50 in 50: South Carolina and Tennessee

50 in 50: South Carolina and Tennessee

50 states in 50 weeks: U.S. states economic and infrastructure highlights.

Our 50 in 50 series comes to an end with South Carolina and Tennessee.  If you are interested in learning more on the Southeast, join us in March in Miami for our Southeast M&A, Strategy, and Innovation Symposium, the #1 business networking and education event for AE industry principals and investors in the Southeast.

Key Economic Indicators

Measure	South Carolina	Tennessee
GDP (billions)	$220.7	$343.4
GDP 5-year CAGR (U.S.: 1.6%)	2.2%	1.9%
GDP per capita (U.S.: $58,154)	$43,258	$50,423
Population (millions)	5.2	7.0
Population 5-year CAGR	0.8%	1.0%
Unemployment (U.S.: 3.7%)	3.3%	3.5%
Economic outlook ranking	#26	#13
Fiscal health ranking	#39	#6
Overall tax climate ranking	#31	#8

* Compounded annual growth rate (2017-2021)

Top three industries by GDP Growth (last five years):

#	South Carolina	Tennessee
#1	Management of companies and enterprises	Management of companies and enterprises
#2	Information	Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
#3	Finance and insurance	Finance and insurance

Areas with the highest population percentage increase in 2021 vs. 2020:

#	South Carolina	Tennessee
#1	Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC Metro Area	Clarksville, TN-KY Metro Area
#2	Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC Metro Area	Crossville, TN Micro Area
#3	Spartanburg, SC Metro Area	Shelbyville, TN Micro Area

Infrastructure Highlights

South Carolina received a ‘D+’ grade on its 2021 ASCE report card. Aviation, dams, drinking water, roads, transit, and wastewater were considered in poor condition. A recent review of Treasury Department data by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) revealed that South Carolina has put almost $1 billion to use by starting 372 new transportation projects as part of its BIL implementation. In addition, $89 million has been announced for water infrastructure as well as $62 million for resilience against weather events and other hazards. 

Tennessee has been allocated over $3.6 billion so far from the BIL. According to the ARTBA, 837 transportation projects have been started, which represent $1.1 billion out of the $2.8 billion made available for roads, bridges, public transit, ports, and airports. Overall, Tennessee’s infrastructure is in better shape than most U.S. states. The ASCE report card published in 2022 gave the state a ‘C’ grade. The only categories to have poor ratings were dams and transit.

AE Industry

AE Industry Metric	South Carolina	Tennessee
ENR 500 firm headquarters	3	7
M&A buyers since 2018	19	16
M&A sellers since 2018	15	34

For customized market research, contact Rafael Barbosa at [email protected] or 972.266.4955. Connect with him on LinkedIn.