Survey: These Are the Fastest- and Slowest-Growing Cities in America

December 18, 2019 3 min read

This story originally appeared on Ladders

The fastest-growing cities in the U.S. are in the south and west, according to a new survey.

Personal finance website WalletHub recently compared more than 500 cities across the U.S. to find which ones are booming. By comparing several different metrics like unemployment rates and population growth, the survey found that Lehigh Acres, Fla., and Mount Pleasant, S.C., are the two fastest-growing cities.

Lehigh Acres ranked the highest for cities with a population between 100,000 and 300,000. It was tied with some other cities for having the highest population growth in the U.S. Mount Pleasant, S.C., took the top spot for small cities with a population of less than 100,000, while Austin, Tex., was named the fastest-growing “large” city.

It pays to live in Texas

With some dubbing it the next Silicon Vally, it’s no surprise Austin was found to be one of the fastest-growing cities with a population of more than 300,000 people.

Housing headquarters for booming companies like Keller Williams and Whole Foods Market, Austin seem to be on the up-and-up. However, it ranked just No. 15 overall on WalletHub’s list, behind other Texas cities like Midland, McKinney, College Station, Round Rock and Frisco.

Frisco experienced the highest job growth of any city, according to the survey.

Miami, Fla., ranked second for large cities with Seattle, Wash., Henderson, Nev., and Denver, Colo., filling out the top five.

While Lehigh Acres took the top spot, the fastest-growing mid-size cities are all in Texas.

Six Texas cities ranked inside the top 10 for mid-size cities, with Frisco ranking at the top of those due to experiencing the highest job growth of any city, according to the survey.

Florida was represented beyond Lehigh Acres, with Cape Coral ranking at No. 5. Enterprise, Nev., and Meridian, Idaho, also placed in the top five.

California, here we come

Mount Pleasant, S.C., had the highest aggregate score for smaller cities with fewer than 100,000 people.

While Ben, Ore., and Fort Myers, Fla., followed in the rankings, numerous cities in California ranked inside the top ten, including Milpitas, Chino, Indio, Manteca and Pleasanton.

The Golden State had nine total cities ranking in the top 20 fastest-growing smaller cities, according to the survey.

Fastest-Growing Cities in America

1. Lehigh Acres, Fla.
2. Mount Pleasant, S.C.
3. Bend, Ore.
4. Enterprise, Nev.
5. Frisco, Tex.
6. Fort Myers, Fla.
7. Meridian, Idaho
8. St. George, Utah
9. Cape Coral, Fla.
10. Round Rock, Tex.

Slowest-Growing Cities in America

506. Portsmouth, Va.
507. Waterloo, Iowa
508. Anchorage, Ark.
509. Albany, Ga.
510. Springfield, Ill.
511. Decatur, Ill.
512. Davenport, Iowa
513. Erie, Penn.
514. Canton, Ohio
515. Shreveport, La.