The Texas capital is the place to be, population growth data shows.
A new report by LendingTree reveals Austin is the nation's leading "boomtown" — a term used for cities experiencing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity. The study analyzed the 100 largest U.S. metro areas across eight metrics in three categories: people and housing, work and earnings, and business and economy.
Here's what the data revealed.
Austin remains fastest-growing US metro
Once again, numbers show Austin is leading the country's boomtowns. LendingTree reports the metro recorded the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 14.6% and the third-largest increase in housing units with 9.4%.
The Central Texas metro's population grew by 5.1%, and nearly one in five (18.9%) new residents came from another county, state or country.
8 of 10 fastest-growing cities are in the South
Joining Austin in rapid growth are seven other Southern cities — five of which are located in a single state. Half of the top ten cities are in Florida.
Unemployment falling in 99 of 100 major US metros
Of the nation's 100 biggest metros, only Provo, Utah saw an uptick (12.5%) in unemployment between 2021 and 2023. In 2021, it had the lowest unemployment rate among metros at 2.4%, but the rate increased to 2.7% in 2023.
Meanwhile, the four metros with the biggest drops in unemployment — Baltimore, Honolulu, Miami and Hartford — reported decreases of over 50%.
10 biggest US boomtowns
LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst, Matt Schulz, offered suggestions for business owners in boomtowns.
"A booming population may mean a better talent pool to pick from for employees," Schulz said. "An influx of business growth may mean greater competition, which could help lower some of the costs of running your business. It could also mean greater opportunity to partner with other companies when it comes to marketing, training or other aspects of business. It could mean more networking opportunities. The list goes on and on."
- Austin, Texas
- Orlando, Florida
- North Port, Florida
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Lakeland, Florida
- Deltona, Florida
- Denver, Colorado
10 US metros with slowest growth
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Toledo, Ohio
- Kiryas Joel, New York
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Chicago, Illinois
- Rochester, New York
- San Jose, California
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
