Poll says Nashville people are unhappy with Nashville

More than half of the people surveyed in an annual Vanderbilt University poll believe Nashville is headed in the wrong direction.

Why it matters: Satisfaction with the city's trajectory is at 47%, its lowest point since Vanderbilt started polling city issues in 2015. Residents' impressions of city institutions like the Metro Council are sinking, too.

• The findings come as growth continues to drive home prices and the cost of living higher.

Flashback: Five years ago, in 2017, only about one in four poll respondents said Nashville was on the wrong track.

• Back then, 68% thought the city was headed in the right direction.

Yes, but: Despite being disgruntled with the city as a whole, a majority of those polled still had a positive view of the council, Mayor John Cooper, the school system and the police department.

By the numbers: Cooper's approval rating sits at 56%, according to the poll, down from 80% in 2020.

• The council has a 54% approval rating, down from 70% two years ago.

What they're saying: The gap between the negative view of the city and positive marks for local officials could suggest "some of the malaise … is probably just general effects that are kind of beyond the control of people in Nashville itself," Josh Clinton, co-director of the Vanderbilt poll, said in a statement.

Between the lines: Vanderbilt polled 1,008 adult residents from March 18-April 16.

• The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points.

Zoom out: The Vanderbilt poll hasn't always been a reliable predictor of electoral success. In April 2019, then-Mayor David Briley received 66% approval in a Vanderbilt poll.

• In the September election, Briley earned just 30% of the vote and lost to Cooper.