 | Wyoming | 14 | -2 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 11 | -6 |
| 18 | Idaho | 19 | 1 |
| 19 | South Dakota | 15 | -4 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 24 | 4 |
| 21 | Alabama | 26 | 5 |
| 22 | Iowa | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | Kansas | 25 | 2 |
| 24 | Missouri | 23 | -1 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 17 | -8 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 18 | -8 |
| 27 | Nebraska | 20 | -7 |
| 28 | Montana | 28 | 0 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 30 | 1 |
| 30 | Mississippi | 38 | 8 |
| 31 | Alaska | 31 | 0 |
| 32 | Maine | 36 | 4 |
| 33 | New Mexico | 32 | -1 |
| 34 | West Virginia | 42 | 8 |
| 35 | Ohio | 41 | 6 |
| 36 | Minnesota | 29 | -7 |
| 37 | Washington | 34 | -3 |
| 38 | Vermont | 40 | 2 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 35 | -4 |
| 40 | Maryland | 37 | -3 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 43 | 2 |
| 42 | Oregon | 33 | -9 |
| 43 | Pennsylvania | 39 | -4 |
| 44 | Connecticut | 44 | 0 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 47 | 2 |
| 46 | Michigan | 46 | 0 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 45 | -2 |
| 48 | Illinois | 48 | 0 |
| 49 | New York | 49 | 0 |
| 50 | California | 50 | 0 |
Notice that majority of the states toward the bottom of the list are predominantly blue states. The article also had this to say regarding how it determined its list:
In Chief Executive's eighth annual survey of CEO opinion of Best and Worst States in which to do business, Texas easily clinched the No. 1 rank, the eighth successive time it has done so. California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year.
This year, 650 business leaders responded to our annual survey, up from 550 in 2011. CEOs were asked to grade states in which they do business among a variety of areas, including tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. The Lone Star State was given high marks foremost for its business-friendly tax and regulatory environment. But its workforce quality, second only to Utah’s, is also highly regarded.
Florida moved up from number three last year to number two. Last year, Florida Gov. Rick Scott penned a tongue-in-cheek letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, warning him that Florida is coming after the Lone Star State’s top ranking. Since Scott took office, his administration has enacted business tax and regulatory reforms that have contributed to the creation of more than 140,000 private sector jobs and an unemployment drop of 2.1 percentage points last year—one of the biggest decreases in the nation.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Texas and Florida have the highest net migration of people to their states from 2001 to 2009. (By contrast, New York and California lost over 1.6 million and 1.5 million in net migration out of the states, respectively, over the same period.) People migrate in search of employment, but this can cut both ways. Texas is justly proud of adding to its employment numbers, something Gov. Perry cited numerous times during his brief campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination. Between June 2009—which marked the official end of the recession—and July 2011, the number of jobs increased in the state by 328,000. Nationally, the job growth in that time period was 697,000 according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This translates to Texas jobs making up 47 percent of the national net job creation. However, neither Texas, nor the nation, is adding jobs at a pace fast enough to bring down unemployment to historically normal levels. And Texas’ unemployment rate—while still below the national average—is now higher than that of 26 states.
North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Utah held their positions in the top 10, with Indiana moving up a notch to fifth. CEOs indicate that workforce quality is the state’s single greatest strength, and since it became the 23rd right-to-work state last year, the Hoosier State is likely to punch above its weight competitively in the future. “Indiana is like a breath of fresh air,” volunteered one manufacturing CEO. “I have operated on both coasts, the Southeast and Chicago, and Indiana is where I will keep my manufacturing operations.”
It may be no accident that most of the states in the top 20 are also right-to-work states, as labor force flexibility is highly sought after when a business seeks a location. Several economists, most notably Ohio State’s Richard Vedder and Harvard’s Robert Barro, have found that the economies in R-to-W areas grow faster than other states, have higher employment and attract more inward migration. Governor Scott Walker’s battle with the unions in Wisconsin (See“Will Wisconsin Rise Again?”), a state that edged into the top 20 this year for this first time, demonstrates that the struggle for a pro-growth agenda can be contentious. As one Badger State business leader remarked, “Finally, Wisconsin is headed in the right direction.”
