State of Our State

The 2025 State of Our State Dashboard is now live!

This page features an archived version of our State Dashboard from 2023. To visit the 2025 State of Our State Dashboard, click here.

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.

Cost-Burdened Extremely Low-Income Renters

Black Voter Registration

Women Judges

Hispanic/Latino Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Black Voter Turnout

Unbanked Households

Seniors Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Commuters Taking Transit to Work

Financial Well-Being

Children in Food-Insecure Households

Hispanic/Latino Incarceration Rate

Patents

Juvenile Detention Rate

Student-Teacher Ratio

Childhood Obesity

Voter Registration (Midterm Election)

Women Holding Elected Office

Population Growth

Deficient Bridges

Rental Protections

Post-High School Educational Attainment

Low Birthweight

Black Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Adult Obesity

Unemployment

Low-Income Uninsured Rate

Hispanic/Latino Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Seniors (65+) Voter Registration

Leed Certified Buildings

Food Insecurity

Medical Debt in Collections

Adults Without a High School Diploma

Hispanic/Latino Voter Turnout

Children in Poverty

Cost-Burdened Homeowners

Road Quality

Black Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Cost of Childcare (Infants)

High School Graduation

Low-Wage Jobs

Typical Wages for Workers with Highschool Education

Wage Gap

Seniors Living in Poverty

Young Children Not in School

Labor Force Participation Gender Gap

Poverty

Recidivism

Typical Wages for Workers with Bachelors Education or Higher

Voter Turnout (Midterm Election)

Foreclosures

Home Ownership

Gigabyte Internet Availability

Drug Deaths

Women’s Incarceration Rate

Voter Registration – Women

Children in Households with High Housing Cost Burden

Affordable Rental Shortage

Felon Disenfranchisement

Black Post-High School Educational Attainment

Green Jobs

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate in Communities of Color

Women Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Cost of Living

Typical Wages for Working Women

Uninsured Children

Highway Traffic Fatalities

Youth (18-24) Voter Turnout

Representation of People of Color in Elected Office

Extremely Low-Income Renters

Rural Broadband Access

Hispanic/Latino Voter Registration

Power Grid Reliability

Public School Teacher Salary

Energy Expenditures Per Capita

Provisional Ballots Cast

Voter Registrations Rejected

Seniors in Good Health

Youth (18-24) Voter Registration

Households without Computers or Smartphones

Voter Turnout – Women

Incarceration Rate

Black Uninsured Rate

Average Commute

Property Crime

Mental Health Providers

Opioid Prescriptions

Able-Bodied Seniors

Volunteerism

Student Loan Debt

Broadband Subscriptions

Broadband Access (25 MBPS)

Nursing Home Quality

New Businesses

Low-Income Working Families with Kids

Homelessness

Income Inequality

Public Library Funding

Hispanic/Latino Uninsured Rate

Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Women’s Uninsured Rate

Adults with Heart Disease

Electricity Prices

Voter Turnout (Presidential Election)

Student Loan Holders in Default in Communities of Color

Hispanic/Latino Post-High School Educational Attainment

Women Living in Poverty

Voter Registration (Presidential Election)

Infant Mortality

Typical Wages for Hispanic Workers

Violent Crime

Uninsured Rate

Drinking Water Quality

Children’s Medicaid/Chip Participation Rate

Youth Unemployment

Seniors (65+) Voter Turnout

Black Incarceration Rate

Student Loan Holders in Default

Underemployment

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate

Medical Debt in Collections for Communities of Color

Bankruptcy Rate

Adults on Probation & Parole

Adults with Diabetes

Median Household Income

GDP Growth

Adults Who Smoke

Air Pollution

Typical Wages for Black Workers

Working Age Employment Rate

Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Solar Energy Systems

Children Receiving Public Assistance

Food-Insecure Seniors

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.