Study Finds 17.9% Of Tennessee Residents Live In Affluent Zip Codes

The Share Of Tennesseans Living In Prosperous Zip Codes Stands At 17.9%, The 10th-Lowest Percentage In The United States And D.C.

Photo: Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville Tennessee

Photo Credit: Mary Harrsch

Published March 3, 2021

The Center Square –

The share of Tennessee residents living in prosperous zip codes stands at 17.9%, the 10th-lowest percentage among the 50 states and District of Columbia, according to a study from the advocacy organization Economic Innovation Group.

Nationwide, the total number of people living in prosperous zip codes now represents a plurality of Americans, 82.4 million, the group’s Distressed Communities Index report found. Those affluent zip codes added 8.7 million jobs between 2000 and 2018, which amounts to 62% of the U.S. job gains over the same time period, according to the report.

At the same time, the affluent zip codes in the nation’s urban areas saw population growth of about 100%. The western United States has the greatest share of people – 53.4% – living in prosperous zip codes, the study found.

Despite the share of racial minorities residing in affluent zip codes rising from 16.3% to 26.9% from 2000 to 2018, minority populations remain over-represented in poorer, distressed zip codes, the report said.

Share of State Populations Living in Affluent Zip Codes:

Rank	State	% of Residents Living in Affluent Zip Codes
1	New Hampshire	47.5%
2	Colorado	47.0%
3	Utah	46.4%
4	Minnesota	46.3%
5	Massachusetts	42.5%
6	Washington	40.0%
7	Wisconsin	38.4%
8	Nevada	34.7%
9	New Jersey	33.9%
10	Nebraska	33.6%
11	Delaware	33.4%
12	Virginia	32.2%
13	Maryland	30.0%
14	Idaho	29.5%
15	Connecticut	29.2%
16	Michigan	28.8%
17	Arizona	28.1%
18 (tie)	Maine	28.0%
18 (tie)	Vermont	28.0%
20	Kansas	27.2%
21	Oregon	26.7%
22	Hawaii	26.5%
23	Texas	26.2%
24	South Dakota	26.1%
25	Iowa	25.7%
26	California	25.6%
27	Illinois	25.3%
28	Pennsylvania	25.0%
29 (tie)	Missouri	24.6%
29 (tie)	Montana	24.6%
31	Ohio	23.6%
32	North Dakota	22.8%
33	Georgia	22.2%
34	Florida	22.0%
35	South Carolina	21.7%
36	North Carolina	20.2%
37	Indiana	20.1%
38	District of Columbia	19.3%
39	Oklahoma	18.8%
40	New York	18.6%
41	Alaska	18.5%
42	Tennessee	17.9%
43	Wyoming	17.6%
44	Rhode Island	17.4%
45	Kentucky	15.0%
46	Alabama	13.0%
47	Arkansas	12.5%
48	New Mexico	12.3%
49	Mississippi	5.9%
50	Louisiana	4.0%
51	West Virginia	3.3%