Although often eclipsed by Texas, its next door neighbor, Louisiana, is the Cinderella of business improvement. In 2006, it ranked 47th—where Massachusetts is today. And Katrina didn’t help matters. But since then it has climbed steadily up the ranks so that it is now 13th—up from 27th last year—the biggest leap in a single year of any state. “In Louisiana there is an active government push to reduce taxes and regulation and to encourage new industry to relocate to the state,” commented one chairman. “This was valuable for one of our companies, which decided to make the state our headquarters.” Other chiefs point to the big strides the state has made in workforce training and economic incentives. Its economic development office is also aggressive in luring disaffected businesses from the Northeast and California.
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Knoxnews.com reported this about Tennessee's economic growth:
Report: Economy ready for strong growth in 2014
Despite cuts in government spending and payroll tax increases, the state and national economies are poised for solid growth in 2014 and 2015, a University of Tennessee report says.
Driving the growth are improved job creation, surging vehicle sales and a recovering housing market, according to the spring 2013 Tennessee Business and Economic Outlook.
"The economy has finally found a firm footing," Matt Murray, associate director of the UT Center for Business and Economic Research and the report's author, said in a news release "This will be the third year of payroll employment growth and a falling unemployment rate following the Great Recession."
Nationally, payrolls are expected to grow 1.5 percent this year and 1.6 percent in 2014, the report said.
"These modest employment gains will help support modest reductions in the unemployment rate," Murray said.
The report projects the national jobless rate will fall to 7.2 percent in 2014, compared to 7.8 percent in 2012.
Tennessee's jobless rate is expected to drop to 7.5 percent in 2014, compared to 8 percent last year.
Vehicle sales are expected to total 15.3 million this year and 15.7 million in 2014, a substantial improvement from a low of 10.4 million in 2009.
As for the housing market, both prices and sales are showing improvement, the report says,
Although Tennessee's jobless rate continues to trail the national average, the state economy outperformed the country in personal income nonfarm employment and manufacturing employment growth, according to the report.
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The Chattanooga Times-Free Press reports that in 2010, Tennessee was the sixth fastest growing economy in the nation:
NASHVILLE — Tennessee ranked No. 6 among states last year in terms of inflation-adjusted growth in goods and services produced, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.But now the 3.5 percent growth for Tennessee appears to be creating a new growth industry all its own in the Volunteer State as Republicans and Democrats tried to nab credit.“This ranking highlights what many of us already know: Tennessee is open for business,” Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville, said in a news release issued by the House GOP Caucus. “We have a dynamic, pro-business environment that is attracting the attention of more and more top companies with each passing day.”House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said the figures “reveal the fact our state is making a move to the top in economic growth and the success of the 2011 legislative session will go a long way towards ensuring we get there.”But House Democratic Majority Leader Mike Turner of Nashville said Republicans only took firm control of the House earlier this year. He credited the growth numbers to policies of legislative Democrats and former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, who left office in early January.“They haven’t been there long enough to damage the economy or help the economy,” Turner said of Republicans. “This was a result of the pro-business jobs creation under the Democrats and the Bredesen administration.”He said sarcastically that he is “glad Republicans are trying to take credit for something they didn’t do. I really don’t know what they did to create jobs.”
