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This page features an archived version of our State Dashboard from 2023.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

Seniors (65+) Voter Registration

Women’s Incarceration Rate

Uninsured Children

Able-Bodied Seniors

Broadband Subscriptions

Voter Registrations Rejected

Cost-Burdened Homeowners

Seniors in Good Health

Drug Deaths

Women Judges

Black Uninsured Rate

Hispanic/Latino Voter Turnout

Hispanic/Latino Voter Registration

Typical Wages for Workers with Bachelors Education or Higher

Power Grid Reliability

Green Jobs

Labor Force Participation Gender Gap

Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Women Holding Elected Office

Income Inequality

Seniors Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Underemployment

Broadband Access (25 MBPS)

Student Loan Holders in Default in Communities of Color

Rural Broadband Access

Black Incarceration Rate

Leed Certified Buildings

Student-Teacher Ratio

Foreclosures

Cost of Childcare (Infants)

Seniors (65+) Voter Turnout

Typical Wages for Workers with Highschool Education

Youth Unemployment

Hispanic/Latino Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Households without Computers or Smartphones

Adults with Heart Disease

Medical Debt in Collections for Communities of Color

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate in Communities of Color

Public Library Funding

Incarceration Rate

Homelessness

Hispanic/Latino Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Gigabyte Internet Availability

Children’s Medicaid/Chip Participation Rate

New Businesses

Population Growth

Food Insecurity

Poverty

Energy Expenditures Per Capita

Recidivism

Juvenile Detention Rate

Women Living in Poverty

Voter Turnout – Women

Student Loan Holders in Default

Cost of Living

Opioid Prescriptions

Adult Obesity

Uninsured Rate

Children in Food-Insecure Households

Rental Protections

Hispanic/Latino Uninsured Rate

Provisional Ballots Cast

Adults with Diabetes

Working Age Employment Rate

Unemployment

Drinking Water Quality

Children in Poverty

Black Post-High School Educational Attainment

Patents

Typical Wages for Black Workers

Childhood Obesity

Low-Wage Jobs

Representation of People of Color in Elected Office

Low-Income Uninsured Rate

Extremely Low-Income Renters

Voter Registration (Presidential Election)

Voter Turnout (Presidential Election)

Violent Crime

Youth (18-24) Voter Registration

Seniors Living in Poverty

Student Loan Debt

Low Birthweight

Women’s Uninsured Rate

Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Medical Debt in Collections

Voter Turnout (Midterm Election)

Deficient Bridges

Low-Income Working Families with Kids

Financial Well-Being

Adults Who Smoke

Air Pollution

Mental Health Providers

GDP Growth

Hispanic/Latino Incarceration Rate

Hispanic/Latino Post-High School Educational Attainment

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Young Children Not in School

Typical Wages for Hispanic Workers

Electricity Prices

Unbanked Households

Voter Registration (Midterm Election)

Black Voter Turnout

Infant Mortality

Youth (18-24) Voter Turnout

Food-Insecure Seniors

Black Fourth-Grade Reading Proficiency

Cost-Burdened Extremely Low-Income Renters

Commuters Taking Transit to Work

Black Voter Registration

Auto Loan Delinquency Rate

Home Ownership

Typical Wages for Working Women

Post-High School Educational Attainment

Children Receiving Public Assistance

Median Household Income

Women Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Highway Traffic Fatalities

Property Crime

Solar Energy Systems

Adults Without a High School Diploma

Nursing Home Quality

Volunteerism

Average Commute

Public School Teacher Salary

Affordable Rental Shortage

Black Adults Avoiding Care Due to Cost

Children in Households with High Housing Cost Burden

Bankruptcy Rate

Wage Gap

High School Graduation

Voter Registration – Women

Felon Disenfranchisement

Road Quality

Adults on Probation & Parole

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.