Over the last decade, Phoenix’s rapid population expansion has made it the nation’s fastest-growing city — and the 5th-largest. You’d think that’d be the peak, but according to a recent study, the hottest major U.S. city (in more ways than one) just keeps on booming.
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A study by LendingTree, an online financial marketplace, set out to identify the top localities where Americans are moving, building and starting businesses. Analysts compared the 50 largest U.S. cities through three different categories: people and housing, work and earnings and business and economy.
Using data from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, LendingTree’s analysts compared the cities’ population growth over a one-year period, percentage of population that moved to the city, workforce growth, unemployment rate, change in median earnings and change in gross domestic product, among a few other factors.
Under those conditions, LendingTree ranked Phoenix as the sixth-biggest boomtown, behind Tampa, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Seattle. Austin, Texas, and Raleigh, North Carolina, led the nation as the biggest boomtowns.
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Phoenix’s work and earnings ranking, the third-best in the nation, drove its sixth-place overall ranking. That ranking was likely driven by the fact that — at least according to Census data — Phoenix workers kept their jobs over a one-year period, or at least got another one in that same span. The city’s unemployment rate didn’t change from 2023 to 2024. According to the study, there appear to be enough jobs going around, at least to maintain a steady increase. LendingTree found that the city also maintained modest increases in workforce population (3.7%) and median earnings (5%). According to the U.S. Census, more than 1.6 million people lived in Phoenix in 2024. The median household brought in more than $85,000 a year, which is only $4,000 more than the national average.
The city’s business and economic growth also contributed to its being titled as a boomtown. Phoenix ranked 4th overall in that category. The city’s gross domestic product jumped nearly 5% from 2023 to 2024, which was the third-highest increase among the nation’s major cities.
However, perhaps unsurprisingly given Phoenix’s complicated relationship with housing, its people and housing score likely drove down the city’s overall ranking. The city’s population only increased by 2.3% from 2023 to 2024. During that same time period, the city’s housing units only jumped by 2.2% — despite statewide efforts to increase housing amid skyrocketing prices.
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