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.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Murfreesboro- 2 thumbs down. No thank you!!
The writing is on the walls. Atlanta shot itself in the foot by not expanding the high speed rail system. Metro Nashville will do the same it seems.
Murfreesboro has always been growing. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Violent crime is on the rise. Funny that there’s no mention of that stat. The public schools are nearly on par with Metro. And the traffic…my God…the traffic…I used think it was bad in the 90’s. Trying to get around in that city in the middle of the day or on a weekend is an absolute nightmare.
My guess is that the increased population is due to the financially successful individuals who live in gated communities and can afford to send their kids to private schools.