Report: Nashvillians are ‘noticeably worse off’ financially in 2022

Nashville poverty researchers are calling 2022 “the big squeeze” on families and low-wage workers.

“Financial pain has increased for many, and that pain has extended into new groups,” says Garrett Harper, data analyst with Metro Social Services. “Many Nashvillians are notably and noticeably worse off in 2022 than they were in 2021.”

Harper helps put together the agency’s annual “Community Needs Evaluation,” which shows financial difficulties deepening for tens of thousands of people. The report tries to inform local policy decisions by bringing attention to poverty.

More: Read the latest Community Needs Evaluation. (PDF)

This year’s key takeaway is that while the cost of living rose dramatically — housing 20% and childcare 40%, for example — wages in the city rose by just 3%.

The report finds Nashville’s labor market has a widening gap between high and low-wage industries and places some blame on a stagnant minimum wage. The contrast can feel like a “puzzle,” says Abdelghani Barre, director of Strategic Planning and Research.

On one side, Nashville is “more prosperous now, larger, [with] many new people.” And yet, “you say: How can I reconcile the data points that show 200,000 people making only $39,000?”

The 42-page report also takes on a myth-busting approach this year. It points out that Davidson County has seen more people moving out of the county than into it each year since 2017. And it notes that about a third of children who are experiencing hunger do not qualify for federal nutrition programs.

In a letter accompanying the report, Nashville Mayor John Cooper addresses socio-economic gaps: “We certainly have a long way to go, but I’m optimistic we have the right plan and resources in place to be effective,” he writes. “As we grow, we must do so in a way that works for every neighborhood, and make sure no one gets left behind.”