Tennessee Growth Concentrated in a Few Regions

NASHVILLE – A new report by the staff of a state research group reports that several key measures of demographic and economic strength that have long been concentrated in a small number of Tennessee’s counties are becoming even more concentrated. 

Specifically, Growth Concentration in Tennessee Regions shows that most growth in Tennessee during the current decade has been concentrated in the Nashville, Knoxville, and Clarksville regions. The research group, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), notes that a number of policy directions could be affected by the growing disparity between the counties in regions that are gaining in relative strength and the counties outside of those regions. Additionally, the report points out that as business leaders are placing greater emphasis on regional markets and their connections to global markets the competitiveness of Tennessee’s regions is becoming a more critical factor for the state’s continued success. The TACIR report states that identifying this concentration is an important part of better understanding opportunities to address policy issues at a regional level, and assists in the discussion of the different challenges faced by rapidly and slowly growing communities—environmental sustainability, fiscal pressures, economic development, and quality of life issues. 

For more information, contact Cliff Lippard at 615-741-0401 or tacir@state.tn.us.  The full report may be viewed at TACIR's website.