If there is one question the SiteSeer team has consistently received in the last 10 months, it is some variation of, “What cities are growing/shrinking in the U.S. these days, and where should we locate next as a result?” With new data from STI: PopStats in hand for the time period October 2019 to October 2020, we set out to understand which markets grew the fastest.
First, here is a reminder on what constitutes a metropolitan and micropolitan market:
Many rumors persisted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. None more prevalent than the idea that people were abandoning large cities, leaving vacant wastelands in their wake. Although it seems to be true that there has been a greater interest in suburban and rural areas in recent months, the data does not suggest an exodus from large metro areas.
What we are seeing is people choosing to leave large northern cities – often referred to as the rustbelt – for southern “sunbelt” cities:
Although many metros with 1 million or more population saw gains, we continue to see the most growth in mid-size metros. While the average population for all metros is approximately 740,000, the average of the 25 fastest growing metros is 512,000.
Despite numerous households leaving small markets for large urban areas, micropolitan areas are as popular as ever. Like metropolitan areas, not all areas of the country are seeing increases in equal numbers.
And now for the data. Here’s a look at the 15 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. between October 31, 2019 and October 31, 2020:
#15: Midland, Texas – 2.35% (new to the list)
#14: Charleston-North Charleston, SC – 2.4% (#14 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#13: Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida – 2.4% (#15 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#12: Provo-Orem, Utah – 2.5% (#4 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#11 (tie) Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida (new to the list) and Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama – 2.47% (#11 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#10: Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, South Carolina – 2.49% (#10 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#9: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – 2.78% (#9 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#8: The Villages, Florida – 2.84% (#8 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#7: St. George, Utah – 2.96% (#1 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#6: Austin-Round Rock, Texas – 2.98% (#2 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#5: Bend-Redmond, Oregon – 3.03% (#7 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#4: Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida – 3.04% (#13 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#3: Greeley, Colorado – 3.09% (#6 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#2: Boise, Idaho – 3.15% (#5 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#1: Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina/North Carolina – 3.31% (#3 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
And here’s the 15 fastest-growing micropolitan areas in the U.S. between October 31, 2019 and October 31, 2020:
#15 (tie): Rexburg, Idaho (#7 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list) and Dickinson, North Dakota (new to the list) – 1.94%
#14: Summit, Utah (new to the list)
#13 (tie): Shelbyville, Tennessee – 2.1% (new to the list) and Pinehurst-Southern Pines, North Carolina – 2.05% (new to the list)
#12: Gillette, Wyoming – 2.08%
#11 (tie): Crossville, Tennessee (new to the list) and Pahrump, Nevada (new to the list) – 2.13%
#10: Durant, Oklahoma – 2.21% (new to the list)
#9: Kalispell, Montana – 2.36% (new to the list)
#8: Prineville, Oregon – 2.4% (#8 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#7: Bozeman, Montana – 2.49% (#9 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#6: Heber, Utah – 3.45% (#4 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#5: Sandpoint, Idaho – 3.55% (#10 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#4: Arcadia, Florida – 3.75% (new to the list)
#3: Cedar City, Utah – 4.07% (#2 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#2: Jefferson, Georgia – 4.26% (#3 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
#1: Williston, North Dakota – 5.99% (#1 in our 6/30/18 to 6/30/20 list)
The year 2020 was unique in every single way and there’s no doubt that we’re all looking forward to the rest of 2021 with trepidation and hope.
Despite some new names on the list, most of the top markets are unchanged from our last population study. Will the end of COVID or the proliferation of vaccines change people’s choices, including where people choose to live and work? We’ll see.
This has been a sneak peek at the new population data from STI: PopStats. For SiteSeer users that subscribe to PopStats you will have access to the updated data in the coming weeks. For anyone else who is facing critical decisions about which markets are right for your business or family, we welcome the opportunity to discuss PopStats or any of the dozens of accurate and up-to-date data sources available in SiteSeer from our exceptional data partners. Visit SiteSeer.com to learn more.
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