Economic Strength of Tennessee cities

[nashvol85]

I found an interesting site that does economic research to find the "economic strength" of a Metro or Micropolitan area.

Here are the Tennessee cities...

State rank - City - National Rank - National Percentile - Population (2004 est) - division

MSA's (out of 361)

1 - Nashville - 7 - 98th - 1,395,879 - Middle

2 - Memphis - 23 - 94th - 1,250,293 - West

3 - Knoxville - 71 - 80th - 647,170 - East

4 - Chattanooga - 145 - 60th - 489,609 - East

5 - Jackson - 159 - 56th - 110,170 - West

6 - Clarksville - 209 - 42nd - 238,897 - Middle

7 - Morristown - 224 - 38th - 129,010 - East

8 - Kingsport - 249 - 31st - 231,331 - East

9 - Johnson City - 260 - 28th - 187,321 - East

10 - Cleveland - 283 - 22nd - 107,237 - East

http://www.policom.com/rankalph.htm

MicroSA's (out of 571)

1 - Cookeville - 45 - 92nd - 97,528 - Middle

2 - Sevierville - 85 - 85th - 77,270 - East

3 - Crossville - 87 - 85th - 50,084 - East

4 - Tullahoma - 123 - 78th - 96,852 - Middle

5 - Greeneville - 132 - 77th - 64,718 - East

6 - Shelbyville - 237 - 58th - 41,233 - Middle

7 - Paris - 252 - 56th - 31,506 - West

8 - McMinnville - 258 - 55th - 39,559 - Middle

9 - La Follette - 261 - 54th - 40,507 - East

10 - Martin - 322 - 44th - 33,733 - West

11 - Athens - 339 - 41st - 50,981 - East

12 - Lawrenceburg - 344 - 40th - 40,864 - Middle

13 - Dyersburg - 353 - 38th - 37,621 - West

14 - Harriman - 411 - 28th - 52,920 - East

15 - Columbia - 424 - 26th - 74,692 - Middle

16 - Union City - 464 - 18th - 39,750 - West

17 - Humboldt - 470 - 18th - 48,124 - West

18 - Newport - 496 - 13th - 34,675 - East

19 - Brownsville - 540 - 5th - 19,614 - West

http://www.policom.com/ranknum.htm

I was surprised that Jackson was doing so well, while places like Cleveland and Columbia are not as strong. Any thoughts?

[Rural King]

Jackson doesn't suprise me at all, but I'm a local, so I get to see and read about all the city is doing and gaining on a daily basis. Jackson I think will continue to do well, as I think the auto-industry and commercial interests will continue to see the city as a great place to set up shop and thus will just help feed into in economic and population growth.

I was suprised though that Dyersburg, Humboldt, and Union City ranked so low, esp. with all the work they have been doing to gain industry and with their present and developing infrastructure, while Martin's only advantage as far as I can see is having UT-M. And Paris? How did it rank the highest out of West TN - I suppose toursim off LBL/Paris Landing gives it a good boost? Thats really odd, I mean going off what I read in their methods it would seem like Martin and Paris would rank lower then the other 3 mentioned.

Brownsville being on the bottom sure doesn't suprise me. Which is sad? I wish things would turn around down there!! Its such a pretty area full of nice people who just need some opportunity to better their lives.

Columbia's low rank suprises me too.

Interesting list.

[sleepy]

Brownsville being on the bottom sure doesn't suprise me. Which is sad? I wish things would turn around down there!! Its such a pretty area full of nice people who just need some opportunity to better their lives.

Columbia's low rank suprises me too.

Interesting list.

Given that Memphis' unemployment rate is still at or around 6%, I'm surprised it ranks that high nationally. The last recession hit Memphis unusually hard, and the city apparently hasn't recovered.

I also know that one of the clients for the outfit that came up with that list happens to be the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce. Hmmm . . . . .

Brownsville--I know that Haywood County has always been poor, but you'd think that its proximity to either Memphis or Jackson would have had some uplifting effect. Though I imagine what most folks from that county do is end up leaving for either of those two cities.

[nashvol85]

Brownsville--I know that Haywood County has always been poor, but you'd think that its proximity to either Memphis or Jackson would have had some uplifting effect. Though I imagine what most folks from that county do is end up leaving for either of those two cities.

I did think that it was interesting that being next to a prosperous city doesn't seem to affect the Micropolitan areas around them...or if it does, is it a negative impact?

Next to Memphis (23rd metro) and Jackson (159th metro) is Brownsville (540th micro).

Next to Nashville (7th metro) is Clarksville (209th metro) and Columbia (424th micro) and Lewisburg (434th micro).

Next to Knoxville (71st metro) is Morristown (224th metro) and Harriman (411th micro).

