While Davidson County’s population has grown 13 percent since 1990, Williamson and Rutherford counties’ have doubled. Not only is population growing, wealth is increasing as well. Households that moved to Williamson County from out of state last year earned nearly $98,000, three times the national median. Meanwhile, the families that moved to Davidson County earned an average of $38,500 according to Internal Revenue Service returns.

However, the downtown living trend has gained momentum since the mid-1990′s, when a law banning homes in the central business district was repealed. The Viridian, downtown’s biggest residential development in more than a generation, opened its doors in October of 2006, welcoming the first handful of buyers into the world of luxury interiors, glass-and-concrete aeries, and swimming pools overlooking the city. The completion of the 70 million dollar project is helping to create a downtown full of young professionals. Three other condo buildings and an office tower are now under construction in the Gulch and SoBro, with more planned within the next two years to accommodate a more cosmopolitan Nashville.