2018 Top Ten Boom Town List: San Antonio #9

San Antonio, Dallas and Austin all made the top list of America’s Biggest Boomtowns by Magnify Money. The factors that make a boomtown comprise of industry growth, increasing employment opportunities and relocation. San Antonio beat Houston, currently at #11, in housing score, workforce & earning score and business growth making it #9 on the list.

The data collected by Magnify Money details percentage increases and decreases from the year 2011 to 2016.

The 2018 Top Ten Boom Town List:

1. Austin, Texas – You’ll notice many Texas cities on this list as Texas real estate has been booming over the last few years. You could say Texas is experiencing a great migration from people and businesses seeking to escape higher taxes. Over the 5 year 2011- 2016 study, Austin saw a 23% drop in unemployment, a 9% increase in median wage and a 21% increase in its number of businesses. Austin comes out far ahead of competitive tech cities. With regards to housing- real estate is still affordable in comparison to larger tech cities like San Francisco- while job, population and economic growth continue to spiral upward.

2. Provo, Utah – From the year 2011 to 2016 Provo, Utah, a name many have never heard of, saw a spike of 30% employment growth. However, earnings for workers is sluggish, the city only saw a 3.5% increase during that 5 year time frame.

3. Raleigh, N.C. – Raleigh doesn’t just have large oak trees going for it, lately the city has seen a population and housing increase of 13%. The civilian work force increased by 12% while unemployment dropped by 18%.

4. Charleston, S.C. – Following shortly after Raleigh is Charleston. The population jumped by 11% in the 2011 and 2016 five year study span. Business establishments saw an increase of 14% while unemployment saw a 22% drop.

5. Nashville, Tenn. – Firms in Nashville grew their staff by 21% and numbers in the state continue to rise. The country music city has taken the workforce by storm with a 25% percent drop in unemployment and a 10% increase in establishments. However, the 5% housing growth rate will need to find some way of keeping up with the 9% increase in population.

6. Denver, Colorado – It’s no secret, Denver is expensive but for what it costs it makes up in surrounding natural beauty and one of the fastest growing job markets in the nation. The growth isn’t just limited to Denver either, other once smaller cities are seeing high population increases and economic growth.

7. Dallas, Texas – Dallas offers what many Texas cities try to- a little bit of everything. The Big D is a major headquarter hub, with 21 of Fortune 500 companies calling the city home. Some of its most popular employers include AT&T, American Airlines and Texas Instruments.

8. Boise, Idaho – Go north young man, go north! Boise is quite frankly, in the middle of nowhere, but that doesn’t mean people don’t see the amazing opportunity that resides in the potato state. Not only is it teaming with natural beauty in and around the city, it has a thriving tech job market, low unemployment rate of 2.9% and large technology companies like HP moving into the neighborhood.

9. San Antonio, Texas – Our home city, a monolith of Texas culture and pride. San Antonio climbs ahead of Houston on the list and for good reason. San Antonio’s affordability has many millennials flocking to it. The cities commercial and residential real estate prices offer the perfect opportunity for millennials and young entrepreneurs seeking to start their own business.

10. McAllen, Texas – When people think of McAllen they usually need a map to pull up where it is. Although this city is largely unknown it continues to see rising economic growth due to its close proximity to the Texas/Mexico border.