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 today 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.
Economic Growth in Charlotte (1=Fastest-Growing; 258=Avg.)
- 41st – Population Growth
- 235th – Median Household Income Growth
- 18th – Job Growth
- 94th – Poverty Rate Decrease
- 1st – Growth in Number of Businesses
- 34th – Working-Age Population Growth
- 230th – Foreclosure Rate Decrease
Charlotte ranks 32nd overall and 4th in terms of large-city growth.
| Rank* | Large City Name (Score) |
Rank* | Midsize City Name (Score) |
Rank* | Small City Name (Score) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin, TX (65.83) |
1 | Midland, TX (73.55) |
1 | Fort Myers, FL (76.57) |
| 2 | Miami, FL (65.75) |
2 | Pearland, TX (72.68) |
2 | Bend, OR (72.45) |
| 3 | Seattle, WA (63.47) |
3 | McKinney, TX (71.40) |
3 | Mount Pleasant, SC (70.87) |
| 4 | Charlotte, NC (61.81) |
4 | College Station, TX (71.17) |
4 | Milpitas, CA (70.29) |
| 5 | Denver, CO (61.65) |
5 | Lehigh Acres, FL (71.00) |
5 | Pleasanton, CA (69.39) |
| 6 | Fort Worth, TX (61.59) |
6 | Enterprise, NV (70.87) |
6 | Meridian, ID (69.08) |
| 7 | Henderson, NV (60.21) |
7 | Irvine, CA (70.30) |
7 | Redwood City, CA (67.17) |
| 8 | Nashville, TN (59.87) |
8 | Murfreesboro, TN (69.27) |
8 | Saint George, UT (64.69) |
| 9 | San Francisco, CA (56.89) |
9 | Frisco, TX (67.02) |
9 | Manteca, CA (64.65) |
| 10 | Atlanta, GA (56.81) |
10 | Round Rock, TX (66.31) |
10 | Loveland, CO (64.51) |
| 11 | Oakland, CA (56.40) |
11 | Santa Clarita, CA (64.40) |
11 | Indio, CA (62.28) |
| 12 | San Jose, CA (56.34) |
12 | Cape Coral, FL (64.38) |
12 | Lake Charles, LA (61.74) |
| 13 | Aurora, CO (55.94) |
13 | Greeley, CO (63.35) |
13 | Mountain View, CA (61.12) |
| 14 | San Antonio, TX (54.90) |
14 | Hayward, CA (63.32) |
14 | Concord, NC (60.68) |
| 15 | Raleigh, NC (54.83) |
15 | League City, TX (62.96) |
15 | Boynton Beach, FL (60.51) |
| 16 | Las Vegas, NV (54.39) |
16 | Sandy Springs, GA (62.63) |
16 | Sunrise, FL (60.04) |
| 17 | Dallas, TX (54.02) |
17 | Temecula, CA (62.00) |
17 | Livermore, CA (58.74) |
| 18 | Phoenix, AZ (53.50) |
18 | Bellevue, WA (61.37) |
18 | Town ‘n’ Country, FL (58.31) |
| 19 | Tampa, FL (53.42) |
19 | Denton, TX (60.37) |
19 | Nampa, ID (57.43) |
| 20 | Riverside, CA (52.99) |
20 | Cary, NC (59.68) |
20 | Orem, UT (57.41) |
| 21 | Mesa, AZ (52.71) |
21 | Orlando, FL (59.66) |
21 | Flower Mound, TX (57.13) |
| 22 | Washington, DC (52.20) |
22 | Odessa, TX (59.48) |
22 | Boca Raton, FL (56.69) |
| 23 | Boston, MA (51.98) |
23 | Fargo, ND (59.34) |
23 | Rock Hill, SC (56.68) |
| 24 | Portland, OR (51.42) |
24 | Grand Rapids, MI (58.87) |
24 | Springdale, AR (56.20) |
| 25 | Columbus, OH (51.34) |
25 | Gilbert, AZ (58.80) |
25 | Fishers, IN (55.71) |
| 26 | Jacksonville, FL (50.61) |
26 | Hillsboro, OR (58.72) |
26 | Palm Coast, FL (55.50) |
| 27 | Omaha, NE (50.12) |
27 | Santa Clara, CA (58.67) |
27 | San Marcos, CA (54.75) |
| 28 | Sacramento, CA (50.11) |
28 | Charleston, SC (58.48) |
28 | Fayetteville, AR (54.70) |
| 29 | Minneapolis, MN (49.74) |
29 | North Las Vegas, NV (57.89) |
29 | Asheville, NC (54.19) |
| 30 | Los Angeles, CA (49.14) |
30 | Davie, FL (57.63) |
30 | Hemet, CA (53.82) |
| 31 | Stockton, CA (48.77) |
31 | Scottsdale, AZ (57.35) |
31 | Union City, CA (53.79) |
| 32 | San Diego, CA (48.68) |
32 | Ontario, CA (56.93) |
32 | Ellicott City, MD (53.58) |
| 33 | Fresno, CA (48.37) |
33 | Allen, TX (56.82) |
33 | Carmel, IN (53.39) |
| 34 | Indianapolis, IN (47.22) |
34 | Athens-Clarke, GA (56.77) |
34 | Pharr, TX (53.19) |
| 35 | Santa Ana, CA (46.05) |
35 | Clovis, CA (56.45) |
35 | Chino, CA (53.17) |
| 36 | New Orleans, LA (46.03) |
36 | Arvada, CO (56.19) |
36 | Hesperia, CA (52.81) |
| 37 | Anaheim, CA (45.93) |
37 | Surprise, AZ (56.19) |
37 | Spokane Valley, WA (52.76) |
| 38 | Saint Paul, MN (45.77) |
38 | Reno, NV (56.18) |
38 | Largo, FL (52.67) |
| 39 | Oklahoma City, OK (45.68) |
39 | Centennial, CO (55.95) |
39 | Somerville, MA (52.15) |
| 40 | Bakersfield, CA (45.42) |
40 | Pompano Beach, FL (55.82) |
40 | Bryan, TX (52.12) |
| 41 | Colorado Springs, CO (45.30) |
41 | Thornton, CO (55.69) |
41 | Avondale, AZ (51.68) |
| 42 | Houston, TX (45.24) |
42 | Port Saint Lucie, FL (55.59) |
42 | Deltona, FL (51.47) |
| 43 | Long Beach, CA (44.15) |
43 | San Mateo, CA (55.52) |
43 | Longmont, CO (51.36) |
| 44 | Arlington, TX (43.60) |
44 | Richmond, CA (54.99) |
44 | Compton, CA (51.22) |
| 45 | Kansas City, MO (43.09) |
45 | Coral Springs, FL (54.87) |
45 | Napa, CA (51.07) |
| 46 | Honolulu, HI (42.92) |
46 | Fairfield, CA (54.84) |
46 | Tracy, CA (50.46) |
| 47 | Lexington, KY (42.91) |
47 | North Charleston, SC (54.84) |
47 | Medford, OR (50.36) |
| 48 | Louisville, KY (41.87) |
48 | Lewisville, TX (54.83) |
48 | Weston, FL (50.36) |
| 49 | New York, NY (41.72) |
49 | Durham, NC (54.66) |
49 | Iowa City, IA (50.26) |
| 50 | Pittsburgh, PA (41.55) |
50 | Brandon, FL (54.59) |
50 | Turlock, CA (50.22) |
What do you think about Charlotte recent growth trend?