Next to Chattanooga (145th metro) is Cleveland (283rd metro) and Athens (339th micro).

However, next to Nashville (7th metro) is also Cookeville (45th micro) and Tullahoma (123rd micro).

Also, next to Knoxville (71st metro) is Sevierville (85th micro).

So do you think that growth in Tennessee's cities is hurting the smaller areas, or helping them, or both?

[Rural King]

Probably both.

For example Jackson is probably going to help Humboldt in the long run and is probably a major plus for the Crockett County Mega-Site which is not far from the Madison County line (Jackson).

Brownsville for example though it probably hurts, since it far enough away from Jackson and Memphis not to become a satellite location for facilities wishing to be near either, while drawing away capable persons from Brownsville/Haywood Co. to both.

[nashvol85]

Probably both.

For example Jackson is probably going to help Humboldt in the long run and is probably a major plus for the Crockett County Mega-Site which is not far from the Madison County line (Jackson).

Brownsville for example though it probably hurts, since it far enough away from Jackson and Memphis not to become a satellite location for facilities wishing to be near either, while drawing away capable persons from Brownsville/Haywood Co. to both.

Good point. Plus, Jackson-Humbolt is now a combined statistical area, so there is obviously stuff already happening between the two places.

[Hankster]

There are flaws in all rankings of cities or metropolitan areas. However, I feel that there is some value in them if you combine all the rankings together. It seems surprising to me that Cleveland, Tn is ranked so low. That town is really doing well, IMO, probably even better than Chattanooga.

[nashvol85]

Well, while I was visiting the site again I noticed that they adjusted their rankings for 2005. Some places were big movers, but not all in a good way.

MSA's (out of 361)

1 - Nashville - 4 - 99th - 1,395,879 - Middle (+3)

2 - Memphis - 25 - 93th - 1,250,293 - West (-2)

3 - Knoxville - 77 - 79th - 647,170 - East (-6)

4 - Chattanooga - 105 - 71st - 489,609 - East (+40)

5 - Jackson - 158 - 56th - 110,170 - West (+1)

6 - Clarksville - 180 - 50th - 238,897 - Middle (+29)

7 - Kingsport-Bristol - 26 - 37th - 231,331 - East (+23)

8 - Morristown - 262 - 27th - 129,010 - East (-38)

9 - Johnson City - 283 - 22th - 187,321 - East (-23)

10 - Cleveland - 310 - 14th - 107,237 - East (-27)

Big gainers: Chattanooga (+40, 11%), Clarksville (+29, 8%)

Big losers: Morristown (-38, -11%), Cleveland (-27, -8%)

MicroSA's (out of 575)

1 - Cookeville - 54 - 91st - 97,528 - Middle (-9)

2 - Tullahoma - 123 - 89th - 96,852 - Middle (+59)

3 - Sevierville - 131 - 77th - 77,270 - East (-46)

4 - Crossville - 139 - 76th - 50,084 - East (-52)

5 - Greeneville - 185 - 68th - 64,718 - East (-53)

6 - McMinnville - 202 - 55th - 39,559 - Middle (+56)

7 - La Follette - 274 - 52nd - 40,507 - East (-13)

8 - Shelbyville - 290 - 50th - 41,233 - Middle (-53)

9 - Athens - 302 - 47th - 50,981 - East (+37)

10 - Dyersburg - 312 - 46th - 37,621 - West (+41)

11 - Paris - 325 - 43rd - 31,506 - West (-73)

12 - Harriman - 352 - 39th - 52,920 - East (+59)

13 - Martin - 365 - 37th - 33,733 - West (-43)

14 - Columbia - 387 - 33rd - 74,692 - Middle (+37)

15 - Lawrenceburg - 390 - 32nd - 40,864 - Middle (-46)

16 - Lewisburg - 398 - 31st - 27,991 - Middle (+36)**

17 - Union City - 427 - 26th - 39,750 - West (+37)

18 - Humboldt - 451 - 22nd - 48,124 - West (+19)

19 - Newport - 534 - 7th - 34,675 - East (-38)

20 - Brownsville - 548 - 5th - 19,614 - West (-8)

Big gainers: Tullahoma (+59, 11%), Harriman (+59, 11%), McMinnville (+56, 10%), Dyersburg (+41, 8%)

Big losers: Paris (-73, -13%), Greeneville (-53, -9%), Shelbyville (-53, -9%), Crossville (-52, -9%)

**I forgot Lewisburg in the last rankings. It was ranked 434th.

Any thoughts on the reason why some cities surged while others fell big? It seems like the Metros did a lot better than the Micros in the last year, or at least from this data.

