Hamilton County ranked fifth among Tennessee counties for economic activity, but 61st in economic momentum, a recent report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations states.

But local government and economic officials said the study, which tracks economic growth between 1990 and 2006, doesn’t represent the county’s current economic status.

“Over the course of the last year, some dramatic things have happened in our local economy,” said J.Ed Marston, spokesman for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. “As a result, you can’t really predict anything about the future based on past performance. Chattanooga’s economy has unlimited prospects for growth.”

Hamilton County Commissioner Richard Casavant, chairman of the commission’s Economic Development Committee, said the Volkswagenauto assembly plant will change Hamilton County’s business landscape, though it hasn’t done so yet.

Dr. Casavant, who is also the dean of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s College of Business, said VW has improved the county’s economic outlook.

Lynnisse Roehrich-Patrick, the author of the advisory commission’s study, said the report isn’t necessarily meant to be predictive but rather serve as a starting point for further research and discussion.

“We hope to follow up with deeper analysis of these issues as time goes by, but we wanted to find a way to get basic information out more quickly so people can start thinking and talking about it,” she said.

Ms. Roehrich-Patrick said VW likely would have a positive effect on Hamilton County’s economy, given the effects of the Nissan plant in Rutherford County and Saturn in Maury County. But because Hamilton is much larger than those two counties, it won’t have as big of an impact, she said.

The state group based its rankings of Tennessee’s 95 counties on factors such as property values; the combined values of commercial, industrial and utility property; commuting workers; and taxable sales.

Williamson County, Tenn., home to Murfreesboro and Franklin, ranked No. 1 for economic status and momentum. Davidson and Sevier counties came next at No. 2 and No. 3.

“We define momentum for this purpose as the speed and direction the status indicator is moving,” the commission’s report states.

Property values and business development were big factors for Williamson and Davidson counties, Ms. Roehrich-Patrick said. Tourism was a key reason Sevier County was ranked so highly, she said.

At the other end of the spectrum, nearby Grundy County was ranked 95th — dead last — in Tennessee for economic well-being and Bledsoe County was 89th.

Gregg Ridley, mayor of Bledsoe County, said the ranking didn’t take into account that his county is chiefly rural. Much of the county is farm and timber, land classified as “greenbelt” under Tennessee law and subject to lower property taxes, he said.

“Yes, Bledsoe County’s taxable property values as a whole are lower than most counties because many of the landowners are listed under the greenbelt and we have one of the lowest property tax rates in Tennessee,” he said. “It may be the vast timberland or the farmland which brings our overall value down.”

Researchers took population into account to make sure the largest counties didn’t necessarily rank the highest, the report states. But Dr. Casavant said that could skew the data. One or two new employers could have a much greater impact on smaller counties, thus boosting their momentum, than on larger counties, he said.

The report explains that many counties — mostly suburban counties with lots of commuters to other counties — were better off in terms of residents’ economic well-being than for economic activity in general.

“We think this is because many residents cross county lines each day for work, commuting to counties with more economic activity,” the report says. “They may earn more by doing that, but they also spend more of their income outside their county of residence.”

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