Intriguing article from the Nashville Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2014/08/just-how-american-is-nashville-were-no-1-according.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-08-27&u=FM2s5ovmPvOqJ5ci8PX6pg06577df4&t=1409176855

Just how American is Nashville? We’re No. 1, according to a new study

E.J. Boyer

Staff Reporter- Nashville Business Journal

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Nashville is getting singled out these days for buzzy restaurants, perfectly-crafted coffee and hip bands with unusual names, but a new study shows that we’re actually just like the rest of America.

A new report from Wallethub ranks Nashville as the No. 1 U.S. city that most resembles America overall, based on demographic stats including age, income, race, education household makeup, and household tenure.

The survey, which relied on data from the U.S. Census and Zillow, considered the 366 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. The data set included 26 metrics divided into four categories. Metrics ranged from average age and education level to median house price, wealth gap and civilian employment by industry.

When tallied, a score of “1” means the city most closely resembled the country as a whole in that category, while a score of “366” means it resembled the country the least.

Nashville ranked No. 8 in socio-demographics, No. 19 in housing, No. 7 in economics and No. 4 in education, earning it the top overall spot.

Other cities in the top five are Cincinnati, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; Charleston, S.C.; and Jacksonville, Fla.

Among bigger cities ranking low on the report are Boulder, Colo. (No. 365); Washington, D.C. (No. 340); and Los Angeles (no. 313).