[nashvol85]

Overall rank gain/loss by region:

East -137 (-31 Metro/-106 Micro)

Middle +112 (+32 Metro/+80 Micro)

West -28 (-1 Metro/-27 Micro)

Tennessee -53 (0 Metro/-53 Micro)

[Boisefan]

Why did Middle Tennessee surge so much, and the other areas lose so much, (escpecially East Tennessee)

[nashvol85]

Why did Middle Tennessee surge so much, and the other areas lose so much, (escpecially East Tennessee)

Well I am not at all surprised that some middle Tennessee cities surged, but I am somewhat surprised with the East Tennessee cities falling so hard.

I'm not worried about Memphis or Knoxville losing a few spots, but Cleveland and Morristown lost a LOT. Chattanooga had a nice gain.

As far as micro's go, they were either huge gains or huge losses. I am kind of surprised that East Tennessee's top 3 (Sevierville, Crossville, Greeneville) lost a lot of ground, but are still doing well. West Tennessee was very up and down, but mainly down.

[ATLBrain]

What do these numbers mean? How are they derived? Are they even indicative of growth? They seem to change drastically from year to year.

I have a hard time believing that Knoxville is not getting bigger and economically stronger. I go there about 3-4 times a year, and it's always getting a big new project.

Also, I thought Morristown was a part of Knoxville's MSA.

[nashvol85]

What do these numbers mean? How are they derived? Are they even indicative of growth? They seem to change drastically from year to year.

I have a hard time believing that Knoxville is not getting bigger and economically stronger. I go there about 3-4 times a year, and it's always getting a big new project.

Also, I thought Morristown was a part of Knoxville's MSA.

The numbers are only RANK, so actually, Memphis falling by 2 or Knoxville falling by 7 could happen while they actually gained in economic growth. I don't know the actual figures, but the website has the formula.

I think small rises and falls don't mean much at all, but big gains (Chattanooga +40, Tullahoma +59) would signify good positive growth in the last year and big losses (Morristown -38, Paris -73) would signify possible job losses or slow or stagnant growth in the area.

And no, Morristown is not part of Knoxville's metro. I don't think it ever has been, despite its proximity.

[ATLBrain]

Thanks for the answer. So these rankings are for the change from the previous year. I see how they would be helpful in explaining an area's strength, but not overly so. Are these figures based on government stats?

[Justiceham]

Why did Middle Tennessee surge so much, and the other areas lose so much, (escpecially East Tennessee)

I think it's because Nashville has two power burbs in such a close proximity, Murfreesboro and Franklin, which they are both shooting through the roof with expansion, especially Murfreesboro.

[Rural King]

^Clarksville is doing very well too, so that is another big engine for Middle Tennessee.

As for West TN:

The fall in rank of Martin and Paris looks right, esp. Paris. Martin's fall is a little more drastic then I would figure, but its all based on formula; and one thing I can say for Martin/Weakley County is that they are now at leasst getting on the ball and developing an economic development plan with new industrial sites to get into the game of snagging some new industrial employers. So maybe Martin can see a move up in the rankings next year; unfortunately I would look for Paris to fall even further next year with the loss of Mohon and 300 jobs unless they land some new economic expansion and jobs before then.

I definately see why Dyersburg, Union City, and Humboldt moved up, they all have been very proactive and/or successful in trying to grow economically, and/or lay the groundwork for future potential growth, compared to many of their peer cities.

Always good to see Jackson Metro move up, even if its only one spot.

[HABANERO7]

Cleveland doesnt seem to be doing to well when compared to the Jones'. There are things in the works here that could make a change in Clevelands national rank. Most of the recent growth has been in expansion of existing facilities as well as a pretty good gain in warehousing. The ground work is being laid here to step things up though, According to the numbers we will have to step it up big to even see a dent in ranking when compared to the growth of the national average.

[ATLBrain]

I would agree with you Habanero... I pass through Cleveland about once every quarter on my way to the in-laws. It's obviously a bustling and booming little city. Recently, I've noticed a lot of new subdivisions.

Plus, the university makes for a great centerpiece to the town.

[Tennesseestorm]

Whats sad is that Bristol did not even register and with a population of 44,000 , but this also includes the city of Bristol, VA.

[Hankster]

Well, while I was visiting the site again I noticed that they adjusted their rankings for 2005. Some places were big movers, but not all in a good way.

MSA's (out of 361)

4 - Chattanooga - 105 - 71st - 489,609 - East (+40)

Big gainers: Chattanooga (+40, 11%)

Way to go Chattanooga!!! This move doesn't surprise me too much. People are beginning to see the many desirable things Chattanooga has to offer after decades of lackluster performance. This is in part the result of a well thought out and well executed strategy of the Chattanooga city leaders to improve the livability and viability of the city. Look for the ranking to surge even higher in the future.