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This page features an archived version of our State Dashboard from 2023.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.

Broadband Access (25 MBPS)

Working Age Employment Rate

Young Children Not in School

Cost-Burdened Extremely Low-Income Renters

Youth Unemployment

Hispanic/Latino Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Student Loan Holders in Default

Medical Debt in Collections

Highway Traffic Fatalities

Black Uninsured Rate

Women’s Incarceration Rate

Representation of People of Color in Elected Office

Unbanked Households

Seniors (65+) Voter Turnout

Uninsured Children

Leed Certified Buildings

Cost-Burdened Homeowners

Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Average Commute

Hispanic/Latino Incarceration Rate

Cost of Living

High School Graduation

New Businesses

Low-Income Uninsured Rate

Student Loan Holders in Default in Communities of Color

Mental Health Providers

Children in Households with High Housing Cost Burden

Black Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Property Crime

GDP Growth

Women’s Uninsured Rate

Deficient Bridges

Affordable Rental Shortage

Violent Crime

Energy Expenditures Per Capita

Adults with Heart Disease

Incarceration Rate

Labor Force Participation Gender Gap

Adults on Probation & Parole

Seniors Living in Poverty

Typical Wages for Hispanic Workers

Children’s Medicaid/Chip Participation Rate

Foreclosures

Women Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate in Communities of Color

Food Insecurity

Children Receiving Public Assistance

Seniors (65+) Voter Registration

Hispanic/Latino Voter Registration

Voter Turnout – Women

Voter Turnout (Midterm Election)

Voter Registrations Rejected

Nursing Home Quality

Infant Mortality

Cost of Childcare (Infants)

Bankruptcy Rate

Adults Who Smoke

Provisional Ballots Cast

Patents

Voter Registration – Women

Seniors in Good Health

Financial Well-Being

Broadband Subscriptions

Student Loan Debt

Adults with Diabetes

Income Inequality

Black Incarceration Rate

Public Library Funding

Road Quality

Opioid Prescriptions

Home Ownership

Women Holding Elected Office

Black Voter Registration

Typical Wages for Black Workers

Typical Wages for Working Women

Hispanic/Latino Post-High School Educational Attainment

Black Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Seniors Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Underemployment

Households without Computers or Smartphones

Electricity Prices

Children in Poverty

Drinking Water Quality

Hispanic/Latino Uninsured Rate

Poverty

Low-Wage Jobs

Population Growth

Student-Teacher Ratio

Medical Debt in Collections for Communities of Color

Hispanic/Latino Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Women Living in Poverty

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Adults Without a High School Diploma

Black Voter Turnout

Typical Wages for Workers with Bachelors Education or Higher

Power Grid Reliability

Women Judges

Felon Disenfranchisement

Post-High School Educational Attainment

Rental Protections

Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Homelessness

Typical Wages for Workers with Highschool Education

Gigabyte Internet Availability

Youth (18-24) Voter Registration

Drug Deaths

Unemployment

Low Birthweight

Air Pollution

Food-Insecure Seniors

Public School Teacher Salary

Median Household Income

Youth (18-24) Voter Turnout

Voter Turnout (Presidential Election)

Voter Registration (Presidential Election)

Voter Registration (Midterm Election)

Commuters Taking Transit to Work

Children in Food-Insecure Households

Solar Energy Systems

Able-Bodied Seniors

Low-Income Working Families with Kids

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate

Extremely Low-Income Renters

Volunteerism

Hispanic/Latino Voter Turnout

Uninsured Rate

Childhood Obesity

Black Post-High School Educational Attainment

Juvenile Detention Rate

Green Jobs

Recidivism

Wage Gap

Rural Broadband Access

Adult Obesity

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.