Where there used to be small buildings, there are now skyscrapers. Old houses have been replaced with new houses. It's the new Nashville, and what's also new is how much it costs to live in Music City.
GoBankingRates.com released new findings that the cost to live comfortably in Nashville is just over $80,000. The problem is, the median household income is closer to $50,000, a $30,000 gap.
"Part of the Nashville story that has made us grow over the past number of years has been a reasonable cost of living, and as we gentrify and we costs going up, it's going to become difficult to continue to sell that story," Andrew Borchers, business professor and associate dean at Lipscomb University said. "There are people that live on less than $80,000 a year in Nashville, for sure. The question is: Are they getting squeezed out?"
GoBankingRates.com found a 15% increase in cost of living from last year to this year, which is a trend that many other cities have experienced.
"San Francisco has a much worse problem that we have, the challenge is how can we manage this so it doesn't get out of hand?" Borchers said.
The rising costs of transportation issues in Nashville could make the city a less desirable place for people to move to, Borchers said, adding that he hopes city officials work on making the city more affordable and accessible so the city can continue to thrive.
"Part of our story has been relatively low cost of doing business here," Borchers explained. "(It's been) very attractive for employers that want to move here, but then if they have trouble getting workers, than they'll naturally look maybe some place else."
To see how Nashville compares to other large cities in the United States, you can visit GoBankingRates.com's findings.
