Recent data shows that many Florida cities are growing rapidly and dramatically. Recent data from the Census Bureau showed that Florida was America's fastest-growing state. And a recent study by Quicken Loans indicated that North Port was the second-fastest growing city in the nation.
A new study by the financial website Lending Tree suggests that this trend may not be letting up. In fact, it identified four smaller Florida cities that it called "boomtowns" based on growth in population, housing, and jos, as follows:
What were the Criteria?: To identify the biggest "boomtowns" in the United States, Lending Tree looked at the 100 metros across the categories of housing/population, work, and business.
The Florida Cities that "Boomed" the Most Overall: Lending Tree identified 10 towns that were the biggest "boomtowns" overall. And although Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah came in first and second place, respectively, Lakeland took third place, while Jacksonville came in 5th, and North Port came in 6th.
A Look at Lakeland: Located in central Florida, Lakeland has a moderate population of around 110,000, but those numbers are growing. According to Census data, the Polk County metro, which includes Lakeland, is among the fastest-growing in the country.
Although the home price in Lakeland has increased by about 15% over the last year, the median home price is arguably still somewhat reasonable at around $293,000, considering the median home price in the United States is around $467,000. Note that Lakeland was also recognized by Lending Tree for having a 7% growth in housing units.
A Look at Jacksonville: Jacksonville is Florida's most populated city with about 985,000 people. Forbes has previously ranked Jacksonville as the second most popular place to move to in the country. And in 2022, the city was ranked as one of the top cities for job growth. Jacksonville also has beach access and plenty of green spaces. Despite this, the median home price is under $300,000, at about $299,000.
A Look at North Port: This city with a population of about 75,000 people is currently in the middle of fast-paced growth with the possible addition of as many as 39,000 home-building lots. Lending Tree found that North Port was a standout in the job category, with a 6.5% increase in the workforce over a year's time. Although its warm water spring is temporarily closed due to Ian, the city is looking to reopen it soon (and many believe it has healing properties.) The median home price here is a little more at around $360,000.
The Towns that are Booming for Job Growth: In addition to North Port, Lending Tree identified Fort Myers and Palm Bay as Florida markets that have had "booming" job growth. Note that, unlike North Port, these cities weren't on the list of overall "boomtowns." They were only singled out for job growth.
Fort Myers had 5.7% growth over one year's time, while Palm Bay had 5.6%.
Those looking to Fort Myers to relocate for a job will find a median home price of around $400,000, but it is close to beaches and natural attributes. It was affected by Ian, but it working to recover.
Palm Bay, which is in south Florida, is arguably still reasonably priced for job seekers, with a median home price of $344,000.
The Rest of the List: While it's interesting to see the Florida cities that made the overall list of the biggest boomtowns in America, there were other cities and states that made the list as follows:
1 Austin, TX
2 Provo, UT
3 Lakeland, FL
4 Boise, ID
5 Jacksonville, FL
6 North Port, FL
7 Durham, NC
8 Raleigh, NC
9 Charlotte, NC
10 Virginia Beach, VA
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