- More Nashvillians (56 percent) think the city is on the wrong track than just a year ago (42 percent), which may reflect reactions to the recent ice storm, which affected 76 percent of the respondents.
- Approval for Mayor Freddie O’Connell drops from 67 percent in 2025 to 54 percent in 2026, which also can be attributed, in part, to the impact of January’s ice storm. The same pattern holds for public’s approval of Metro Council.
- The public’s approval of NES stands at 39 percent.
- Nashvillians view affordable housing as their top and growing priority (73 percent), and they don’t think neighborhoods are being prioritized by the city (71 percent).
The results of 2026 Vanderbilt Poll–Nashville reflect, in part, the effects of the ice storm that gripped the region in late January. The storm and its aftermath zapped the level of optimism that city residents have enjoyed for the past decade, and respondents also expressed more concerns about Nashville’s direction and leadership. Approval ratings for the school board, police and fire departments remained relatively stable, but Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Metro Council suffered a notable dip in public support.
The Vanderbilt Poll asked for the first time about Nashville Electric Service, largely to gauge opinion after much of the city was without power for several days due to Winter Storm Fern. Nashvillians largely disapproved of NES (61 percent). And in a 14-point drop from 2025, the majority of Nashvillians (56 percent) now think the city is on the wrong track.
After public education (78 percent), which has long been the top priority of the public, affordable housing emerged as the issue 73 percent of residents want O’Connell to address, up from 61 percent in 2025. Respondents equally prioritized reducing traffic, reducing crime and ensuring the city’s long-term financial health, at 63 percent each.
The survey was conducted from Feb. 20 through March 14, 2026, less than a month after Winter Storm Fern. One of the most destructive ice storms in Nashville’s history, it affected about 230,000 homes across Davidson County and left thousands of residents without power for more than a week. That experience very likely colored perceptions of local leadership and utility companies. Among poll respondents, 76 percent reported being affected by the storm, and 66 percent said they lost power. So, no one should view these drops as permanent. The city will likely rebound as Nashvillians get distance from the ice storm.
Approval of O’Connell
While most Nashvillians (54 percent) still approve of O’Connell, the survey revealed a significant decline from previous years. Just one year ago, 67 percent approved—down from 71 percent in 2024. Only 35 percent of survey respondents approved of his handling of storm recovery efforts; 35 percent disapproved.
“Along with the ice storm, the mayor over the last year has navigated polarizing issues from the state and federal governments, including immigration upheaval and economic uncertainty,” said John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, senior advisor to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, and Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science. “This drop is significant, but in today’s politics an approval rating of 54 percent is still a good sign for the mayor,” Geer added.
O’Connell’s approval fell most sharply among Republicans, down from 56 percent in 2024 to 25 percent in 2026. He maintains 71 percent approval among Democrats, a 12 point drop from 2025. A majority of Independents (54 percent) still approve of the mayor, down from 65 percent in 2024. The increasingly polarized view toward the mayor almost certainly reflects the impact of national issues like immigration, where Republicans and Democrats strongly disagree about how local officials should respond.
Despite the bipartisan drops in approval, 35 percent of respondents still said O’Connell best represents their views. That’s down from 44 percent in 2025, but it’s still outpacing Metro Council (25 percent), Gov. Bill Lee (24 percent) and the General Assembly (15 percent).
NES lacks Nashville’s trust
Of all the survey’s findings, the starkest may be the low approval of Nashville Electric Service. Only 39 percent approve of the job the utility is doing, while 61 percent disapprove. When asked specifically about NES’s handling of the ice storm recovery, the same story emerges: 61 percent disapprove. As for who was most responsible for problems following the storm, 37 percent blamed NES and only 9 percent blamed the mayor’s office. But notably most respondents held Mother Nature responsible—44 percent. Among city services, the survey showed much stronger approval for Metro Water Services (60 percent) and Metro Trash and Recycling (57 percent).
Increasing the reliability of city services, such as utilities and trash, is now considered a top priority by 49 percent of Nashvillians, up from 38 percent in 2025—which also is likely driven, in part, by the consequences of the ice storm.
Another noteworthy finding: For the first time in survey history, Metro Council faced a disapproving majority. The council’s disapproval rose to 50 percent, while its approval dropped to 48 percent. Other city institutions were largely stable, with Metro Nashville Fire Department enjoying the highest approval ratings at 95 percent. Metro Nashville Police Department received 72 percent overall approval, a modest 4 point gain from the previous year.
Growing unease about housing, cost of living
Residents expressed growing concerns about population growth and the rising cost of living in Nashville. A full 82 percent report that they cannot afford to buy a house in Davidson County, and only 36 percent said they plan to buy a house in the county. These economic strains are reflected in the priority of “bringing new good jobs to the city” more than doubling—from 18 percent in 2025 to 43 percent in 2026. Only 8 percent of residents rate the condition of Nashville’s economy as “very good,” down from 12 percent in 2025.
“Unaffordability threatens the long-term fabric of the community, and the numbers show that most residents are concerned about being able to afford a home in Nashville,” said Vanderbilt Poll co-director Josh Clinton, who holds the Abby and Jon Winkelried Chair at Vanderbilt and is a professor of political science. “Faced with Nashville’s rapid growth, residents are worried about being priced out of the city they call home.”
Although 73 percent of respondents identify housing affordability as a top priority, support for building multifamily housing in local neighborhoods has decreased a bit since 2025. More than half (53 percent) of residents now believe multifamily housing, such as duplexes and apartments, should be allowed only in dense areas to preserve the character of less-populated areas. Another 47 percent support allowing multifamily construction citywide to revitalize local economies. This is a reversal from 2025, when the majority supported widespread multifamily housing.
“By a 2-to-1 margin, residents feel that recent changes in Nashville have not been good for the city—from traffic concerns to the pace of population growth,” Geer said. “At the same time, there’s demand for more local job creation. This points to deeper issues of affordability and the need for Nashville’s leadership to prioritize ways to ease the concerns of its residents.”
Nearly half (48 percent) said recent changes have made their day-to-day lives worse, compared with only 24 percent who said they have made it better. A majority (79 percent) of residents believe Nashville’s population is growing too quickly—a pattern that has been true for more than five years. These numbers are congruent with “heavy traffic to and from downtown” emerging as the top reason (cited by 32 percent) that Nashville residents avoid the city’s center.
Residents want local improvements, not abstract projects
Nashville residents surveyed want the city to focus more on improving life for neighborhoods than on prioritizing niche agendas and abstract, large-scale projects. A vast majority (71 percent) of residents surveyed believe the city government spends too little time addressing problems in neighborhoods generally.
The poll tested public sentiment on several specific city proposals for tunnels and the racetrack, with notable results. For starters, the public’s support for Elon Musk’s tunnel project is heavily influenced by partisanship. Opposition to construction of the tunnel increases from 35 percent to 51 percent when Musk’s name is explicitly mentioned in the question. Meanwhile, there is limited support for bringing NASCAR to the racetrack. Twenty-six percent are in favor of the move, but 36 percent call for eliminating the racetrack.
Bike lanes, which the O’Connell administration has prioritized, received a mixed response. Of those surveyed, 45 percent support adding bike lanes—but only where it is easy to do so. Another 28 percent of residents polled do not want more bike lanes in the city.
“The data suggests that most residents want the city to focus on real, day-to-day problems in their neighborhoods rather than some of the larger projects and developments around the city that are more visible and therefore tend to attract the most attention,” Clinton said.
