Boom Boom
See which spot Houston scores on new list of America's dream cities
News alert: Houston is growing, y'all. In a new report released on August 6, personal finance website MagnifyMoney ranked America's biggest boomtowns, and coming in at No. 11 is Houston.
In total, Texas cities dominated the boomtown list, claiming five of the top 15 spots. Not only did Austin top the list, but it received near-perfect scores in some categories. Next on the list is Dallas at No. 7, followed by San Antonio (No. 9), and McAllen (No. 10).
Using data from 2011-2016 (the most recently available), the website ranked the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., looking for the newest cities of opportunity. "We wanted to find out where Americans are gathering now to take advantage of growing prosperity and improved lifestyles to achieve the American dream," the report notes.
To determine the rankings, MagnifyMoney defined the three key "boom" factors as:
- Business growth — Analyzing the creation of new business, but also understanding how established businesses fare in the wake of the boom.
- Population and housing — Matching the number of people moving to an area to the availability of housing in the market.
- Workforce and earnings — Comparing the number of residents to the availability of jobs in the city.
Houston scored an overall 54.5 out of a perfect 100 and a 77.7 population and housing score. Houston also earned a 41.9 in workplace and earnings and 43.9 in business growth. Confirming our boomtown status, the Bayou City has seen an 11.6 percent in growth, an 8.3 percent growth in total housing units, an 11 percent growth in civilian labor force, and an 7.5 percent drop in unemployment.
Where else are people pursuing the American dream? Rounding out the top five cities is Provo, Utah (2); Raleigh, North Carolina (3); Charleston, South Carolina (4); and good ol' Nashville, Tennessee (5).
America's least boom-iest city? That honor goes to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Syracuse, New York; New Haven, Connecticut; Cleveland; and Hartford, Connecticut make up the remaining bottom five.