Enterprise, Nevada, which is part of the great Las Vegas metro area, has witnessed astounding … [+]
In the past decade, the American urban landscape has transformed remarkably, with certain cities emerging as meteoric growth hubs. Their rapid growth is evident not only in their expanding skylines and swollen populations, but in the changing economic tides which bring prosperity to residents. The consequent change in income levels becomes a pivotal metric of their success of these fastest growing cities in America.
Using data sourced from the Census Bureau’s 2021, 2016, and 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, we identified the fastest growing cities in the U.S. out of 500+ cities whose population is 75,000 or greater. At the same time, we analyzed the change in their household incomes over the last five years, 10 years, and from 2011 to 2016.
Read on to find out the fastest growing cities in America and how their levels of income have changed accordingly.
50 Fastest Growing Cities in America
The identify the fastest growing cities in the U.S., we measured the percentage growth in population from 2011 to 2016, from 2016 to 2021, plus the 10-year change from 2011 to 2021 (2021 being the latest data available from the Census Bureau). We scored these three factors of growth and combined the scores to assemble a list of the 50 fastest growing cities in America.
Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 cities that are growing the fastest:
The main geographic patterns one can see is that most of the fastest growing cities are located in the Census-designated Mountain division (for example, No. Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 cities that are growing the fastest:
The main geographic patterns one can see is that most of these cities are located in the Census-designated Mountain division (for example, No. Meridian, Idaho), and the Pacific division (such a No. 2 Kirkland, Washington, No. No. 13 Irvine, California and No. Menifee in California, and No. 22 Menifee) as well as the South (such a No. 4 Frisco, Texas, No. The Villages in Florida and Conroe, Texas) are the top three cities. 7 Conroe, Texas).
Another interesting characteristic to look at is which cities experienced faster growth from 2011 to 2016 versus those whose fastest growth rate was from 2016 to 2021. In the top 50 cities with the fastest growth in America, 29 had faster population growth from 2016 to 2020. The fastest growing cities and their incomes have changed
Just as a city has a high population growth rate, it doesn’t mean that its incomes will grow. We’ll first focus on five changes in the median household income between 2016 and 2021. Number No. 3 Buckeye is the fastest-growing city in America. Buckeye, No. 3, has seen the greatest growth in the median household income in the past five years. From $58,711 dollars in 2016, the figure rose by 44% to $84,568 dollars in 2021. The No. Menifee in California, the 22nd fastest growing city, experienced the second highest growth rate. Its median household income increased by 40.2% from $57.598 in 2016, to $80.741 in 2021. Fourteen of the fifty fastest-growing cities have seen a rise in their median household income by 30% or more during the past five years. 3 Buckeye, Arizona
- : 44%No. 22 Menifee, California
- : 40.2%No. 26 Concord, North Carolina
- : 39.5%No
- . 42 Clovis, California: 38.9%No
- . 41 College Station (Texas) 37.3% No. 44 Port St. Lucie in Florida
- : 35.1%No. 7 Conroe, Texas
- : 34.3%No. 38 Orlando, Florida
- : 34%No. 40 Bend, Oregon
- : 33.5%No. 21 Fort Myers in Florida
- : 32.6%No. 6 Meridian, Idaho
- : 32.4%No. San Tan Valley in Arizona
- : 30.8%No. 25 Kent, Washington
- : 30.7%No. 46 Fayetteville Arkansas
- : 30.2%Below, you will find a list of the 50 largest cities in America and their respective growth rate for median household income. The distortions caused by higher-income households can sometimes lead to a city’s median household income being higher than the mean household income. The mean household income, and the change in it over time, are still useful metrics to compare the difference between median and average household income. The table below shows the average household income growth rate for the 50 fastest-growing cities in America. However, several cities did witness a decline from 2011 to 2016:
Lehigh Acres, Florida
: -8.4%
Enterprise, Nevada
- : -4.6%Buckeye, Arizona
- : -3.8%Pine Hills, Florida
- : -2.7%Santa Fe, New Mexico
- : -0.3%It’s startling to note some of the gaps between the mean household income and the median household income in the 50 fastest growing cities in America. As an example, the No. Kirkland in Washington, the second fastest growing city, had an average household of $123,533 in 2016, compared to a median income of $95,939 — a $27,594 difference. This gap has grown by 88.8% in the last five-year period. In 2021, Kirkland will have an average household income of $174,091, compared to a median income of $121,998, a huge difference of $52,093. Growing income inequality is indicated by a growing gap between the median and mean household incomes of a city.