Middle Tennessee mystery

[Linus Van Pelt]

As far as the northern part of the Mid-Tennessee goes (which is where the Dem vote is a bit stronger), The Appalachian Regional Commission puts this area with "Central Appalachia", along with the other regions we typically think of as more "Appalachian" than "Southern".


Economically, too, this area more in common with E KY/ S WV than the rest of the south does. First, high school completion rate, 2000:


Second, poverty rate (as a % of US average):

[Linus Van Pelt]

Yes, the boundaries are a lot wider than "Appalachia" in any coherent sense; if wikipedia is to be trusted, this is mainly the work of congressmen on the border areas looking for pork. (Though in fairness, I imagine the Atlanta suburban counties were probably rural when it was set up in the Great Society).

But I don't think this affects the main point I was trying to make: north-central Tennessee is a serious mountain poverty area like eastern Kentucky, not merely a generic somewhat-downscale area like the hillier inland parts of the coastal southern states.