Ft. Myers #1 Fastest Growing City In US; Miami #2 Fastest Large City (Interactive Map)

With the Census Bureau reporting that the South held 8 of the 15 cities with the largest population gains in 2017, the personal-finance website WalletHub (Oct. 1, 2018) released its report on 2018’s Fastest-Growing Cities in America.

To determine where the most rapid local economic growth occurred over a period of seven years, WalletHub compared 515 U.S. cities across 15 key metrics. The data set ranges from population growth to college-educated population growth to unemployment rate decrease. In addition, we produced a separate ranking by city size.
Experts might not agree on the “best” or the “right” recipe for rapid economic growth, but some cities know the key ingredients for long-term prosperity better than others. Patterns emerge within those cities, allowing us to identify what factors contribute to a lasting cycle of growth. The South currently seems to be an attractive place to move, as the U.S. Census Bureau reports eight of the 15 cities with the largest population gains in 2017 were located in this region.

Some cities thrive even through hard economic times while others struggle. To determine where the fastest local economic growth has occurred in the U.S., WalletHub compared 515 cities of varying population sizes based on 15 key measures of both growth and decline over a period of seven years. Our data set ranges from population growth to unemployment rate decrease to growth in regional GDP per capita.

[Interactive Map]