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East Tennessee Economic Development Agency sums the economic boom in Tennessee here:
- Tennessee awarded a Silver Shovel in Area Development's annual Shovel Awards that recognize excellence in State economic development. 5/30/13
- Tennessee ranked the best state for retirement by Bankrate.com. 5/6/13
- University of Tennessee's MBA program is among the best in the country, according to Businessweek's 2012 rankings. 11/29/12
- Tennessee has 8th best business climate in Site Selection magazine's 2012 rankings of most business-friendly states. 11/2/12
- Tennessee ranked 7th in Area Development’s 3rd Annual "Top States For Doing Business Survey". 10/22/12
- Knoxville ranked 10th in economic growth potential in Business Facilities Magazine's 2012 Metro Ranking. 8/28/12
- Knoxville ranked 8th for nation's fastest growing cities in Business Facilities Magazine's 2012 Metro Ranking. 8/28/12
- Tennessee named #1 state for Automotive Manufacturing Strength for 3rd consecutive year by Business Facilities magazine. 7/18/12
- Tennessee receives Area Development magazine’s 2012 Gold Shovel Award for Economic Development. 6/13/12
- Knoxville ranked 6th in Forbes list of 2012 Best Mid-Size Cities for Jobs. 5/10/12
- Tennessee is 4th best state in the nation for doing business according to Chief Executive Magazine's survey of Best and Worst States. 5/2/12
- Tennessee is 14th best state for taxes on business according to Tax Foundation's 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index. 1/26/12
- Knoxville placed 20th in the "Top Cities for Hospital Care" by Health Grades Inc. 1/24/12
- Tennessee is ranked as 8th in the country in Site Selection magazine’s 2011 Top State Business Climate Rankings. 11/2/11
- Tennessee ranked in Area Development’s 2011 Top States For Doing Business. 9/22/11
- Tennessee ranked as the fourth best business climate among the 50 states in a new survey of U.S. corporate executives conducted by Development Counsellors International. 9/20/11
- Tennessee is the top finisher in Business Facilities' annual state ranking for Automotive Manufacturing Strength. 8/8/11
- Kiplinger's has ranked Knoxville No. 5 on its list of the Top Ten “Best Value Cities of 2011". 7/26/11
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The State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development further delves into the accolades achieved by the state's rapid economic growth and growing national prestige:
2013
May 2013
- CEO respondents voted Tennessee the fourth best state in the U.S. for business in Chief Executive Magazine’s Annual Best & Worst States for Business Survey.
- Bankrate.com named Tennessee the No. 1 state in the nation for retirement, siting our low cost of living, low state and local tax burden, excellent access to medical care, and warm weather.
- Site Selection magazine ranked Tennessee in its top five for its 2012 Competitiveness Award, which recognizes excellence on the part of a state-level economic development group. States' competitiveness rankings are determined by a number of criteria from 2012, including: total new and expanded facilities; total capital investment in new and expanded facilities; total new jobs created; state tax climate ranked by the Tax Foundation; and number of National Career Readiness Certificates per 1,000 residents aged 18-64, according to ACT (Workforce Development Division, administrator of the ACT Certified Work Ready Communities initiative).
- Site Selection also named HCA's Parallon Business Solutions and Sarah Cannon Research Institute corporate headquarters expansion in Nashville a Top North American Deal of 2012, with an investment by the company of $200 million and the creation of more than 1,000 jobs. The Top Deals were determined by level of capital investment, degree of high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market.
March 2013
- Site Selection magazine ranked Tennessee 8th in the U.S. for the number of capital investment projects last year in the annual Governor’s Cup Awards. The ranking is based on private-sector projects that meet one or more of these criteria: an investment of at least $1 million, creation of 50 or more new jobs or construction of new space of at least 20,000 square feet.
- Site Selection also named several Tennessee communities in the annual Top Metros and Micropolitans list. Jackson tied for seventh on the Top Metros list for the number of projects for populations of less than 200,000. Additionally, Tennessee ranked third for the number of Top Micropolitans, those cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county. Tennessee micropolitans and their rankings included Tullahoma (tied for 13th); Cookeville (tied for 23rd); Humboldt, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, and Union City (all tied for 30th); Athens, Greeneville, Lawrenceburg and Newport (tied for 45th); and Brownsville, Columbia, Crossville and Sevierville (tied for 86th).
- Magneti Marelli in Giles County and Oberto Brands in Davidson County were among the 30 corporate recipients of Trade & Industry Development magazine's 8th Annual CiCi (Corporate Investment & Community Impact) Awards. They were recognized in the Community Impact division. Among the criteria considered are the number of jobs created and/or retained, area unemployment figures, average income level of the region, area plant closings or decline in industry segments, and the creation of new industry segments with employment opportunities, among others.
