Smart Growth Makes Clarksville, TN, a Great Place To Live
Affordability, high-paying jobs, quality of life attract young professionals and families alike.
Sponsored by: Clarksville Economic Development Council
The secret’s out — Clarksville-Montgomery County is a great place to live, and young families and professionals are taking note. Money magazine named Clarksville the No. 1 Best Place To Live in 2019, citing its high quality of life and low housing costs that appeal to millennials and young professionals.
“Young families looking for housing and schools in Middle Tennessee find Clarksville has affordable housing, little to no crime, great schools and restaurants, beautiful rivers and an outstanding park system. What’s not to like?” says Buck Dellinger, CEO and president of the Clarksville Economic Development Council.
“The average age in Clarksville is 31 years old, which is eight years younger than neighboring Nashville. Montgomery County is a young county. Nearby Fort Campbell brings new residents every year, and 30 percent of them put down roots here after their term is up. Clarksville is home to a very civic-minded, patriotic people in a safe, family-oriented community.”
Growth prioritizes high-quality, high-paying jobs
Clarksville’s job market is thriving, continuously attracting new companies that lean on the talented local workforce supplied by transitioning military veterans from nearby Fort Campbell, as well as graduates of Austin Peay State University.
“The community’s had massive success recruiting new companies over the last several years, and we are looking at adding more than 3,500 jobs by 2030 — with global employers committed to Clarksville,” says Shea Hopkins, VP of Industrial Development. “Bringing high-quality, high-paying jobs, including six-figure income jobs — jobs that will have a great impact on this community.”
The electric vehicle (EV) industry is a fast-growing sector of Clarksville-Montgomery County’s economy.
In November 2022, South Korea-based LG Chem announced plans to build a $3.2 billion EV cathode manufacturing plant in Clarksville, creating 860 new jobs. About 200 of those jobs will pay more than $100,000 per year. The plant will be the largest of its kind in the United States and will create a key component for electric vehicle batteries.
In February 2023, a company called Dongwah Electrolyte announced plans to open a $70 million manufacturing plant in Clarksville, providing jobs with on-site training and career opportunities with pay between $55,000 and $150,000 per year.
Advanced battery component manufacturer Microvast also plans to continue development in the community with a new plant that will bring an additional 700 to 800 jobs to Clarksville.
“As Clarksville continues to grow, the community is very selective when recruiting companies,” Dellinger says. “Prioritizing quality of life and career opportunities, only accepting the best jobs that pay at least $50k per year — mostly high-tech advanced manufacturing, global brands and household names.”
Excellent schools feed talent pipeline
Clarksville-Montgomery County’s post-secondary institutions provide support for the talent pipeline that feeds the community’s existing businesses, as well as future growth.
Austin Peay State University is a public four-year, doctoral-level university offering more than 50 graduate and 125 undergraduate degree paths. It serves approximately 10,000 students.
“Austin Peay is a noteworthy school with a great nursing program and an expanding engineering program,” Dellinger says. “It attracts regional students from surrounding counties, located near downtown Clarksville. It’s picturesque — a charming downtown, connected to a historic university with big shade trees, courtyards and beautiful buildings.”
The other two post-secondary institutions in Clarksville are the Tennessee College of Applied Technology and Nashville State Community College.
“Both are technical schools that are flexible and customizable. If a local or incoming industry here needs a course or a certification, those schools can easily customize training for them,” Hopkins says.
Child care is affordable, accessible
To help provide young families with critical child care needs, Clarksville-Montgomery County is building an 800-student child care facility that will serve the industrial park and the whole community, expected to open by 2024.
“There are long waitlists for child care across the country, and it’s very expensive,” Hopkins says. “This new child care facility is a public-private partnership between the Industrial Development Board and Youth Academy. It will be similar in size to an elementary school and provide affordable and accessible child care.”
Dellinger says addressing child care needs is one of the many things that make Clarksville a great place to live.
“The Clarksville-Montgomery County experience is a thriving quality of life — things that frustrate people about living in large metro areas aren’t prevalent here in Clarksville,” Dellinger adds.
“Clarksville is a community with an invested pro-business government, great restaurants, a charming downtown similar to Franklin and the new F&M Bank Arena where you can see big-name acts like you would see at the Ryman Auditorium,” he continues. “And the people that stay here from Fort Campbell and move here from large metro areas like Nashville and Atlanta are hard workers. The community is great because of our good people.”
