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 Naples-Marco Island metro area, located in the southern part of Florida along the Gulf coast, is one of several metro areas in the state to rank among the fastest growing in the country. As of 2019, there were 384,900 people living in the metro area, a 19.7% increase from 2010.
Like many metro areas drawing in new residents, Naples has a relatively strong job market. Just 3.1% of the labor force were out of work in 2019, below the comparable 3.7% national unemployment 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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