About Vital Signs

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Vital Signs Middle Tennessee Resident Survey was conducted online and by targeted panels among a regionally representative group of respondents. Data was weighted to ensure accurate representation from all respondents.

Over 3,100 residents of the Clarksville and Nashville MSAs responded to the survey in September and October of 2021. FOR NEARLY A DECADE, THE VITAL SIGNS REPORT has illuminated issues impacting Middle Tennessee’s economic well-being and quality of life, serving as a resource for elected and appointed officials and business and community leaders. Vital Signs utilizes data from the Census and other reputable, public sources, but Vital Signs’ “value added” is the findings of the annual Vital Signs survey of Middle Tennessee residents. Pairing quantitative data with Middle Tennesseans’ understanding of the issues facing the region creates a rich understanding of the region – its economy, quality of life, and its people.

Vital Signs is created by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce utilizing the Chamber’s Research Center for data collection and analysis. The Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC) is the Chamber’s partner in the creation of Vital Signs. The concept of a Vital Signs report originated with the Community Foundations of Canada in 2001, as a broad, agenda setting mechanism focused on outcomes and solutions to key community issues. Nashville Area Chamber leaders brought the Vital Signs program to Nashville after learning about Vital Signs on the Chamber’s Leadership Study Mission to Toronto in 2011. The Vital Signs trademark is used with permission from Community Foundations of Canada.

Vital Signs 2021 focuses on the primary challenge facing Middle Tennessee, and the nation, as the economy recovers from COVID – the lack of available, qualified workforce and the barriers that Middle Tennesseans face in joining the labor force and finding work. Understanding the issues around workforce, based on quantitative data and Middle Tennesseans’ opinions on challenges and solutions, is the work of Vital Signs 2021.