State of Our State

How Does Tennessee Stack Up?

ThinkTennessee’s State of Our State dashboard, now in its 6th year, provides a snapshot of how our state ranks nationally across 135 of the indicators that matter most to Tennesseans.

The Tennessee economy is rapidly expanding. But to date, our economic success has not yet translated into greater economic opportunity and security for all Tennesseans.

Indeed, while our latest dashboard finds improvements in our national rank on statewide economic indicators from GDP growth (in just three years we’ve risen from #24 in the country to #1–a rate of 8.6% in 2021!) to poverty to unemployment, metrics at the individual level, including median household income, debt levels, and cost-burdened households among others have declined or worsened.

Importantly, state-level economic successes did not happen by accident. Rather, the improvement in these metrics is a direct result of concerted statewide policy efforts and prioritization – illuminating a path forward to achieve similar progress on many of the affordability, infrastructure, and health challenges continuing to plague our state’s working families.

As Tennessee moves deeper into this period of economic expansion, the 2023 dashboard points to several areas where the scope of policymaking should prioritize expanding access to opportunities for all Tennesseans.

Interested in ideas about how to move our state forward? Our research shares success stories from other states and includes pragmatic solutions about how Tennessee can continue to make progress.

Note: For the sake of consistency, rankings have been standardized so low numbers always reflect positive outcomes. In other words, being ranked first is always better than being ranked 50th. Additional detail on research methodology can be found below the rankings.

Financial Well-Being

Cost of Living

Black Uninsured Rate

Student-Teacher Ratio

Adults with Heart Disease

Low-Income Working Families with Kids

Patents

GDP Growth

Adults Who Smoke

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate

Felon Disenfranchisement

Typical Wages for Hispanic Workers

Black Post-High School Educational Attainment

Voter Turnout (Presidential Election)

Homelessness

Seniors Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Typical Wages for Workers with Highschool Education

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate in Communities of Color

Low-Income Uninsured Rate

Women Holding Elected Office

Average Commute

Public Library Funding

Children’s Medicaid/Chip Participation Rate

Cost-Burdened Extremely Low-Income Renters

Adults on Probation & Parole

Women’s Uninsured Rate

Adults Without a High School Diploma

Children in Households with High Housing Cost Burden

Uninsured Rate

Mental Health Providers

Hispanic/Latino Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Incarceration Rate

Food Insecurity

Working Age Employment Rate

Low Birthweight

Energy Expenditures Per Capita

Typical Wages for Black Workers

Children in Poverty

Public School Teacher Salary

Student Loan Debt

Extremely Low-Income Renters

Unemployment

Typical Wages for Working Women

Adult Obesity

Air Pollution

Women Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Student Loan Holders in Default

Electricity Prices

Infant Mortality

Children in Food-Insecure Households

Youth Unemployment

Solar Energy Systems

Drug Deaths

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Opioid Prescriptions

Young Children Not in School

Typical Wages for Workers with Bachelors Education or Higher

Voter Registration (Presidential Election)

Black Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

New Businesses

Hispanic/Latino Incarceration Rate

Low-Wage Jobs

Black Incarceration Rate

Women’s Incarceration Rate

Medical Debt in Collections for Communities of Color

Cost of Childcare (Infants)

Youth (18-24) Voter Registration

Median Household Income

Able-Bodied Seniors

Voter Registration (Midterm Election)

Power Grid Reliability

Hispanic/Latino Voter Registration

Recidivism

Drinking Water Quality

Juvenile Detention Rate

Women Living in Poverty

Voter Turnout (Midterm Election)

Bankruptcy Rate

Underemployment

Hispanic/Latino Post-High School Educational Attainment

Adults with Diabetes

Income Inequality

Seniors in Good Health

Highway Traffic Fatalities

Black Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Seniors Living in Poverty

Voter Registrations Rejected

Deficient Bridges

Rural Broadband Access

Hispanic/Latino Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Hispanic/Latino Uninsured Rate

Violent Crime

Rental Protections

Medical Debt in Collections

Gigabyte Internet Availability

Voter Registration – Women

Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Provisional Ballots Cast

Population Growth

Volunteerism

Property Crime

Leed Certified Buildings

Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Student Loan Holders in Default in Communities of Color

Commuters Taking Transit to Work

Representation of People of Color in Elected Office

Cost-Burdened Homeowners

Women Judges

Households without Computers or Smartphones

Food-Insecure Seniors

Black Voter Registration

Labor Force Participation Gender Gap

High School Graduation

Broadband Subscriptions

Poverty

Green Jobs

Home Ownership

Seniors (65+) Voter Turnout

Youth (18-24) Voter Turnout

Hispanic/Latino Voter Turnout

Nursing Home Quality

Foreclosures

Broadband Access (25 MBPS)

Wage Gap

Affordable Rental Shortage

Seniors (65+) Voter Registration

Road Quality

Voter Turnout – Women

Unbanked Households

Childhood Obesity

Uninsured Children

Black Voter Turnout

Post-High School Educational Attainment

Children Receiving Public Assistance

Notes on Methodology:

Metrics were compiled using publicly available data and are current as of Jan. 10th, 2023. Where possible, we favored U.S. government data over other sources for consistency and reliability.

Some debt- and voting-related indicators will be updated throughout the year as newer information becomes available.