Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett on Wednesday revealed that the Volunteer State set new records for new business filings and annual reports during the first three months of 2026, calling the data “good leading indicators of growth and jobs,” even as inflation is impacted nationally by the conflict with Iran.
Hargett made the remarks during a press call ahead of the release of his office’s quarterly report on first quarter business and economic indicators, which included data showing a 20.6 percent increase in the number of new business filings, and a 30.4 percent increase in annual reports, when compared to last year.
“These records weren’t just achieved by inching above” prior levels, noted Hargett.
Tennessee saw 24,852 new entities formed in the first quarter, as well as 241,706 annual reports submitted, representing the highest quarterly totals since the state began tracking this data in 1993, according to the report by Hargett’s office.
Eighty-nine percent of these filings were domestic, or filed from within Tennessee, while foreign entities accounted for the remaining 11 percent.
Davidson County saw the greatest number of new filings, with 4,095 submitted during the first quarter. However, Knox County saw the greatest year-over-year growth, increasing the number by 33.8 percent since 2025.
The report also showed Tennessee’s population continues to grow in 2025, adding almost 64,000 new residents.
“Tennessee’s welcoming business climate and quality of life continue to attract new residents,” said Hargett, noting that Tennessee remained the 10th fastest-growing state in the union.
When accounting for Tennesseans who left the state, the report found a total of 42,389 Americans relocated to Tennessee last year, making the state the fourth-highest for domestic migration. The report attributed this to Tennessee’s lack of a state income tax, strong business climate, and low cost of living when compared to other states.
It also found that Tennessee’s unemployment remained at 3.6 percent in May, unchanged from April, and 0.7 percentage points lower than the national rate of 4.3 percent.
The report was prepared by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK) Haslam College of Business. Economist Dr. Don Bruce, who directs the center at UTK, said in his Wednesday remarks to the press that the data left him “reasonably confident” in Tennessee’s economy.
“Just when we thought things were slowing down a bit in terms of employment growth in Tennessee, along comes this new report,” said Bruce. “This is just an indicator of perhaps why we remain reasonably confident about the strength of Tennessee’s economy.”
Hargett noted the report illustrated a positive picture “despite headwinds,” which Bruce seemed to suggest are mostly generated by inflation that spiked due to rising energy costs caused by the conflict with Iran.
“What we’ve seen with the inflation data is that inflation has ticked back up, more to do with oil prices, and when prices go up faster than incomes we tend to pay a little bit more attention,” said Bruce.
“We anticipate inflation will get back under control in the next several months,” Bruce added, “but we do not expect interest rate cuts in the next 12 months or so.”
Though much of the data is positive for Tennessee, the report also noted “growing pains” associated with the current “pace of growth,” and highlights that home prices and rents have each increased by 56 percent and 42 percent since 2019.
The Tennessee Secretary of State report notably echoes recent labor force estimates published by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which found just one county with a jobless rate over 5 percent in the state.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