2012
November 2012
- Site Selection magazine ranked Tennessee the nation’s eighth best state for business climate for the second year in a row in the magazine’s 2012 Top State Business Climate Rankings. The highly regarded annual rankings are based on a state’s strong record of attracting capital investment, an analysis of state tax burdens and a survey of corporate site selectors.
October 2012
- Tennessee ranked seventh overall in Area Development magazine’s Top States for Doing Business list - up one spot compared to 2011 survey results. Tennessee also scored the #1 ranking for its overall infrastructure and global access, and also beat out its competitors in ranking first for its distribution/logistics hub access.
July 2012
June 2012
- Tennessee was awarded Area Development magazine’s 2012 Gold Shovel Award, presented annually to states that have achieved significant success in terms of job creation and economic impact. The Volunteer State was also recognized by the magazine as a 2011 Economic Development Project of the Year for the $235 million General Motors project in Spring Hill that is expected to create 2,350 jobs.
May 2012
- Chief Executive magazine named Tennessee one of the top four states in the nation for business in its eighth annual survey of Best and Worst States for Business. More than 650 chief executive officers rated all 50 states in three general categories: taxation and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. Tennessee ranked fourth for the second consecutive year.
April 2012
- Amazon.com, Inc. was named to Site Selection magazine’s Top Deals of 2011 list. The Top Deals of 2011 were determined by level of capital investment, degree of high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market. Amazon was honored for its decision to locate distribution facilities in three Tennessee cities: Chattanooga, Cleveland and Lebanon. These three facilities will create 2,000 jobs in the state.
March 2012
- The publishers of Trade & Industry Development magazine, a national economic development publication, have named Amazon.com, Inc., General Motors, Quaprotek USA, MANN+HUMMEL USA and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development among the recipients of its 2012 Corporate Investment & Community Impact (CiCi) Awards. With more than 700 project submissions throughout North America, these projects were chosen as four of only 15 finalists in the Community Impact division of the CiCi Awards, totaling the most for any state.
- Tennessee earned a strong ninth place finish in the annual Site Selection magazine 2011 Governor's Cup rankings of states with the most economic development projects. The annual list ranks the 50 states according to their success in attracting capital investment projects that meet one or more of three criteria: a minimum investment of $1 million, creation of 50 or more new jobs and new facility construction or floor space of at least 20,000 sq. ft.
2011
November 2011
- Site Selection ranked Tennessee the nation's eighth best state for business climate in the magazine's November 2011 issue. The highly regarded annual rankings are based on performance in business expansion and relocation, as well as a nationwide survey of corporate real estate executives.
September 2011
- Area Development conducted a survey of a select group of highly respected location consultants who work with a nationwide client base for it's Top 10 States for Doing Business List and Tennessee ranked 8th overall. In addition, the Volunteer State tied for #1 in certified sites or shovel-ready programs; is #2 for competitive utility rates; and a leader in the economic recovery.
August 2011
July 2011
- Southern Business and Development magazine’s annual "Top Deals and Hot Markets" rankings were released, and Tennessee was awarded an honorable mention. To determine the rankings, SB&D considered only companies making public commitments of 200 jobs or more or $30 million in capital investment.
June 2011
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation’s study, Enterprising States, ranked Tennessee No. 1 for Taxes and Regulation based on the state’s low cost of living, low state and local tax burden and manageable budget gap. Tennessee also ranked second in Cost of Living, fourth in State and Local Tax Burden and tenth in both Growth in Share of National Exports and Budget Gap.
May 2011
- The Associated General Contractors of America acknowledged Tennessee as one of three states in the U.S. with the highest addition of construction jobs from April 2010 – April 2011.
- Tennessee was awarded Area Development magazine’s Silver Shovel, presented annually to states who have demonstrated much success and progress with job creation and economic impact. The awards recognize state economic development agencies that drive significant job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes and promotions that attract new employers as well as investments in expanded facilities.
