Invest: Nashville celebrates fifth anniversary with research on regional growth
Key points:
- • The fifth anniversary edition celebrates the businesses and leaders contributing to Middle Tennessee’s growth.
- • Research will examine investment across healthcare, education, tourism, real estate and other leading industries.
- • Interviews will explore how employers and communities address workforce needs, housing costs and infrastructure.
November 2026 — caa is celebrating a publishing milestone in Music City as research begins for Invest: Nashville 5th Anniversary Edition. The report will bring together business, government and institutional leaders to examine how Middle Tennessee’s economy has changed across five editions and where companies see opportunities to invest.
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The anniversary edition will recognize the people and organizations behind the region’s growth while addressing questions that matter to employers and residents: How are businesses finding talent? Where is new development needed? And how can communities accommodate investment while keeping housing and transportation within reach?
“Nashville’s story is best told by the people doing the work — building businesses, educating students and serving their communities,” said Abby Lindenberg, founder and CEO of caa. “Our fifth anniversary edition is an opportunity to celebrate their contributions and hear directly from them about what it takes to succeed here.”
Five editions of business conversations
The new edition will build on discussions featured in previous reports, interviews and leadership summits. At the fourth edition’s summit at Bridgestone Arena on March 5, 2026, panel topics included transportation and infrastructure, healthcare and education campus development, and changing conditions in Nashville’s real estate market.
Those connections will remain part of the research. A hospital expansion, for example, raises questions about workforce training, nearby housing and transportation. A growing business needs financing and professional services as well as customers. Interviews will examine how organizations work together to meet those needs.
Healthcare, banking and finance, education, real estate and construction, tourism, manufacturing and technology will be among the sectors covered. The report will consider both established employers and smaller businesses, with attention to how opportunities differ across Middle Tennessee’s communities.
Tourism offers one example of the region’s commercial activity. Visitors to Davidson County generated a record $11.6 billion in spending in 2025, up 3.5% from 2024, according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, citing Tourism Economics and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
The research will explore what that activity means for hotels, restaurants, entertainment businesses and the companies that serve them.
Growth and its everyday demands
The anniversary edition will also examine the costs and practical demands of doing business. Interviews will ask how employers recruit and retain workers, how developers assess projects and how local institutions prepare students for available jobs.
Housing and transportation will be part of that discussion. Nashville’s Unified Housing Strategy outlines coordinated actions to improve housing access, while the voter-approved Choose How You Move program is advancing improvements to sidewalks, traffic signals, transit and street safety.
For businesses weighing expansion, these issues affect operating costs and access to employees. For residents, they influence where people can live and which jobs they can reach.
By pairing executive interviews with economic analysis, Invest: Nashville will give readers context for evaluating those decisions. The fifth anniversary provides an occasion to revisit earlier priorities, assess progress and identify concerns that still need attention.
About caa and Invest: Nashville
caa is an integrated media company providing business intelligence through print and digital reports, executive interviews and leadership summits.
Invest: Nashville 5th Anniversary Edition will provide comprehensive market intelligence for local, national and international investors and promote Middle Tennessee as a place to invest and do business.
The caa team is now connecting with contributors across the region. Business and civic leaders are invited to share their experiences, discuss investment plans and contribute to the anniversary report.
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Brandon Davicsin
bdavicsin@capitalaa.com
Lucia Prebisch
lprebisch@capitalaa.com
Want more? Read the latest Invest: Nashville report.
