Nashville Healthcare Industry Grows, Now Contributes $68 Billion to Local Economy

Nashville Healthcare Industry Grows, Now Contributes $68 Billion to Local Economy

Healthcare Industry Remains the City’s Number One Employer, According to New Impact Study

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Nashville’s healthcare ecosystem contributes nearly $68 billion and 333,000 jobs to the local economy annually, according to the results of a new study released today by the Nashville Health Care Council. The study was conducted by the Business and Economic Research Center at MTSU, and details the financial scope and geographic reach of the city’s healthcare industry.

“Healthcare is the bedrock of Nashville’s economy, and this study demonstrates the strength of city’s position as our nation’s healthcare epicenter,” said Apryl Childs-Potter, president, Nashville Health Care Council. “This remarkable growth during the turmoil of the pandemic is a testament to the entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit of our city’s healthcare leaders. The future is bright for Nashville.”

Nashville has helped shape the nation’s healthcare landscape for the past five decades and continues to improve the delivery of patient care across the globe. The purposeful growth of Nashville’s healthcare cluster can be traced back more than five decades to the founding of HCA in 1968. Since then, Nashville’s healthcare community has become interconnected and diverse, home to a wide range of headquarter companies in the healthcare services, ambulatory and outpatient surgery, long-term care, behavioral health, academic research, and health technology sectors. Nashville is home to more than 500 healthcare company operations and 400 professional services firms providing expertise in the industry.

Key findings from the study include:

• The 46 major Nashville-based public and private investor-owned healthcare management companies account for almost $97 billion in revenue and over 492,000 jobs globally.
• On an annual basis, the healthcare industry in the Nashville region accounts for over $67.91 billion in total impact and contribution to the local economy.
• The presence of the Nashville healthcare industry helps to create and sustain 332,305 jobs within the Nashville region across many industry sectors, including retail and wholesale trade, real estate and finance, and many other subsectors within the healthcare industry cluster. 
• The healthcare industry in the Nashville area supports over $31.29 billion in personal income annually. This corresponds to nearly 23.1 percent of the Nashville MSA's total personal income.
• The Nashville healthcare sector delivers further economic contributions to the regional economy with positive impacts through annual state and local tax revenue of $2.45 billion.
• Healthcare cluster presence in the Nashville MSA adds stability to the economy through employment levels that have increased in recent years and are projected to rise in the next decade ahead.
• Nashville healthcare companies own and operate facilities in all 50 states.

“Nashville is known throughout the world as a center of creativity and innovation,” said Stuart McWhorter, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.  “Tennessee’s healthcare industry is one of our state’s top sectors and has played a big role in creating jobs, recruiting young talent and providing a prosperous and attractive place to live and work.”

“Our industry, with its expansive reach, plays a vital role locally and nationally,” said Cindy Baier, incoming Council board chair and president and CEO, Brookdale Senior Living. “The Council’s position as a convener to spur collaboration and grow leaders has never been more critical. Amidst unprecedented levels of change and transformation, our city’s healthcare leaders are shaping a smarter healthcare system for the nation.”

Click here to read the full economic impact study.

About the Nashville Health Care Council

The Nashville Health Care Council strengthens and elevates Nashville as the Healthcare City. Founded in 1995, the Council serves as the common ground for the city’s vibrant healthcare cluster. The Council offers engagement opportunities where the industry’s most influential executives come together to exchange ideas, share solutions, build businesses and grow leaders.

 For more information on the Council, please visit www.healthcarecouncil.com.

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