These five “boomtowns” in Florida are expanding more quickly than almost any other place

Florida state line and Escambia County sign pictured – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Andriy Blokhin

Florida is home to five of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States, according to a LendingTree survey released this week.

To determine which of these metro areas topped the list, the study examined changes in GDP and unemployment rates, as well as population growth in the years 2021–2023.

According to the data, the South is home to eight of the ten metro areas with the fastest rates of growth. In actuality, Orlando, the City Beautiful, took second place.

The following were the top ten metro areas with the quickest rates of growth:

Austin, Texas

Orlando, Florida

North Port, Florida

Nashville, Tennessee

Cape Coral, Florida

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Charleston, South Carolina

Lakeland, Florida

Deltona, Florida

Denver, Colorado

After holding the top rank the previous year, analysts said Austin was the largest boomtown once again. However, Florida still held the most top rankings out of all the states.

“Why the surge of success in the Sunshine State? The year-round warm weather, of course, comes to mind, but it’s also a hot spot due to lower taxes (no state-level personal income tax) and more relaxed regulations. Florida is home to many well-respected colleges and universities that provide a pipeline for talent to businesses in the state, and the state actively invests in incentives to attract lucrative industries such as e-commerce, aerospace and biotechnology.”

  • LendingTree, “America’s Biggest Boomtowns: 8 of 10 Fastest-Growing Metros in South, Including 5 in Florida”

On the other hand, New Orleans was able to emerge as the metropolis with the lowest ranking on the list.

Indeed, the following areas were identified as the ten boomtowns with the slowest rates of growth:

New Orleans, Louisiana

Cleveland, Ohio

Worcester, Massachusetts

Toledo, Ohio

Kiryas Joel, New York

Memphis, Tennessee

Chicago, Illinois

Rochester, New York

San Jose, California

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

According to the report, this is mostly because of their greater costs, but even other big cities like New York City and Los Angeles managed to rank close to the bottom.

“Whether you’re talking about rent, salaries, taxes or other economic factors, the higher costs of doing business in an area, the greater the challenge for the small businessperson,” said LendingTree analyst Matt Schulz. “Of course, there are other reasons, as well, but it’s difficult to overstate the importance of cost. Starting a business is hard wherever you do it. Doing so in a high-cost area just makes it even tougher.”


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