You know what? I have to disagree with the survey on this one.
There’s no other way to put it: Music City is one of the premiere tourist destinations in the United States. 17.4 million people visited Nashville in 2025, and that annual visitor number is expected to gradually increase in the next couple of years (especially with the Super Bowl on its way).
Though often criticized for some of it’s touristy characteristics, people evidently can’t get enough of the pedal taverns, artist-owned bars, hot chicken, and $15 beers.
That being said, locals aren’t apparently too keen on the downtown scene (great rhyme, right? I’ll be here all week), and a new survey proves that the urban center isn’t sticky enough for Nashvillians to visit the area that’s a short drive for them… and often a multi-hour trip for tourists.
Gensler’s City Pulse 2026 report found that Music City came in at No. 21 in the United States with a stickiness score of 49. That score puts Nashville at No. 57 on the global list of sticky cities. And to be clear – and I’ll admit I’ve been leading you on for a couple of paragraphs – “sticky” refers to a measurement of how frequently residents of the area visit, and how much time they spend there (probably not the “sticky” you were thinking of).
Gensler Global Cities Research Leader Sofia Song described it like this:
“People aren’t staying away because they dislike their downtowns. They’re staying away because the pull isn’t strong enough, the friction is too high, or both. There aren’t enough reasons to go — or enough reasons to linger once they’re there. Some of that friction is physical: getting there, finding a place to sit, escaping the heat. Some of it is social: the feeling that downtown simply wasn’t built for you.”
Yeah, that’s all true for Downtown Nashville. Most locals don’t even bother fighting the traffic or trying to find a parking spot to go down to all of the Honky Tonks of Broadway.
But if you are like me, finding out that Nashville’s “stickiness” score has nothing to do with how literally sticky it feels is a bit of a bummer, is it not? Well good news for you… we’ve gathered some information and we’re ready to discuss the physical stickiness of Broadway.
According to Whiskey Riff’s study – which I conducted myself during a recent trip down to Nashville’s famous Broadway area – we’d say that Downtown Nashville reaches the “very sticky” level, in a literal sense. For some reason when you walk the streets of Broadway, your shoes stick to the concrete. What’s the reasoning? We’re not exactly sure, but considering another report just came out saying 70% of Downtown Nashville’s trash is liquid… we think it might be that.
There’s also the element of humidity, which Nashville, Tennessee’s climate boasts. That also creates a sticky effect during the summer months, when walking outside immediately results in a coating of sweat that makes anything and everything – including your newly purchased cowboy hat and denim accessories – stick right to you.
As far as we see it, Nashville is No. 1 on the list of “Sticky Cities.”
