See Research Statistics here.

History
Nashville was settled on Christmas Day in 1779, and Tennessee became a state in 1796.
Nashville became the Tennessee state capital from 1812-1815 and then permanently in 1843.

Statistics
Elevation: 550 feet (168 meters) at the lowest point; 1,100 feet (336 meters) at the highest point of the rim around the Nashville basin

Time:
Central Standard (CST:) November - March
Central Daylight: April - October

Nashville is the nation's city with the second largest land mass totaling 533 square miles.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is comprised of 10 counties:
Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson.

Nashville/Davidson County has a metropolitan government based on a 1963 plan that has become a national model. The county is largely urbanized with extensive residential areas, and population growth continues to increase due to transportation advantages, labor supply and development opportunities.

2004 Population:
Nashville = 595,805 (a 4.5% increase over 2000)
MSA = 1,541,659 (a 7.4% increase over 2000)

Downtown Nashville Residential Population Growth (based on new units added downtown):
2001 Residents: 2,070
2002 Residents: 2,118
2003 Residents: 2,234
2004 Residents: 2,300
2005 Projected Residents: 2,483
2006 Projected Residents: 3,222

2004 Average Nashville Household Income: $55,598

2003 Nashville Unemployment Rate: 3.9%

Business Climate
Major industries in Nashville include: Automobile Production, Finance, Health Care Management, Higher Education, Insurance, Music Production, Printing & Publishing, Technology Manufacturing and Tourism.

Industry breakdown:
Trade, Transportation & Utilities = 20.4%
Education & Health Services = 13.7%
Government = 13.1%
Professional & Business Services = 12.1%
Manufacturing = 11.5%
Leisure & Hospitality = 10.4%
Financial Activities = 6.5%
Information = 2.9%

Major companies and facilities headquartered in Music City:
American General Life & Accident Insurance/AIG (HG)
Asurion (HQ)
BellSouth
Bridgestone/Firestone Americas (HQ)
Caremark (HQ)
Caterpillar Financial (HQ)
CLARCOR (HQ)
CBRL Group Inc. (Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and Logan's Roadhouse) (HQ)
CNA Insurance (Life & Long-term Care HQ
Dell Computer Corporation)
Dollar General Corp. (HQ)
Gaylord Entertainment Company (HQ)
Genesco Inc. (HQ)
Gibson Guitar Corp./Baldwin Pianos (HQ)
HCA (HQ)
Ingram Industries Inc. (HQ)
Lifeway Christian Resources (HQ)
Louisiana Pacific (HQ)
Nissan Motor Manufacturing USA
O'Charley's Inc. (HS)
Quanta Computer
Primus Automotive Financial Services (HQ)
Shoney's Inc. (HQ)
Thomas Nelson Inc. (HQ)
United Methodist Publishing House (HQ)

Cost of Living
Nashville consistently ranks among the lowest for cost-of-living in comparable cities across the nation ranking more cost-efficient than Atlanta, Austin, Tampa and Richmond. The overall cost of living is 94.7% of the national average. All components (groceries, housing, utilities, etc.) of cost-of-living are typically below the national average.

Accessibility
Nashville is within 600 miles of 50% of the U.S. population, providing extreme accessibility whether by air or by surface transportation. View the map here.

Miles to Nashville from surrounding cities:

Atlanta	251	Birmingham	190	Charleston	528
Charlotte	405	Chicago	456	Cincinnati	282
Cleveland	519	Dallas	662	Detroit	532
Indianapolis	290	Kansas City	557	Knoxville	178
Little Rock	338	Louisville	170	Memphis	206
Miami	907	Milwaukee	586	New Orleans	532
Orlando	681	Philadelphia	796	Pittsburgh	582
Raleigh	516	St. Louis	306	Shreveport	524
Washington DC	671

Transportation
Air
The Nashville International Airport has 16 airlines serving 86 markets and sees 404 daily airport arrivals and departures. The following is a list of the airlines with gates at the Nashville Airport: American, American Eagle, Air Canada, Comair, Continental, Corporate Express, Delta, Delta Express, Frontier, Independence Air, Midwest, Northwest, Pace, Skyway, Southwest, United, United Express, US Airways and US Airways Express.

Road
Nashville is intersected by three major interstate highways: I-40, I-24 and I-65. I-440 is an inner beltway circling the city, and I-840 is a Southern outer beltway between I-40E and I-24E and between 1-24E and I-65S.

Rail
Beginning operations November 7, 2005, the Music City Star Rail opens its East Corridor route. With service Monday through Friday, three daily morning and afternoon trains connect Donelson, Hermitage, Mt.Juliet and Lebanon to downtown Nashville. The East Corridor route covers 32 miles, and service between stops peaks at 60 miles per hour. Four additional routes will open in future years.

Hospitality Industry
More than 50,000 jobs are directly related to the hospitality industry.

Nashville hosted more than 10.5 million visitors in 2002 resulting in more than $2.9 billion in revenues for the city.

Nashville has 32,851 hotel rooms in the city.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center is now the largest non-gaming hotel property in the United States with 2,881 rooms and 288,999 square feet of exhibit space.

The Nashville Convention Center features 118,675 square feet of exhibit space.

Average Weather Climate
Nashville typically enjoys a mild and pleasant climate with only a few days of the year having either very hot or very cold conditions. Most of the city's rain is confined to the spring months, but a shower throughout the year is not unusual.

Spring is a delightful time in Middle Tennessee as the rolling hills are a lush, vibrant green. Because of the mild climate found here, many plants are well suited for the area including tulips, azaleas, irises, magnolias and dogwoods. Days are warm while evenings can be chilly.

Summer is ablaze with many concert festivals in Music City. Several nights during the week have live outdoor concerts scattered around town. Midday can be very warm as the humidity tends to be higher in the summer months. Light clothing and sunscreen is recommended for the full season.

Fall is a celebrated time throughout Tennessee. Visitors come from all over to see the annual changing of the leaves in mid-October. Days are warm and pleasant. Evenings require a sweater or light jacket. Since the weather is changeable, layered clothing is a good idea to accommodate sunny days and cooler nights.

Winter is a great time to visit the city's many attractions decked out in their holiday finery as Nashville truly shines throughout the winter with millions of twinkling lights. Although the climate is mild, winter temperatures do range from cool to cold. If a snowfall occurs, it is usually in January or February and is seldom heavy. The following monthly average chart will help you pack for your visit to Music City.