- Electrolux was named to Site Selection magazine’s Top Deals of 2010 list. Amazon.com was also named to the Honorable Mention list. Honors were determined based on scale of capital investment and job creation, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market.
- Chief Executive magazine named Tennessee one of the top four states in the nation for business in their seventh annual survey of Best and Worst States for Business. More than 500 chief executive officers rated states based on a wide range of criteria, from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment.
March 2011
- The publishers of Trade & Industry Development magazine, a national economic development publication, named Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., General Motors and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development among the recipients of its 2011 Corporate Investment & Community Impact (CiCi) Awards. Only 15 projects nationwide were selected from hundreds of submissions as winners in the Corporate Investment category. The two Tennessee projects represent a combined investment of more than $2 billion and the creation of 1,783 new jobs.
2010
November 2010
- Site Selection named Tennessee the nation's second best state for business climate in the magazine's November 2010 issue. The highly regarded annual rankings are based on performance in business expansion and relocation, as well as a nationwide survey of corporate real estate executives.
September 2010
- Tennessee topped the list of most attractive states for business, as selected by consultants surveyed by Area Development magazine. Consultants to industry were asked to name their top-10 state choices for meeting eight site selection criteria: lowest business costs, most business friendly, corporate tax environment, overall labor climate, work force development programs, fast-track permitting, rail and highway accessibility and shovel-ready sites. All of the factors were given equal weight, and the numbers of “mentions” by the responding consultants were added to arrive at the top-scoring states.
August 2010
July 2010
- Tennessee was named the winner of Area Development magazine’s Silver Shovel Award, presented annually to states who have demonstrated much success and progress with job creation and economic impact. The awards recognize state economic development agencies that drive significant job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes and promotions that attract new employers as well as investments in expanded facilities.
April 2010
- Chief Executive magazine named Tennessee one of the top three states in the nation for business in their sixth annual survey of Best and Worst States for Business. More than 650 chief executive officers rated states in three general categories: taxation and regulation, workforce quality and living environment. Tennessee moved up two spots from fifth in 2009.
March 2010
- Tennessee has again been ranked among the top states in the nation in Site Selection magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup rankings for its economic development performance in 2009. The economic development publication put the Volunteer State at No. 5, the highest ranking of any Southeastern state. The Governor’s Cup award recognizes states with the most new or expanded private-sector capital projects as tracked by publisher Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database.
January 2010
- Business Facilities magazine named Tennessee the 2009 State of the Year for the number of new jobs created and amount of capital investments made during the calendar year. The Hemlock Semiconductor project in Clarksville, Tennessee also won the magazine's 2009 Silver Award for Economic Development Deal of the Year, citing the company's announced investment of $1.2 billion dollars and the creation of 500-900 new jobs.
2009
November 2009
- The editors of Site Selection magazine ranked Tennessee among the five best states in the U.S. for best business climates. The announcement marks the seventh time in the past decade Tennessee has been listed among the top ten states for business climate. The state has been ranked among the top five states in five of the past seven years.
July 2009
- Volkswagen Group of America's decision to build an automotive production facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. was named Deal of the Year by Southern Business & Development magazine. Tennessee was also named Co-State of the Year and Governor Phil Bredesen, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber and Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr made the publication's Ten People Who Made a Difference list.
June 2009
- The Pew Charitable Trust released a report entitled "The Clean Energy Economy," naming Tennessee one of the top three fastest growing states for clean energy jobs. According to the findings, Tennessee's emerging clean energy economy grew more than seven times faster than the state's overall jobs between 1998 and 2007.
- Area Development magazine honored the state of Tennessee with its prestigious Gold Shovel Award. The honor is presented annually to the state achieving the most success in terms of job creation and economic impact.
May 2009
- Volkswagen Group of America and Hemlock Semiconductor projects both named to Site Selection magazine’s Top Deals of 2008. Tennessee was the only state to have two projects in the top 10. Honors were determined by level of capital investment, degree of high-value jobs, creativity in negotiations and incentives, regional economic impact, competition for the project and speed to market.
