‘You are barely surviving’: New report shows thousands do not make livable wage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville residents are seeing a widening gap in the city’s affordability and quality of life, according to a newly released 2023 Community Needs Evaluation.
Brenda Waybrant told News 2 she has lived and worked in Nashville’s restaurant scene for 11 years.
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“I worked downtown in a tourist restaurant, and it was really awesome to meet people from all over the world,” Waybrant said. “It was like a little human behavior experiment.”
Waybrant’s main reason for remaining in the restaurant industry, however, often working two jobs, for the last 11 years is the need for basic necessities, like a roof over her head.
“If you are working two or three jobs just to get a roof over your head, I mean, you are barely surviving,” the Nashville bartender said. “For anybody making less than $70,000 a year, it just doesn’t work.”
A 2023 Community Needs Evaluation found that 212,000 Nashville workers do not earn livable wages; 152,000 Nashville renters struggle to afford rent.
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“Largely, these are residents who go to work every single day and they sometimes have been on their jobs for many, many years, but because the wages haven’t kept up with what it costs to live here in Davidson County, it makes it really tough,” Lisa McCrady Beverly with the Metropolitan Action Commission said.
“The folks that I talk to are just frustrated that their time has to be spent, all of their time has to be spent working, and they are exhausted when they are not working,” Waybrant said. “Again, that is not living; that is just surviving.”
The 60-page report said 72% of Nashvillians see a growing divide between rich and poor. That divide impacts a Nashvillian’s quality of life in terms of affording meals, education, health, and even seeing family.
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“I have family that I haven’t seen in like six or seven years because traveling is expensive, and when you work in a restaurant, if you are not there, you are not getting time off, you know, like you are not getting vacation pay,” Waybrant said.
As people continue to move to Nashville, the wage gap is anticipated to grow, but the Metro Action Commission said the data brings attention to the problem so a solution can be found.
“We work here, and in some cases, our coworkers have to go home to other counties because they can’t afford to live here,” McCrady Beverly said. “And so that is something that we have got to pay attention to, and some strategy on how we impact that.”
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