Nashville Humming Along
The economy of the Nashville region is one of the ten most diversified city economies in the nation, according to Moody's Investors Service.

In the Moody's report, the cities were ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. No city got 100, a score that would mean a city's economic profile matched that of the nation as a whole. With a score of 94.1, Nashville placed eighth out of 100 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas. Chicago and Little Rock, Ark., shared the top score of 95.1.

For other Tennessee metro areas, Knoxville was 36th with a score of 89.2, while Memphis' 84.1 placed it 64th. Wichita, Kan., finished last with a score of 16.9, showing that the city's economic profile is skewed by its aviation manufacturing. Economists, business leaders and politicians have long touted Nashville's diversity in employers. The employment base is spread among various sectors, including government, education, health care, manufacturing and services.

Hmm. As a business reporter in the early 1990s, I learned that Nashville tended to be last-in and first-out when it came to national economic slumps, but I wondered if increasing reliance on the auto manufacturing industry was going to change that very much. Verdict: nope.