Nolan Scott Team

Nolan Scott Team Business Broker and Commercial Advisor with offices in Atlanta and Chattanooga.

The U.S. holds $40.7 trillion in government debt, more than China, Japan, the UK, and France combined. At 126% of GDP, i...
08/24/2026

The U.S. holds $40.7 trillion in government debt, more than China, Japan, the UK, and France combined. At 126% of GDP, it ranks 9th globally in debt burden relative to its economy.

Japan leads debt-to-GDP at 204%. Italy sits at 138%, Greece at 137%, and France at 118%.

The U.S. benefits from issuing the world's reserve currency, which keeps demand for Treasury bonds high. That privilege is real but it is not unlimited.

At 126% of GDP and growing, the interest payments on this debt increasingly crowd out federal spending on infrastructure, housing programs, and everything else that supports local economies. That is the macro backdrop for every real estate and business decision being made right now. Higher structural debt means higher baseline interest rates, which means mortgage rates and SBA loan rates are not coming back to where they were. Buyers and sellers in Atlanta and Chattanooga who accept this as the new normal and underwrite deals accordingly are the ones closing while everyone else waits for a rate environment that the national balance sheet cannot support.

The debt is not going down. Your strategy needs to account for that.

China tripled its share of global manufacturing in 20 years, from 9% to 27%. The U.S. dropped from 22% to 17%. But 17% o...
08/20/2026

China tripled its share of global manufacturing in 20 years, from 9% to 27%. The U.S. dropped from 22% to 17%. But 17% of a much larger global pie still means America manufactures more in absolute terms than it did in 2005.

The U.S. and EU now each hold 17%, tied for second behind China. Japan fell the hardest, from 13% to 5%.

India grew from 2% to 3% and is actively courting the foreign investment that once flowed exclusively to China.

The combined share held by the U.S., EU, and Japan dropped from 59% to 39% in two decades.

The reshoring conversation is not hypothetical. It is happening, and it is landing disproportionately in the Southeast. Georgia and Tennessee are winning advanced manufacturing site selections because of port access, affordable land, energy costs, and labor availability. Every facility announcement creates a ripple of demand through local service businesses, from industrial staffing and fleet maintenance to commercial cleaning and equipment supply. Those businesses become more valuable as their customer pipelines deepen and stabilize. The U.S. is not going to reclaim 22% global share overnight, but every percentage point recovered creates thousands of downstream business opportunities in the states positioned to capture the investment.

Retiring comfortably in the U.S. requires an estimated $738K. The same retirement in Mexico costs $356K and in Portugal ...
08/19/2026

Retiring comfortably in the U.S. requires an estimated $738K. The same retirement in Mexico costs $356K and in Portugal $478K. Same lifestyle, half the savings.

Singapore tops the list at $1.1M. Switzerland and Iceland both exceed $850K. The U.S. ranks 5th most expensive globally.

Canada comes in at $598K, Spain and Portugal at $478K, and popular destinations like Thailand at $317K and Colombia at $279K.

These estimates assume 14 years and 8 months of retirement, exclude healthcare and taxes, and include a 20% cost cushion.

$738K is a number most Americans are not on track to hit. Median wealth per adult in the U.S. is $69K. That gap explains why nearly 1 in 4 Americans over 65 is still working and why business ownership keeps showing up as the bridge between where people are and where they need to be. A cash-flowing business acquired in your 40s or 50s can generate the income to fund retirement while simultaneously building an asset that sells for multiples of annual earnings when you are ready to exit. In Atlanta and Chattanooga, a business generating $150K in annual owner benefit is not just income. It is a retirement account that pays you now and pays you again at sale.

The retirement number is $738K. The question is whether you save your way there or build your way there.

Vermont charges $18,094 in annual tuition at public universities. Georgia charges $8,537. Same degree, half the cost, an...
08/17/2026

Vermont charges $18,094 in annual tuition at public universities. Georgia charges $8,537. Same degree, half the cost, and half the student debt on the other side.

Florida leads the nation at just $6,359. North Carolina comes in at $7,541. Georgia at $8,537 and Tennessee at $11,742 both sit below the national middle.

All five of the most expensive states are in the Northeast, led by Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

New York bucks the Northeast trend at $8,740, making it one of the few affordable outliers in an expensive region.

College cost is the front end of the affordability pipeline. Lower tuition means graduates in Georgia and Tennessee start their careers with less debt, which means they qualify for mortgages sooner, start businesses earlier, and have more disposable income to spend at local businesses. A 22-year-old leaving UGA with $34K in total tuition debt versus $72K from a comparable Northeast school has a multi-year head start on wealth building. That head start compounds into the same migration, housing demand, and business formation trends the Southeast has been riding for a decade.

The cost of living advantage in the Southeast does not start at your first job. It starts at your first tuition bill.

When I evaluate a trade business as a buyer, here's what I'm looking at before anything else.Can it run without the owne...
08/13/2026

When I evaluate a trade business as a buyer, here's what I'm looking at before anything else.

Can it run without the owner? If revenue follows you out the door, buyers price that risk into every line of the offer.

Are the financials clean? Messy books don't just slow due diligence, they kill deals. Every time.

Is there recurring revenue? Service contracts and repeat customers are the fastest way to move your multiple up.

These aren't secrets. They're the same things every serious buyer in this market is scoring you on right now.

Find out where you stand before they do.

