Forbes has released its newest list of America’s Fastest Growing Cities, factoring in metrics including estimated population growth, job growth, economic growth and median salaries in 100 metros. Topping the list was Austin, pictured above, followed by cities including San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, Orlando, San Jose, Raleigh, Cape Coral/Fort Myers, Denver, San Diego, Oakland, Charlotte, Phoenix, Portland, Las Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale. Here are some of the details from Erin Carlyle of Forbes.
California and Florida each place four metro areas on our 2016 list, while North Carolina and Texas scored two cities each. Austin regains the No. 1 spot after being toppled by Houston last year. Thanks to its booming technology, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, low cost of living, and cachet, the Austin economy remains on fire. Hordes of people are moving in (Austin’s projected 3.15% population growth rate in 2016 is the highest among the 100 metro areas we examined) to take advantage of Austin’s job opportunities (employment expanded 3.28% last year). The city has topped our list of Fastest-Growing Cities for five of the past six years (last year it slipped to second place).
The Golden State is well-represented on our list, with both San Francisco (No. 2) and Silicon Valley (No. 8) up significantly compared to last year, when they were seventh and 17th, respectively. The tech boom is paying well for college-educated workers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (Silicon Valley), where the $106,000 median pay is the highest among America’s 100 largest metro areas. San Francisco stacks up second in the nation at a median pay of $89,100.
