Special Report
Crestview Is One of the Fastest Growing Cities in America
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An average of about 34.3 million Americans packed up and moved each year over the last decade. Some did so to be in a better neighborhood, while others moved for job opportunities or another reason. And some U.S. cities have proven to be much better than others at drawing in new residents and appealing to those who are starting families.
Using metropolitan area level data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community survey, 24/7 Wall St. identified America’s fastest growing cities. We ranked metro areas based on population change from July 2010 to July 2019. Each metro area on this list has reported a population growth of at least 19% over that period.
We also considered supplemental data on median household income and median home value from the Census’ ACS. Data on annual unemployment rate and employment changes came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Population change is the product of two factors — net migration and natural growth. Natural growth is the number of births over a given period less the number of deaths. Net migration is the difference between the number of new residents — either from other parts of the country or from abroad or the number of residents who have left the area.
The Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin metro area, located in Florida’s panhandle, is home to about 285,000 people, 20.7% more than in 2010. Of the seven Florida metro areas with population growth of 19% or higher, Crestview is the only one located on the panhandle.
The local job market has remained relatively strong in the area in the last decade. As of 2019, just 2.7% of the local labor force were out of work, well below the comparable 3.7% national unemployment rate. Even in 2010, the local unemployment rate of 8.6% was a full percentage point below the national rate.
Rank: | Metro area: | Pop. change; 2010-2019: | Median home value change; 2010-2019: | Unemployment rate; 2019: | Total 2019 pop.: |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Villages, FL | +41.7% | +49.4% | 4.6% | 132,420 |
2 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC | +32.0% | +31.5% | 4.0% | 496,901 |
3 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | +29.8% | +69.7% | 2.7% | 2,227,083 |
4 | Midland, TX | +28.9% | +74.5% | 2.1% | 182,603 |
5 | St. George, UT | +28.6% | +48.9% | 3.0% | 177,556 |
6 | Greeley, CO | +28.3% | +101.0% | 2.5% | 324,492 |
7 | Bend, OR | +25.3% | +58.6% | 3.9% | 197,692 |
8 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | +24.5% | +63.7% | 3.1% | 770,577 |
9 | Provo-Orem, UT | +23.0% | +61.7% | 2.4% | 648,252 |
10 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | +23.0% | +37.4% | 3.4% | 1,390,785 |
11 | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | +22.5% | +26.7% | 2.7% | 223,234 |
12 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | +22.2% | +51.2% | 3.0% | 2,608,147 |
13 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | +21.5% | +34.2% | 2.6% | 534,904 |
14 | Boise City, ID | +21.5% | +69.6% | 2.7% | 749,202 |
15 | Odessa, TX | +21.2% | +86.5% | 2.6% | 166,223 |
16 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | +20.7% | +33.6% | 2.7% | 284,809 |
17 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | +20.7% | +38.2% | 2.4% | 802,122 |
18 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | +20.4% | +47.3% | 3.7% | 724,777 |
19 | Naples-Marco Island, FL | +19.7% | +45.1% | 3.1% | 384,902 |
20 | Coeur d’Alene, ID | +19.7% | +56.9% | 3.6% | 165,697 |
21 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | +19.4% | +55.6% | 3.8% | 7,066,141 |
22 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | +19.2% | +58.1% | 3.1% | 836,995 |
23 | Fort Collins, CO | +19.1% | +69.7% | 2.4% | 356,899 |
24 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | +19.1% | +50.0% | 3.1% | 2,550,960 |
25 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | +19.0% | +68.8% | 3.3% | 7,573,136 |
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