March 2009
- Hemlock Semiconductor in Clarksville and Volkswagen Group of America in Chattanooga are named Trade & Industry Development Corporate Investment and Community Impact (CiCi) award winners. These two deals were chosen from more than 1,000 project submissions throughout North America as two of only 15 winners in the Corporate Investment category.
- Chief Executive magazine ranked Tennessee as the fifth best state in the U.S. for jobs and business growth
2008
November 2008
September 2008
- The Tennessee Economic Development Council (TEDC) recognized Matt Kisber, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, as the 2008 Fred Harris Professional of the Year.
May 2008
April 2008
- A study from the Kaufman Foundation on entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. ranks Tennessee 4th highest in the nation for number of entrepreneurs per capita.
March 2008
- Tennessee is ranked number three on the annual Governor’s Cup list in Site Selection.
February 2008
Winter 2008
- Tennessee ranks high on Southern Business & Development Top Tens list, including:
- “Top Major Markets in the South: 1993-2007” - Memphis ranked #3 and Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro/Franklin ranked #5.
- “Top Small Towns in the South That Deserve a Second Look” - Dyersburg, Tenn. ranked #4.
- “Top Ten People Who Made a Difference” - ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber included.
- “Top Ten Markets in the South for Advanced Manufacturing” - Knoxville/Oak Ridge ranked #4 and Memphis ranked #5.
- “Top 10 Incredibly Large, Nicely Positioned Distribution Sites in the South You May Not Know About” - CentrePoint Distribution Park in LaVergne and Elam Farms in Murfreesboro named to list.
- “Top 10 Edge Markets You Might Not Know About” - Clarksville and Cleveland/Bradley County named to list.
2007
November 2007
July 2007
April 2007
March 2007
- Federated Department Stores in Portland is named one of Trade & Industry Development’s Corporate Investment and Impact (CiCi) award winners.
February 2007
Winter 2007
- Tennessee ranks high on Southern Business & Development Top Tens list, including:
- “Top Ten Unbelievable Sites for Automotive Assembly” - Enterprise South Site in Chattanooga ranked #2 and Commerce Park in Clarksville ranked #10.
- “Ten People Who Made a Difference” – Governor Phil Bredesen included
- “Ten Places in the South for Emerging Growth Industries” – Memphis and Knoxville included.
- “Top Ten Places in the South for the Creative Class” – Nashville included.
- “Top Ten Inland Waterways in the South” – The Tennessee-Tombigbee included.
2006
November 2006
July 2006
May 2006
- Tennessee’s business climate as well as the number of new job creation and business expansion projects has promptedSite Selection magazine to give the state a second place ranking on its list of the most job-competitive states in the nation. In the publication’s May edition, Tennessee climbed back up the list, jumping from No. 7 in 2005 to No. 2 this year among the magazine’s annual ranking of “Top Ten Competitive States.” The magazine’s editors included job creation and capital investment in their calculations, but also looked at how many local metropolitan areas and small towns from a given state made the annual rankings of Site Selection’s top 100 communities.
March 2006
Feb. 2006
- The Southern Growth Policies Board, a bipartisan public policy think tank devoted to strengthening the South's economy, has recognized the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development’s (ECD) revamped Three-Star program as a best practices program and Southern leader in community certification programs.
Jan. 2006
Other:
- The Federal Reserve, in its 2006 Beige Book report on the national economy, showed a 2 percent increase in per capita income in Tennessee over the last year.
2005
December 2005
- The relocation of the Nissan North America, Inc.'s Headquarters to Tennessee received recognition as one of Business Facilities magazine's Economic Development biggest deals in 2005.
