RESEARCH

SPRING HILL – The Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) today named the City of Spring Hill as the 2007 Most Business-Friendly City in Tennessee. The award is based on the results of TCPR’s annual report of the business climate of the state’s 50 largest cities. The report scores each city in four categories considered vital to encouraging business success and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit: Business Tax Burden, Economic Vitality, Community Allure and Strategic Location. Spring Hill ranked first or second overall in three of the report’s four categories. In total, Spring Hill scored 93.98 out of a possible 100 percent on all counts of business friendliness. Mt. Juliet earned the second highest score at 80.5 percent. Franklin, La Vergne and Brentwood rounded out the top five. “Centrally located with a low cost of living, small town charm and the lowest business tax burden in the state, Spring Hill’s success story is no accident,” said Drew Johnson of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Years of responsible, business-friendly public policy decisions have made Spring Hill the destination of choice for business owners in the Volunteer State.” The title of Tennessee’s “Least Business-Friendly City” belongs to Lawrenceburg. The city’s remote location, comparatively high tax burden and unpromising growth trends led to scores in the bottom third in every category. Nashville scored highest among Tennessee’s four major cities with a 28th place ranking. Knoxville scored 35th, while Memphis and Chattanooga finished near the bottom at 47th and 48th out of the 50 cities in the report. Farragut, Tennessee’s 2006 Most Business-Friendly City, fell to 12th in this year’s ranking. The report and rankings will be featured in the March issue of Business Tennessee magazine and is available at the Tennessee Center for Policy Research website: www.tennesseepolicy.org. ###