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By Giulia Carbonaro
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The fastest-growing local economies in the United States are increasingly concentrated in the South, according to new research from LendingTree, which found that eight of the nation’s 10 biggest so-called boomtowns are in the region.
Researchers examined population growth, housing construction, workforce expansion, earnings growth, new business applications and economic output in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas to identify the ones experiencing the strongest overall growth.
The dominance of the South has been well-established over the past few years. Economists have long pointed to lower taxes and less expensive housing as key drivers of southern growth, though that same rapid expansion has brought about challenges, including housing affordability pressures, traffic congestion and strain on public infrastructure.
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In line with this trend, the Texas capital, Austin, claimed the number one spot for the third consecutive year, followed by Raleigh, North Carolina's capital.
Seattle, Washington, occupied the third spot as a lone western city, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida. Completing the top 10 were Phoenix, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; Orlando, Florida; and Houston, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, in a tie.
Only Seattle and Phoenix represented metros outside the South in the top 10.
Why the South Is Winning
Austin topped the overall rankings thanks in large part to the rapid population growth it has experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic and the housing boom that has followed it.
The metro recorded the highest increase in housing units in the country, at 3.4 percent, alongside 3.1 percent population growth. LendingTree researchers also found that 17.5 percent of residents had moved from another county, state or country.
Raleigh ranked second overall and led the nation in the work and earnings category, with workforce growth of 4.4 percent and median earnings growth of 6.5 percent.
According to Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree, the South’s strong performance reflects a migration trend that has been building for years.
“A lot of people and businesses have been heading South over the past several years, and that's created a lot of momentum,” Schulz said. “In many places, you can still find a lower cost of living, a growing population and a business climate that's attractive to employers. Those are all things that make it easier to start and grow a business.”
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Population, Jobs and Business Growth
According to LendingTree, the strongest boomtowns in the United States are not simply attracting new residents, they are also creating jobs, increasing incomes and encouraging business formation.
In the people and housing category, Austin ranked first, followed by Raleigh and Orlando. The Texas capital also had the largest increase in new business applications (11.3 percent) in the country and ranked third for the share of residents who moved there from another county, state or country (17.5 percent) and fifth for population growth (3.1 percent).
For work and earnings, Raleigh took the top spot, ahead of Tampa and Phoenix. The metro had the fifth-highest workforce increase (4.4 percent) and the 10th-highest increase in median earnings (6.5 percent).
Meanwhile, Jacksonville recorded the largest workforce increase of any metro analyzed, with employment rising 5.6 percent.
Seattle led the business and economy rankings thanks to 5.1 percent real GDP growth and a 9.6 percent increase in new business applications.
Why It Matters
LendingTree’s findings underscore how economic growth in the United States continues to shift toward the South, where cities are attracting new residents, businesses and workers at a faster pace than many traditional economic centers.
The trend has implications for housing markets, labor shortages, infrastructure demands and local business investment across the country. It also coincides with a broader demographic shift.
Recent U.S. Census Bureau data show that the South was the only U.S. region to record growth in its population under age 18 between 2020 and 2025, suggesting that many of the metros leading today’s economic expansion could also benefit from a larger future workforce and consumer base.
“People started moving to the southern states during the pandemic because they were shutting down workplaces in the Northeast and the coastal areas,” William Frey, a demographer and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, previously told Newsweek.
“The southern gains were pretty high during the pandemic and a couple of years after it. Growth is still high, of course, but it’s gone down a little bit because that domestic migration is not quite as strong as it was before, it petered off.”
But within a nationwide context of Americans generally moving less across state lines, states in the South are still among the biggest gainers. In the long term, this could give the region a significant economic advantage over the rest of the country.
“It’s going to be the productive people who move into the younger parts of the labor force, and they’re also going to be part of the big consumer population,” Frey said. “Companies are going to survive because they sell products and goods. You want to have people there that are going to be able to do that.”
The Midwest Is Losing Out on Boomtowns
While southern metros dominated the top of the rankings, many midwestern cities struggled to keep pace and accounted for five of the bottom 10 metros in LendingTree’s study, including Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati.
Memphis, Tennessee, ranked last overall among the 50 largest metro areas analyzed.
The concentration of midwestern cities near the bottom of the rankings highlights the regional divide in economic growth across the country, with many slower-growing metros struggling to attract residents and businesses at the same pace as their southern counterparts.
“It’s definitely harder to build a business in a market that’s not growing very much, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Schulz said in a statement, commenting on the Midwest’s struggles to produce boomtowns.
“In fact, slower-growing cities often have less competition and customers who value local businesses. The key is understanding what your community needs instead of trying to copy what’s working somewhere else. A business that becomes part of the fabric of its community can succeed almost anywhere.”
What Happens Next
Whether southern metros can maintain their momentum remains a question, and there are signs that some are struggling to keep up with their own success. In Tampa, for example, the local workforce grew 4.4 percent while its housing stock grew only 1.5 percent, showing a crucial gap in supply as the metro’s population grows.
Fast-growing cities such as Austin, Raleigh and Tampa have already faced rising housing costs and infrastructure challenges tied to rapid population growth. However, the latest data suggests that businesses and workers continue to view these markets as attractive destinations for expansion, even as circumstances have changed since the pandemic domestic migration boom.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Dave Siminoff.
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