NASHVILLE, Tennessee
Population: 644,014
Unemployment: 5.1 percent
Sales Tax: 9.25 percent
What distinguishes Nashville is a sense of collaboration, whether it’s the Entrepreneur Center incubator which helps startups in fields such as tech and healthcare—Nashville is home to more than 300 healthcare companies—or Jumpstart Foundry, which has helped 37 companies raise more than $23 million in capital. The automotive industry is fast becoming a major player in the area; Nissan North America’s corporate headquarters and largest manufacturing plant and Bridgestone’s North American headquarters are located in the region.