Episode summary
Rising Costs and Inflation Are Squeezing the US South | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 8 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Brett Pulley
Summary
Southern states such as Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina once drew people with lower housing costs, lower taxes and a reputation for affordability. Brett Pulley says that post-pandemic migration accelerated that trend, bringing fast growth to places like Atlanta and Nashville, along with major corporate moves such as Starbucks and Oracle expanding into Tennessee. But the same influx is now pushing up costs quickly, and house prices in some areas have risen about 60% since 2019 while wages have not kept pace.
The result, he argues, is a widening squeeze on the traditional middle class and long-time residents who can cover rent and utilities but cannot build savings. He says the region is increasingly catering to a luxury consumer, with higher-end retail and restaurants clustering in hot neighborhoods, yet many communities lack enough buyers to support those elevated prices. That makes the old low-cost advantage less reliable.
Pulley also says the strain is becoming politically salient, with people in Nashville and Atlanta focused on what the changing cost of living means for their future. He does not hear widespread talk of leaving, but he does hear a sense that the South’s affordability edge is slipping as it converges with pricier parts of the country.
Key takeaways
- Brett Pulley says post-pandemic migration accelerated in the Sun Belt, especially in Atlanta and Nashville, as workers and retirees chased lower costs and taxes.
- Pulley reports that home prices in some southern markets have risen about 60% since 2019, while wages have not kept up.
- He says companies such as Starbucks and Oracle are moving in, but the influx is also driving higher rents, property taxes and a sharper tilt toward luxury consumers.
- Pulley says many residents can pay bills but struggle to save, suggesting a squeezed middle class that could shape both local politics and the broader economy.
Notable quotes
“Houses have gone up since 2019 like 60%. And so wages are not keeping up with that despite these you know these new professional jobs”
“there's this this struggle to have a critical mass of consumers who can immediately support these these fast rising rent prices, these property these uh prices on property taxes and go luxury”
“You have a lot of people who are not poor. They can pay the rent, they can pay the utilities, but they struggle to save for the future”
“we didn't hear anyone say that they were ready to leave this area because of I think overall the feeling is still that it's a favorable region of the country to live in”
“gee, I can pay my bills, but I'm not sure that I can do anything else at this point”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — For decades, Tennessee along with other southern states, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, they really stood out for their affordability. I mean, Carol, how many members of your family have moved from the Northeast to
Southeast? — One of those states. — Yeah, exactly. A lot of it's about getting away from higher costs, getting away from taxes, lower housing costs, although they have seen some numbers go up. — Yeah, it's drawn a steady influx of American retirees and also black professionals from some of the highest cost parts of the country. That is changing though.
It is indeed. With more on this, we head to another southern city, Atlanta, and to Bloomberg News Atlanta bureau chief. He is Brett Pulley. Hey Brett, so glad we could bring everybody your story. Um, first of all, let's take a step back, talk about the migration. I've seen it in my own family. Um, people moving down south. Um, what's been going on and why have so many moved?
Sure. Well, it's it's something that has been going on perhaps for some time in some of these big metro areas in the south such as Atlanta or Nashville, but we've really seen it pick up, I think, you know, post pandemic uh as people gravitated to so many of these Sunb Belt states and cities. Uh and what's happened is tremendously fast growth.
Uh and along with that has come some tremendous benefits. As you mentioned in Nashville, for example, Starbucks, they're in the process of moving thousands of employees there. Oracle is in the process of moving like 8,500 employees there by 2031.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- inflation
- rising costs
- cost of living
- wage stagnation
- us south
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