Why Companies and Families Keep Moving From California to Tennessee

Paramount just settled the antitrust lawsuit that had it threatening to leave California, clearing the way for its Warner Bros. Discovery merger — but that doesn't mean its Nashville office search is over. Before the settlement, Paramount had already toured office space near downtown Nashville and contacted developers about roughly 400,000 square feet, and the company has not said whether that search is continuing. What is clear is that the pressures behind it haven't gone away: Los Angeles has lost about 57,000 entertainment jobs in four years, and more than 80 production companies have closed in that same span.

Those numbers reflect a pattern that has nothing to do with one lawsuit — businesses and families have been leaving California for Tennessee for years, and the math behind it is straightforward. California's top state income tax rate is 13.3%, compared to zero in Tennessee, saving a median-income household close to $2,800 a year in income tax alone. Homes in Williamson County — including Brentwood, Franklin, and Fairview — are often larger and less expensive than comparable homes in coastal California, while Williamson County Schools rank among the best in the state and the area consistently ranks among Tennessee's safest counties.

Whether or not Paramount ultimately follows through on Nashville, the reasons companies and families keep making this move haven't changed.