A new CRER white paper by William Plank, a CRER Research Fellow and EPB Community Economist, explores recent trends in electricity affordability in Tennessee relative to similar states. Affordability is measured by the median household’s electricity burden, or the share of its annual income spent on electricity. Despite relatively sharp increases in prices since 2020, the…
7/15/26: Is Tennessee’s EV Appetite Cooling?
Volkswagen announced it would stop producing it’s ID 4 models at their plant in Chattanooga earlier this year. NewsChannel 9 covered changes in the EV market in Tennessee, particularly the impact that they will have on Chattanooga-based Volkswagen. A new report says demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has dropped in Tennessee, but even as the…
7/15/26: Latest Forecast for the Chattanooga Metro Economy
The CRER released its latest forecast of employment growth for the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area. The forecasts are released quarterly and can be found on the CRER website. Job growth is forecast to grow slowly through the rest of 2026, gradually picking up pace as the national economy recovers from a year of slow job…
5/31/26: Notable Quotables in Chattanooga
CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall was among the Chattanooga Times Free Press’s notable quotables this week: “You’re not moving to Tennessee to turn it into a liberal paradise. You’re leaving California to get a place that fits you more politically.” – Howard Wall, author of a paper on migration into and out of the Chattanooga…
5/31/26: Transplant Californians Aren’t the Problem
A Chattanooga Times editorial responded to the debate about the influx of Californians that was documented by a recent CRER white paper, “Where Y’all From? Chattanooga’s Domestic Migration, 2021-25“. Much of this population growth can, in fact, be attributed to new residents moving here from states like California and Florida, according to a recent UTC study analyzing…