Nashville is getting an A+ on its report card after rising 21 positions over last year on economic think tank the Milken Institute's "Best Performing Cities" index. The No. 4 ranking puts Nashville at the top of the pack in Tier 1, in company with large cities like Austin, Raleigh, and Phoenix.

Cities were split up by large and small + ranked based on factors across job and wage growth, high-tech industries, and housing costs and access. Let's identify Nashville's strengths and weaknesses as told by the report.

📈 Major wins

Nashville's sudden incline is credited largely to the city's strong labor market.

Employment grew 5.9% from October 2021 to October 2022.
Music City ranks sixth among large cities for short-term job growth + numbers indicate a longer job growth trend.
Outside of the tourism and hospitality industry, health care contributes $67 billion and 328,000+ jobs annually.
High-tech job growth has also outpaced the national average over the last five years.

📉 Areas for improvement

Housing costs remain high in Music City, and high-tech concentration remains low in comparison to other Tier 1 large cities despite its recent growth. Focusing on these two factors could place Nashville higher on next year's index, which will be based on 2022 numbers.

Nashville has ranked between 80 and 90 for housing costs over the course of five years.
According to the report, rising housing costs could be contributed in part to more qualified workers moving into the city.