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Nashville's Government and Economics

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Nashville’s form of government relies very heavily on the mayor, vice-mayor, and a 40-member Council – 35 of whom represent individual districts within the Metropolitan area and five who are elected. The current mayor of Nashville is Bill Purcell; the vice-mayor is Howard Gentry, Jr. Nashville is very clearly a Democratic city, which is somewhat unusual for modern major Southern cities. Because Nashville is the state capital, it is also very active in the state government system, which usually takes place in the capitol building located in Nashville.

From soon after its founding until the Civil War and then from the War’s end to the present, Nashville has been an economically strong city, at times very affluent. As the “home of country music” and the home of all the Big Four record labels and many independent labels, Nashville’s music industry not only provides about 19,000 jobs to the community but also about $6.4 billion a year. Music recording and production is definitely one of their assets in regard to financial growth. Nashville is also a renowned tourist destination and has other strong economy-contributing industries like insurance, finance, and publishing. However, Nashville’s largest industry is health care, which contributes $18.3 billion a year to the city and 94,000 employment opportunities. These industries and the money that they bring to the city make Nashville and its surrounding suburbs a desirable place to live, work, and even visit.

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