👉 https://www.nolanscottteam.com/scorecard

Unemployment rose in more than half of U.S. states since January 2025. Georgia and Tennessee both moved the other direct...
08/12/2026

Unemployment rose in more than half of U.S. states since January 2025. Georgia and Tennessee both moved the other direction.

Georgia's unemployment dropped 0.2 points to 3.4%. Tennessee fell 0.1 points to 3.6%. Both are improving while most states are softening.

Connecticut posted the largest increase at +1.8 points. Florida jumped +1.3 as its housing and tourism boom cooled. Delaware, Maryland, and Minnesota all rose over a full point.

Indiana and Ohio led the country with the biggest declines, driven by manufacturing and reshoring investment.

When unemployment is rising nationally but falling in your state, that is the definition of taking market share. Georgia and Tennessee are absorbing economic activity that other states are losing. For business owners, a declining unemployment rate means your customer base is employed and spending. For business buyers, it means revenue pipelines in Atlanta and Chattanooga are more durable than in states where the labor market is deteriorating. Florida's +1.3 jump should make anyone chasing Sun Belt deals think carefully about which Sun Belt market they are buying into.

The top 1% now owns 31.9% of all U.S. household wealth. The bottom 50% owns 2.5%. The difference is not income. It is as...
08/10/2026

The top 1% now owns 31.9% of all U.S. household wealth. The bottom 50% owns 2.5%. The difference is not income. It is asset ownership.

The top 1% built wealth through stocks and businesses. The bottom 50% holds wealth almost entirely in home equity, which appreciates far slower.

The upper-middle 40% lost the most ground since 1989, dropping from 35.7% to 29.2% of total wealth. That is the American middle class shrinking in real time.

The 2008 crash drove the bottom 50% down to 0.4% of total wealth because their only asset, their home, collapsed in value.

This chart is not about politics. It is about asset class selection. The people pulling away own businesses and equities. The people falling behind own one house and a savings account. If your entire net worth is your primary residence, you are in the group losing share every single decade. Real estate investors and business owners in Atlanta and Chattanooga who hold income-producing assets are on the right side of this chart. A single rental property or a small business acquisition moves a household from the bottom 50% into the upper-middle 40% in a matter of years. The path from 2.5% to 29.2% is not a promotion at work. It is an asset acquisition.

The U.S. ranks 2nd in average wealth at $696K per adult. It ranks 28th in median wealth at $69K. That 26-spot drop tells...
08/06/2026

The U.S. ranks 2nd in average wealth at $696K per adult. It ranks 28th in median wealth at $69K. That 26-spot drop tells you everything about how wealth is distributed in this country.

Switzerland leads average wealth at $910K but falls to 8th by the median. Luxembourg flips from 3rd to 1st because wealth there is spread more evenly.

Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand all rank higher than the U.S. by median wealth because more of their population actually holds assets, not just the top.

The average is skewed by billionaires. The median is what a normal person owns. And $69K in median wealth means the typical American adult has less than half a year's income saved. That is the affordability crisis, the retirement crisis, and the wealth gap all in one number. It also explains why business ownership remains one of the most reliable paths to moving from the median to the average. A working adult in Atlanta or Chattanooga who acquires a business generating $100K in annual cash flow immediately leapfrogs the national median in net worth within a few years of ownership. Real estate and business acquisition are how regular people close the gap between $69K and $696K.

Every single U.S. state economy grew in 2025. The difference is by how much, and the Southeast led the way.Florida and S...
08/05/2026

Every single U.S. state economy grew in 2025. The difference is by how much, and the Southeast led the way.

Florida and South Carolina topped the nation at 3.1% real GDP growth. Tennessee matched the national average at 2.1%. Georgia came in at 1.9%.

The Southeast and Southwest both averaged 2.3% growth regionally, outpacing the Plains at 1.4% and Great Lakes at 1.7%.

North Dakota posted the slowest growth at 0.3%, hurt by agricultural downturns and trade disruptions.

Every state grew. That is the headline nobody is running. The states growing fastest are the same ones gaining population, attracting corporate relocations, and generating the business formation activity that creates acquisition opportunities. A growing state economy means expanding revenue for local service businesses, which means higher valuations and stronger deal flow for buyers and brokers in Atlanta and Chattanooga. Businesses do not operate in a vacuum. They operate inside local economies, and the Southeast's economy is outperforming most of the country.

Maine reports 92 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. D.C. reports 789. The gap between the safest and most dangerous p...
08/03/2026

Maine reports 92 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. D.C. reports 789. The gap between the safest and most dangerous places in America is nearly 9x.

Georgia sits at 281 per 100,000, well below the national middle and lower than California, New York, and Colorado.

Tennessee ranks 5th highest at 482, a number worth acknowledging honestly. The state's affordability and growth story is real, but safety varies significantly by metro and neighborhood.

D.C.'s rate is inflated by being entirely urban with no suburbs or rural areas to dilute the numbers. Alaska's 731 is driven largely by assault rates in remote communities.

Crime data matters for real estate and business decisions because it directly affects insurance costs, property values, and where people choose to live. Georgia's relatively moderate rate supports the broader livability argument that keeps driving migration into Atlanta's metro. Tennessee's higher rate is concentrated in specific areas, which is why neighborhood-level data matters far more than state averages when evaluating a property or a business location. Buyers and investors who do the micro-level homework find opportunity in both states.

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1372 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA
30309

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