Tennessee received a host of rankings in 2005 for its economic development efforts. Some of these include:
- No. 1 in debt management by Expansion Management magazine
- No. 9 on Expansion Management magazine 2005 Top Legislative Quotient List
- No. 5 on Site Selection magazine’s 2005 Top Business Climate ranking
No. 16 in the nation for insourcing jobs by the Organization for International Investment (OFII)
The stats do not lie: Tennessee is economically progressive, and it did so with the third-least intrusive state government in the nation behind North and South Dakota. The traditional conservative plan of state lawmakers is to delegate as much liberty and autonomy to the people in order to promote entrepreneurship by keeping taxation low and regulations on the economy to a minimum. New York, who ranks near the bottom of the list in terms of rate of economic growth, is very heavily regulated, much more heavily taxed, and as a result, lost approximately 9% of its population between 2000-2011.The Mercatus Center at George Mason University rated Tennessee as the third most free state in the nation in its third annual Freedom in the 50 States in 2013:Today the Mercatus Center released the third edition of Freedom in the 50 States by Will Ruger and Jason Sorens. In this new edition, the authors score states on over 200 policy variables. Additionally, they have collected data from 2001 to measure how states’ freedom rankings have changed over the past decade. While several organizations publish state freedom rankings, Freedom in the 50 States is the only one that measures both economic and personal freedoms.Ruger and Sorens have implemented a new methodology for measuring freedom. While previously the authors developed a subjective weighting system in which they sought to determine how significantly policies limited the freedom of how many people, in this edition they have use a victim-cost method, assigning a dollar value to each variable that restricts freedom measuring the cost of restricting freedom for potential victims. The authors’ cost calculations are designed to measure the value of the states’ freedom for the average resident. Since individuals measure the cost of policies differently, readers can put their own price on each freedom variable on the website to find the states that best match their subjective policy preference.In addition to an overall freedom ranking, Freedom in the 50 States includes a breakdown of states’ Fiscal Policy Ranking, Regulatory Ranking, and Personal Freedom Ranking. On the overall freedom ranking, North Dakota comes in first followed by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. At the bottom of the ranking, New York ranks worst by a significant margin, with rent control and burdensome insurance regulations dragging down its regulatory freedom score. New York is behind California at 49th, then New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island.The authors note that residents respond to the costs of freedom-reducing policies by voting with their feet. Between 2000 and 2011, New York lost 9% of its population to out-migration. In addition to all types of freedom being associated with domestic migration, the authors find that regulatory freedom in particular is associated with states’ growth in personal income. They conclude:Freedom is not the only determinant of personal satisfaction and fulfillment, but as our analysis of migration patterns shows, it makes a tangible difference for people’s decisions about where to live. Moreover, we fully expect people in the freer states to develop and benefit from the kinds of institutions (such as symphonies and museums) and amenities (such as better restaurants and cultural attractions) seen in some of the older cities on the coasts.[...]These things take time, but the same kind of dynamic freedom enjoyed in Chicago or New York in the 19th century — that led to their rise — might propel places in the middle of the country to be a bit more hip to those with urbane tastes.And the coup de gras of my demonstration that Tennessee is, in fact, a rising economic power among the 50 states is indicated in today's (June 7, 2013) article from The Tennessean, the hometown newspaper of Nashville:Tennessee’s economy was among the nation’s fastest-growing last year, according to federal figures released this week.The state’s real gross domestic product – a measure of economic output – grew by an estimated 3.3 percent in 2012, the eighth-highest rate among the 50 states, the Commerce Department reported.Tennessee’s GDP was an estimated $277 billion in 2012.Durable-goods manufacturing accounted for a third of the state’s GDP increase, with management of companies, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade among the largest of the smaller contributors, the agency saidReal estate, rental and leasing was the only one of 22 sectors studied to record a drop in the state.Tennessee led the Southeast, which placed four other states in the top 15: West Virginia (3.3 percent, 10th place), North Carolina (2.7, 11th), South Carolina (2.7, 12th) and Florida (2.4, 14th).North Dakota led the nation with a 13.4 percent increase fueled by an energy boom. Connecticut was the only state whose economy shrunk, by 0.1 percent.Nationally, GDP grew by an estimated 2.5 percent last year, the agency said.***
