It’s not presently clear how the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing recession might change the population trends observed here, at least in the long term. Will the boomtowns of today become the ghost towns of tomorrow? Or will the things drawing people to these places only be amplified more by the massive changes shifting below the sands? The simple fact is that however much these cities are growing now and have in the recent past, these sort of migration trends change over time.
So if you’re thinking you want to find the next boomtown and get in before it really takes off, your chances might still be good. After all, the next boomtown is just a population explosion away.
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Chris Jennings and Erica Corbin contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: GOBankingRates determined the biggest boomtowns in every state by analyzing 1,722 U.S. cities with populations of under 500,000 but above 25,000 as sourced from the 2018 American Community Survey and evaluated them by the following criteria: (1) one-year change in total population by percentage; (2) one-year change in total population by number of people; (3) five-year change in total population by percentage; (4) five-year change in total population by number of people; (5) eight-year change in total population by percentage; (6) eight-year change in total population by number of people; (6) one-year change in amount of occupied housing units by percentage; (7) one-year change in amount of occupied housing units by number of units; (8) five-year change in amount of occupied housing units by percentage; (9) five-year change in amount of occupied housing units by number of units; (10) eight-year change in amount of occupied housing units by percentage; (11) eight-year change in amount of occupied housing units by number of units; (12) one-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by percentage; (13) one-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by number of homes; (14) five-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by percentage; (15) five-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by number of homes; (16) eight-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by percentage; (17) eight-year change in amount of owner-occupied homes by number of homes; (18) one-year change in per capita income by percentage; (19) one-year change in per capita income by dollars; (20) five-year change in per capita income by percentage; (21) five-year change in per capita income by dollars; (22) eight-year change in per capita income by percentage; and (23) eight-year change in per capita income by dollars. All data was sourced from the 2018, 2017, 2013 and 2010 American Community Surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau. All factors were scored, added together and cities then ranked, with the best-scoring city being the biggest boomtown in the state. All data was gathered and is up to date as of July 6, 2020.
