According to a new study by SmartAsset, the city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee ranked number one on its top ten list of “Top Boomtowns” in America. A “boomtown” is another term for a fast-growing city.
Out of the top 500 largest cities across the country, the study ranked each town based on data from seven different metrics including population change, unemployment rate, change in unemployment rate, GDP growth rate, business growth, housing growth and change in household income.
The study says Murfreesboro places in the top 20% of cities for six of the seven metrics considered. It ranks eighth in its five-year population change (19.62%) and 18th in its five-year change in number of housing units (21.15%).
The Tennessee town also has the 52nd-lowest August 2021 unemployment rate (3.4%), the 97th-highest average yearly GDP growth rate (3.71%), the 35th-highest five-year establishment growth (15.95%) and 66th-highest five-year change in household income (38.25%).
Within the last two years, Murfreesboro has skyrocketed as a boomtown. In 2019, the same study by SmartAsset ranked Murfreesboro 46th out of 50 at the time for fastest-growing cities.
Six of the top ten boomtowns in America according to the study are located in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The towns include Nampa and Meridian in Idaho; Bend, Oregon along with Vancouver, Bellingham and Seattle in Washington.
The other three towns that made the top 10 list include Tempe, Arizona; Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; and Conroe, Texas.
Although Murfreesboro was the lone Tennessee state ranking in the top 10 list, Franklin, Tennessee ended up ranking 30th out of the top 50 boomtowns.
The study notes that while some cities are still struggling with high unemployment rates and depressed economic growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are growing again.
To see the entire study on the top U.S. boomtowns for 2021, visit https://smartasset.com/data-studies/top-boomtowns-in-america-2021.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
