The South hosts a substantial number of the metro areas experiencing the fastest growth in the U.S.
That’s according to a recently released report from LendingTree that determined eight of America’s 10 “biggest boomtowns” were located in the south, with Texas and Florida leading the way.
Four different states within the South had a presence among the top 10 fastest-growing cities, with a Western state — Colorado — also making an appearance, according to LendingTree.
Florida was a standout, claiming half of the spots in the LendingTree’s ranking of the top 10.
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The site identified the 10 fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S. using data that took into account measures such as median earnings, annual gross domestic product changes, population, housing and active workforce populations from 2021-2023 that it grouped within broader categories of “people and housing,” “work and earnings” and “business and economy.”
At the top of its ranking, the below five metros were found to have shown the fastest growth.
Austin, Texas
In addition to receiving the No. 1 overall ranking for growth, the capital of the Lone Star state also took the top spot for the “people and housing” and “business and economy” categories, according to the report. Its annual gross domestic product posted a 14.6% jump between 2021 and 2023, more than any other metro LendingTree looked at.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando, which placed No. 2 overall, had the highest score when it came to “work and earnings,” per LendingTree.
North Port, Florida
North Port is located in southwestern Florida not far from Sarasota. It showed strong growth in its GDP, number of houses and number of residents, among other things, according to the report.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often referred to as Music City, serves as the capital of Tennessee. It was found to be the city exhibiting the fourth-fastest growth, with a score of 69.5 overall, LendingTree said.
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral posted a rise of 12.3% in annual GDP between 2021 and 2023 and notched quite a jump in employer identification numbers, helping it place No. 2 in the “business and economy” category, the report indicated. The metro sits across the Caloosahatchee River from Fort Myers.
The remaining five metros that made up the 10 “biggest boomtowns” included Colorado Springs, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Lakeland, Florida; Deltona, Florida; and Denver, Colorado.
LendingTree linked Florida’s large presence in the top 10 to its tax policies, its post-secondary institutions supplying workers and its business policies.
In total, the site analyzed 100 of the country’s biggest metros. Apart from one of them, each city had a decrease in its unemployment rate between 2021 and 2023, according to the report.
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