Category: economy
-
Strong Neighborhoods. Smart Growth.
It is a term coined by John Campbell, former Kingsport city manager, to describe the city’s core strength. He grew up in the Model City with an intimate understanding of its history and design, but spent much of his professional life away from home, measuring his memories of Kingsport against communities across the state. His…
-
Tennessee’s Emerging and Mature Places Tell Two Very Different Housing Stories
Third-party rankings are constantly scanning and ranking communities based on “best of” or “worst of”. Frankly, it can be exhausting to keep up with. Some use a city name when they really mean a metropolitan or combined statistical area, leaving neighboring towns to wonder what they missed and the named city to take a bow…
-
Steady Growth, Regional Strength, and a Commitment to Stay
MOVE TO KINGSPORT – FEBRUARY 2026 MONTHLY REPORT One year ago, our February 2025 report reflected strong post-pandemic momentum. That pace has moderated — and that’s a healthy development. As of February 2026, 531 out-of-region families from 46 states relocated to Kingsport over the past 12 months, averaging just over two households per workday. The…
-
Move To Kingsport: Ensuring Our City’s Renewal, Not Retreat
When people think about economic development, they often picture industrial parks, incentives, or ribbon cuttings for major employers. Those investments matter immensely. But today’s economy is changing — and so are the tools that drive growth. That’s why programs like Move To Kingsport represent a new kind of economic development: people-centered, data-driven, and remarkably cost-effective.…
-
Kingsport After COVID
I still remember the mood at Kingsport’s 1999 Economic Summit. Beneath the optimism, there was a persistent worry: we were aging, and some feared the city would slowly become a retirement community—comfortable, yes, but eventually aging out into economic drift. That kind of concern is easy to feel in real time, especially when the loudest…
-
Taxes Are, Well, Taxing
What IRS migration data says about Northeast Tennessee’s income inflow It’s tax season, and we’re all thinking about federal income taxes. But a lot of Americans are also thinking about state income tax, and some even pay a local income tax. Tennessee is the only centrally located state in the Eastern U.S. that doesn’t levy…
-
Where America Is Moving — and What Makes Kingsport Different
Migration numbers can look like mind-numbing spreadsheet trivia—until you realize they’re quietly revealing who’s voting with their feet, and why Kingsport keeps showing up in the story. The Census Bureau just released its state-to-state migration data for 2024. We’re already into 2026, so it’s a lagging indicator. To keep the comparison fair, this analysis uses…
-
What Would Dolly Do?
Every January, the Tennessee Legislature reconvenes with a flurry of excitement and anticipation. But government isn’t supposed to be exciting; it’s supposed to be practical. That’s why I keep an eye on the periodic “state roundup” newsletters from tax and economic policy watchdogs. They read like a triage report: an $83 million school district hole…
-
Biscuits & Builders: Moving to Kingsport and the New South
The South. Just reading those words probably evokes imagery. For natives, it might be sweet tea, biscuits, and “home sweet home to me.” For others, it might be The Beverly Hillbillies, The Dukes of Hazzard, or The Andy Griffith Show. I follow a TikTok account of a former New Yorker now living in Charleston. She…
-
Tri-Cities: Growth Done Right
Don Fenley recently wrote that the Tri-Cities Needs Newcomers To Prevent Decline. I couldn’t agree more. Adding my two cents, all growth is not automatically “good.” The practical question is whether a region is adding people at a pace that keeps its economy and tax base healthy without forcing schools, roads, utilities, and public safety…
Kingsport Spirit 