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Boomtown in red state explodes by nearly 100 people PER DAY - with locals warning 'it's just not the same'
A red state city's population boomed by nearly 100 people a day last year as locals warn 'it's just not the same'.
In 2023, Nashville's population swelled by 86 people a day on average according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
It's part of a wider trend across Tennessee, which saw a 1.1 percent increase in population from 2022 to 2023, with people drawn by affordable housing and low taxes.
But locals have warned the ballooning number of residents has had negative knock-on effects for the city, saying 'it's just not the same'.
Nashville residents say they are increasingly struggling to afford a home as an influx of out-of-state buyers drive real estate prices up, leaving many with no where to go.
In 2023, Nashville's population swelled by 86 people a day on average according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
There were 1,525 people experiencing chronic homelessness - where someone has been homeless for over a year and has a mental health condition or disability - in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period a year prior.
Local nonprofit founder, Heather Young, told WKRN that the increase is driven by a sharp rise in the cost of living.
Nashville has seen a population boom over the last few years with wealthy out-of-towners flocking to take advantage of cheaper real estate and lower taxes - pricing out locals.
In just 23 years, the metro Nashville region has gone from 1.3 million residents to 2.1 million, per the US Census Bureau, increasing the value of property and the cost of living.
Between 2021 and 2022 alone, more than 22,500 former Californians moved to Tennessee, according to US Census migration data.
In the last few years, major corporations like Oracle have chosen to move their headquarters to Tennessee, bringing their workers with them.
Attracted by lower property costs and taxes, Amazon also announced it would set up major operations in downtown Nashville, and New York money manager AllianceBernstein said it would be moving its headquarters to the city, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The median home sale price in Nashville at the end of February was $414,012, compared to $290,983 five years prior.
Remacia Smith, who grew up in Nashville, told The Wall Street Journal she recently was forced to move to the suburbs with her five children.
'It almost doesn't look like Nashville anymore,' she said. 'Whew Lord, I wish people would stop moving here.'
Broadway, a major thoroughfare in Nashville, includes Lower Broadway, a renowned entertainment district for country music
Remacia Smith, who grew up in Nashville, told The Wall Street Journal she recently was forced to move to the suburbs with her five children
Meanwhile lifelong resident John Michael Morgan, for his part, told the outlet he is concerned about Nashville keeping its essence.
'Nashville's always been a big town that felt like a small town,' said Morgan. 'Now we're a big town that feels like a big town.'
The Metro Council pledged $50 million in American Rescue Plan funding to fight homelessness in 2022, but the problem has not gone away.
Open Table Nashville advocacy and outreach specialist India Pungarcher told WKRN: 'If a one-time $50 million investment was going to end homelessness in Nashville, you know, homelessness wouldn't exist anymore, right?
'We need hundreds of millions of dollars in order to, you know, even just make a dent in homelessness here in Nashville.'
Rates of chronic homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee, have soared 77 percent this year
There were 1,525 people experiencing chronic homelessness in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period a year prior
Local nonprofit founder, Heather Young, told WKRN that the increase is driven by a sharp rise in the cost of living
Purple heart recipient Patrick James told DailyMail.com he was making $150,000 annually just three years ago. Now he's sleeping in a battered and immobile Chevy Suburban after losing his house through divorce.
The decorated veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq just cannot find enough regular money to meet rising apartment rents, despite having an Army pension.
Even a modest one-bedroom apartment way away from downtown can now run at $1,400. In the hipster neighborhood of The Gulch, where the skyline is dotted with construction site cranes, a new studio is easily $1,500 a month while two-bedrooms start at $2,485.
'Nashville is now all about the money and real estate, but that money and real estate is making the rich richer and the poor poorer,' James told DailyMail.com as he sat in in the passenger seat of an old Mercedes that he uses to get around.
'Nashville only cares about tourists, country music and cowboy hats. It's a dog and pony show. Forget those fancy apartments that are going up, I don't stand a chance of getting any sort of apartment in this city right now.
'You've got to make at least three times the amount of the rent to get approved,' he added. 'That's why I bought that old truck to live in and the car so I could get to places.'
The ancient Mercedes, which has a Purple Heart license plate, is next to the Suburban in an area known as the Old Tent City, beside the Cumberland River.
Derelict RVs and makeshift sheds, some fenced off in an effort to replicate a private home, are the grander living areas amid makeshift canvas constructions housing an estimated 130 people.