We’ve all felt Nashville’s growth over the past several years. With big corporations calling Music City home and more entrepreneurs setting up shop, it’s no surprise our population is on the rise, and the boom isn’t expected to end anytime soon. Recent data shows the city is still growing by roughly 100 people per day.

Nashville ranked No. 1 on Zillow’s list of hottest markets for 2017. As real estate agents, this is good news for us as we help newcomers find a place to live and help locals sell, but what is it that’s making so many people want to call Nashville home?

Many people looking to Music City get their initial taste as tourists. Nashville was recently recognized as third on Travel + Leisure’s list of America’s favorite cities and ranked by the Forbes Travel Guide among sixteen must-visit places, including such destinations as Rome, Paris and Thailand.

While tourism can bring people here, it’s the jobs that get them to stay. Incomes recently grew by 1.1 percent, and unemployment in Nashville is at a low, healthy 4 percent. Large corporations, universities and healthcare giants like Nissan, Vanderbilt University and HCA pull in people looking for new opportunities, and many startups have put down roots, and with them, the need for talent. According to a recent report by the Kauffman Foundation, Nashville ranks among the top five cities for the highest level of entrepreneurship relative to size.

Nashville has a lot to offer employable people and their families. With old and new concert venues—the stadium, the arena, Ascend Amphitheater and renewed life at the Municipal Auditorium—and NHL, NFL and minor league baseball teams, there’s always something to do.

New urban development in the Gulch is also putting Nashville on the map as the world’s fourth Silver LEED Certified neighborhood, and the first in the southeast. Alongside this construction, the city is committed to keeping its green spaces alive. Recent investments in parks, like Riverfront Landing Park on the Cumberland River, make Nashville desirable to people from all walks of life.

Sources:
• Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/03/28/new-data-nashville-region-still-growing-100-people-day/99733098/
• CNN: http://www.cnn.com/videos/living/2016/06/30/prime-properties—the-gulch.cnn
• Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/blog/hottest-housing-markets-2017-209986/
• WKRN: http://wkrn.com/2017/03/30/nashvilles-it-city-status-brings-in-things-other-cities-want/
• Kauffman Foundation: http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/resources/2017/state_of_entrepreneurship_address_report_2017.pdf
• Travel + Leisure: http://www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorit-places/cities
• Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2016/01/22/forbes-travel-guides-16-top-destinations-for-2016/#5057ba85af3c