State scorecard
Tennessee in the US Political Rank
Every place Tennessee holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#3
of 50 on States Ranked by Total Tax Burden
#47
of 50 on States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate
56.8%
Governor Bill Lee performance score, rank 8 of 50
10
state rankings that score Tennessee
Governor
Tennessee's governor, Bill Lee (Republican), holds performance rank 8 of 50 at 56.8% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | Tennessee's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenA 7.6 percent burden, third lowest (Tax Foundation, 2022), and among the five lowest states for tax collections per capita at $4,912 (Tax Foundation, FY2023 data). | #3 of 50 | 92.1 |
| States Ranked by Fiscal Health: Reserves, Pensions, and What They OwePension system funded at 104 percent, first in the nation (Equable Institute, 2025), one of only two states below $10,000 per capita even under ALEC's stricter liability math (ALEC, Unaccountable and Unaffordable), and a $10,900 per-taxpayer surplus (TIA, 2025). | #4 of 20 | 92.4 |
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthFourth in the nation with a net gain of 42,389 domestic migrants (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025). One of nine Southern states among the top 15 migration gainers (NAR analysis of Census data, 2026). | #4 of 50 | 93.2 |
| States Ranked by Business Climate: What the Major Raters Agree OnThe consistency champion: eighth with CNBC and eighth with the Tax Foundation, after fully repealing its Hall tax on interest and dividend income in 2021 (CNBC, 2025; Tax Foundation, 2026). | #4 of 25 | 92.9 |
| States Ranked by Infrastructure ConditionConsistently posts one of the lowest structurally deficient bridge shares in the country in the annual ARTBA analyses of federal inspection data (ARTBA Bridge Report). | #8 of 25 | 91.4 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026Fourth in the nation for net domestic migration at 42,389 movers (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025) and eighth on the Tax Foundation's 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, up from 38th in 2020 (Tax Foundation, 2026). | #9 of 50 | 85.3 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyA favorable per-capita balance of payments with no state income tax, so federal transfers loom large against locally raised revenue (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | #16 of 50 | 80.4 |
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesAmong the improving states, with fourth grade reading rising to 23rd nationally in 2024 from 35th in 2022 (NCES, NAEP 2024; Tennessee Department of Education, 2025). | #23 of 50 | 80.9 |
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesAmong the ten lowest state life expectancies, with high rates of premature avoidable death (CDC NCHS, 2023; Commonwealth Fund). | #42 of 50 | 57.7 |
| States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate592.3 per 100,000, the highest rate in the South outside the two leaders and among the top murder-rate states with 7.9 per 100,000 (FBI, 2024). | #47 of 50 | 592.3 |
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