CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new study ranks Clarksville among the fastest-growing cities in the country, but the rapid expansion is putting pressure on city leaders to decide how to pay for it.
Financial website SmartAsset named Clarksville No. 23 on its list of "boom towns" — communities experiencing significant growth and expanding economies. The ranking comes as the mayor and city council are locked in a bitter debate over whether to raise property taxes or cut parts of the city budget.
Sydney Hedrick, a lifelong Clarksville resident and real estate agent with Byers and Harvey, said the ranking came as no surprise. "There's still great demand. People are coming here daily," Hedrick said.
Hedrick said growth is pushing into areas that were rural just a few years ago. "There's just farm after farm that can be houses after houses after houses," Hedrick said.
Some Clarksville homeowners say they feel the city has known about the growth but put off planning for it. David Grasty, a Clarksville homeowner, told us earlier this month that he opposes a tax increase. "I'm totally against it -- it's too much," Grasty said.
His wife, Susan Grasty, said the city's infrastructure hasn't kept pace. "There's not enough to support everybody. I mean it's growing, and they don't have the infrastructure," Susan Grasty said.
Cathy Dahl, another Clarksville homeowner, said residents feel shut out of the process. "The doors have been shut in our face and now we're being asked to pay for it?" Dahl said.
Mayor Joe Pitts told NewsChannel 5 in a recent interview that, without some sort of property tax hike, important city services will have to be cut back to accommodate rising costs and expectations from citizens.
Hedrick acknowledged the road ahead won't be without challenges. "There's going to be some growing pains and that's going to be in-housing supply, housing cost," Hedrick said.
Despite the debate over taxes and spending, Hedrick said Clarksville's growth trajectory is not changing. "20-30 years from now, Clarksville's just going to be a completely different place," Hedrick said.
Clarksville City Council and Mayor Joe Pitts are meeting tonight for more discussions on the budget and property tax rates.
Murfreesboro, Franklin and Knoxville were also named to the SmartAsset boom town list.
About the study
SmartAsset analyzed more than 400 U.S. cities with populations of 65,000 or more to identify places experiencing rapid growth. Each city received a composite score based on five-year changes in 3 factors: economic output, housing units and labor force size. The 75 highest-scoring cities represent America's new boom towns.
Cities were scored across 3 growth metrics: five-year labor force change, five-year housing unit change and county-level compound annual real GDP growth. Labor force and housing unit changes were calculated using 2019 and 2024 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Labor force includes residents ages 16 and older who are employed or actively seeking work. Real GDP growth was calculated using 2019 and 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis data; county-level real GDP was used as a proxy for city-level economic output.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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