FILE - he downtown skyline is seen on March 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
If you’re looking for a fresh start or possibly want to start a new venture, it always helps to know where the potential for growth is.
LendingTree found and ranked the biggest boomtowns in the United States based on eight unique metrics grouped into three categories: people and housing, work and earnings, and business and economy.
Did your city make the list?
Top 10 cities with the fastest growth
Top 10 cities with the slowest growth
For a list of the full ranking, click here.
Southern metros topped the list
Dig deeper:
Five of the top 10 metros with the fastest growth were located in Florida.
- Orlando (2nd)
- North Port (3rd)
- Cape Coral (5th)
- Lakeland (8th)
- Deltona (9th)
Some of the factors around why many of the top 10 cities were in Florida included:
- Warm weather
- Lower taxes
- Relaxed regulations
- Affordable housing
- Job opportunities
Other cities in Texas and Colorado also made the top 10 list.
The other side:
New Orleans, Louisiana, was ranked at the bottom and LendingTree speculated the reason is due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as well poor financial decisions.
Other cities with low growth included Rochester, New York (93), and San Jose (92).
What they're saying:
"Being in an area that isn’t really growing can create some significant challenges for businesses," Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, said. "People simply may not have as much money to spend — or if they do have money, they may not feel comfortable spending much of it because of economic struggles in their area. People who are unsure about their own financial situation tend to be pretty cautious with their money, and that’s not great news for businesses in their area."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from a LendingTree study that used data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2021 and data from the American Community Survey in 2023. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — BLS — Local Area Unemployment Statistics between 2021 and 2023 were also used. This story was reported from San Jose.