According to RentCafe, which releases an annual prosperity report naming the top 20 most prosperous cities in the country each year, a metro area needs to be “capable of progress,” active and vital, have momentum to “keep itself on the radar,” and sustain a growing population in order to be considered “prosperous.” Rentcafe refined this list into six indicators of prosperity in U.S. cities with populations in excess of 100,000:
- Population changes
- Median income
- Home values
- Population holding a higher education degree
- Poverty rate
- Unemployment rate
Then, the analysts combined the individual rankings and used a relative scale to establish the most prosperous cities in the United States. As has long been the case, California had the highest concentration of highly prosperous large cities. However, Texas edged into the race with the most prosperous city in the country, Odessa, Texas, and six of the top 20. “Our taxes are lower and we court big business,” said Julie Ziglar Norman, a real estate agent with DFW-based Prime Properties, a local turnkey rental provider. “Cities here give big tax breaks so we can get growth.”
All cities on the list not in Texas are in states on the east or west coasts.
Here are the top five most prosperous cities in the United States:
- Odessa, Texas (home values rose 91 percent last year)
- Washington, D.C. (home values rose 135 percent last year)
- Charleston, South Carolina (home values rose 39 percent last year)
- Fontana, California (home values rose 60 percent last year)
- North Charleston, South Carolina (home values rose 59 percent last year)
Investor Insight:
The Texas real estate market is one to watch for opportunity as the state is investor-friendly, business-friendly, and highly attractive to corporations and individuals “fleeing” more expensive coastal markets.
0 Comments