What This Story Is About
- More than 96,000 households in Davidson County earn income but still fall short of what it takes to survive in Nashville. Another 40,000 families are considered to be living at or below the poverty level.
Why It Matters
- Households below this threshold don’t have enough income to afford their basic needs. They are forced to make impossible choices, like deciding whether to pay for utilities or a tank of gas; whether to buy food or fill a prescription; whether to live close to work and pay more for housing or opt for a longer, more costly commute.
- Local leaders continue to look for ways to make Nashville more affordable. The United Way notes there is “no single cause — or solution” to financial hardship and calls for coordinated action across household supports, community infrastructure, employer practices, and public policy.
For Context
- We’ve learned childcare costs take up nearly 20% of a household’s income and in-state college tuition may be cheaper than childcare in Tennessee. It’s becoming increasingly more expensive to live comfortably in Middle Tennessee.
Catch Up
- Nashville is considered one of the most expenses metro’s in the nation where families can live comfortably.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – New data from the United Way shows 41% of Tennessee households faced financial hardship as of 2024, the most recent year for which data is available.
That figure matches the national average and places Tennessee 36th among all states and the District of Columbia, with first representing the lowest rate of hardship.
The data breaks down into two groups: 13.7% of Tennessee households living in poverty, and 27.6% — twice as many — earning income but not enough to survive. The United Way defines those as “ALICE” households, which stands for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.”…