Slow economic development, a poor job market, unemployment and high rates of homelessness placed Memphis in the 93rd out of 100 spots on the U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Places to Live” ranking.
Even though three Fortune 500 companies — FedEx, Autozone and International Paper — have headquarters in Memphis, the job market has struggled with a higher-than-average unemployment rate.
U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Places to Live” rankings were based on “quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people’s desire to live there.” U.S. News and World Report collected data by utilizing their own internal resources, as well as data from the Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Labor.
Memphis placed 5.7 out of 10 on their overall rating based on different metrics, with a desirability ranking of 5.9, value ranking of 6.3, job market ranking of 5.9, quality of life ranking of 5.4 and a net migration ranking of 4.9, according to U.S News and World Report’s data. Just over 5 percent of people do not have a job, which is .4 percent higher than the national average.
The cost of living in Memphis is the lowest for a large metro area, with prices considerably lower than the national average. U.S News and World Report’s value index placed Memphis at 6.3 out of 10.
“Memphis offers a lower value than similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income,” U.S. News and World Report said in their report.
The Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH) counted 1,426 individuals as homeless in the Memphis and Shelby County area in a Jan. 24, 2017 report. Of those individuals, 94 percent were living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing.
Emergency shelters had more people than transitional housing, according to the 2017 Point-in-Time Count by CAFTH. They counted 156 people under 18 years old, 21 people ages 18-24 and 462 people more than 24 years old living in transitional housing. Emergency shelters housed 161 people under 18 years old, 39 people ages 18-24 and 508 people more than 24 years old.
The Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County (EDGE) is an agency dedicated to developing Memphis’ and Shelby County’s economy. It formed in 2011 as a joint resolution between the City of Memphis’ and Shelby County government. EDGE provides public resources for economic development.
Senior Economic Development Specialist John Lawrence said EDGE helps businesses with expansions and relocations. He said they have programs like the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Incentive, which has helped 68 different businesses with $3.4 billion in capital investment and provided 16,098 jobs.
“We are proud of new jobs, finding new opportunities, — most importantly the jobs with higher wages,” Lawrence said.
