Notable leading growth cities included Brentwood, Clarksville, Cookeville, Franklin, Hendersonville, La Vergne, Lebanon, Madison, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Shelbyville, and White House.

Lidar data already existed for the region along the Nolichucky from 2016. Using recent scans and data, ETSU and the Tennessee Climate Office were able to create the sliding map.

According to Kyle Oden, host of the popular YouTube channel Geography King, most of Middle Tennessee's "coolest" cities are those within a close proximity to Nashville.