🏙️ Is Nashville too expensive?

💸 Is Nashville Too Expensive?

To afford the typical rent in Nashville — which Zillow estimates at $1,784 per month — people would need to make an average of $71,377 a year. However, many people in the Nashville area fall far short of that income. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the Nashville area, childcare workers make an average annual salary of $29,210, bartenders $31,080, nursing assistants $37,710, and pharmacy technicians $40,580. While local apartments are offering numerous incentives to offset the city’s oversupply, these incentives fail to address the real affordability crisis in Nashville: People just aren’t making enough money. [🔐 The Tennessean; Nashville Scene]

• Will a grocery tax cut help? Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed budget includes lowering the city’s grocery tax from 2.25% to 1.75%. However, this would likely only save folks a couple of dollars a week. [NewsChannel 5]
• Proposed housing bond: O’Connell has also proposed an affordable housing pilot program that could lead to the city’s first housing bond. Advocates say a housing bond would allow Nashville to fund a more aggressive expansion of our affordable housing stock. [Nashville Banner]
• More affordable housing options: Many local nonprofits and other organizations are trying to tackle our affordable housing crisis, too, from home sharing to housing co-ops and repurposing church properties. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]
• Yes, but: None of these ideas address the real problem, according to Nashville Scene columnist (and City Cast Nashville contributor) Betsy Phillips. She argues businesses should be held accountable for failing to pay a living wage to their employees. [Nashville Scene]

🏛️ The Education of Sen. Lamar Alexander

In his new autobiography, “The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump,” former Tennessee governor and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander digs into his nearly 60 years of public service. He joins the podcast today for a conversation about civil rights, our recent redistricting, and how Nashville can hang onto its soul amidst all our growth. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🚨 We Keep Us Safe

Results from the latest community engagement effort asking Nashvillians about safety are in. Consultant Kia Jarmon told the Community Safety Task Force that a majority of respondents define their top safety concerns as behavioral or mental health, gun safety, and housing instability. Seniors at Antioch High School were also polled, with 40% saying they felt very unsafe, citing traffic safety, youth safety, and lack of community spaces as their top issues. [Nashville Banner]

🎡 Festival Season Starts Now

CMA Fest kicks off on Thursday, with Bonnaroo the following weekend. Both are expected to increase local tourism as well as bring economic impacts, with CMA Fest 2025 estimated to have driven a record $86 million in direct consumer spending. A recent survey from analytics company CoStar also found that Nashville is tied with Las Vegas for the highest percentage of tourists who travel specifically to attend our stadium concerts, at 60%. [🔐 The Tennessean]

😬 Can We Please Rename This School?

J.T. Moore Middle School in South Nashville is named for a former state librarian and archivist … who also promoted racist tropes and white supremacy. But changing the school’s name would be a steep uphill battle, thanks to a 2013 state law that prohibits renaming. An MNPS spokesperson says the district has never tried. Meanwhile, the state has twice denied MTSU’s attempts to rename a hall honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest. [WPLN]