Entrepreneurs are always looking for the next big thing. You want to choose a boomtown as your location. This is a city that is on the edge of being a major business hub. Boomtowns are a great place to start a startup, but they have yet to become popular enough for people to pay more.
Houston and Seattle were both on the up-and-coming boomtowns list a few years back. Today, there is a new wave of cities that are making a mark in entrepreneurship. Your startup could find its roots in one of these 10 top boomtowns.
1. Salisbury (Maryland)
A 2018 Realtor.com list places Salisbury as the number one city. Salisbury, Maryland, is a small town of 390,091. It is the biggest city on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Salisbury is experiencing a period of growth that places it at the top of the list as the next great boomtown. The 2018 median home price was $309,050. This is higher than the national median, but it attracts buyers from the East Coast.
The population has more than doubled in five years due to lower taxes, lower living costs, and many job opportunities. Salisbury is only 2.5 hours from Washington, D.C., which is part of its appeal. Recently, new businesses opened in Salisbury, which adds to the metro’s bright future. It is home to nearly two dozen breweries, making it a popular destination for craft beer lovers. It is America’s next big boomtown.
2. Grand Rapids (Michigan)
Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second-largest metro area. It is a successful Upper Midwest city that is well-known for its “Medical Mile”, furniture manufacturing, and other high-quality services. The Medical Mile is an area of the city that’s dedicated to medical education and clinical research. Grand Rapids has had furniture manufacturing as a major economic sector for many decades.
Grand Rapids is home to a thriving millennial population, thanks in part due to the college students. The city has a vibrant urban area with a strong craft beer scene. Forbes named Grand Rapids as the best place to raise a family.
The cost of living, housing costs, and income were the key factors in this ranking. The median home price increased 15.6% last year due to its popularity. It is still a great place to start a business and has all the amenities of a big city, but it also has thriving small-town charm that makes it renowned as ‘boomtown’.
3. San Jose, California
Although it’s not surprising that California cities made the list, San Jose is not yet a household name. Its position as one the top three metros for net business creation, wage growth and other metrics, , according to Inc.com , could change all of that.
Because of its success in the technology sector, San Jose is a leading surge city. San Jose has the potential to become the next great San city thanks to its diversity, immigration and computer-savvy residents.
Many people are unaware that many of the top tech startups in the world call San Jose home. These include Adobe, Cisco, and eBay. San Jose has more Fortune 500 companies in the country than any other place, except New York. It even surpasses San Francisco.
Furthermore,
Careerbliss ranked San Jose as the second-happiest place to work based on key elements such as work environment and compensation.
4. Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville in Tennessee is rapidly changing from a small town to a boomtown due to its recent job growth. Knoxville is at the heart of an interstate network that connects to all major metro areas in the Southeast United States.
Knoxville’s central location has allowed it to see an increase in job openings over the years. There are more jobs, which means more people moving to Knoxville. This has led to a rise in median home prices of almost 10% between 2017 and 2018. The current median home price is $268,250.
Knoxville has many advantages for those who live and work there. The first is the fact that you are less than an hour from the country’s most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains. Its bustling downtown is another, home to many small businesses, shops and breweries.
Knoxville is also affordable, with a lower median home price than Chattanooga and Nashville. Knoxville could be the perfect place to start a startup in 2019. It is expected to grow even more over the next few decades.
5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the next boomtown. America’s heartland has all the elements to become the next tech hub. This is due to increased small business lending, low-income taxes and ease of starting businesses. There are also many accelerators available. CNN named Oklahoma City the best city to start a new company in 2014.
Today,
Oklahoma City is thriving in the industries of technology, healthcare, and biotech. These industries are flourishing here because of a variety of factors: strong research community (with 2 large biomedical research institutes nearby), diverse and talented workforce of workers and entrepreneurs; an increase in millennial residents and an improved quality of living, to name just a few. Many people are returning to Oklahoma City, or moving to Oklahoma City for the first-time due to its rise to the top.
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is poised for a boom town, primarily because of its deep tech roots. Apple revealed in 2018 plans to expand its operations in Pittsburgh in the next three-years. Each location will be able to accommodate over 1,000 employees.
Apple announced that Pittsburgh is making great strides towards becoming a destination for talent and business investment. Along with New York City, California, and Massachusetts, Pittsburgh was named one of the top 10 cities for venture capital funding by Inc.com.
Pittsburgh was already on the rise, even before Apple announced it. This is due to its affordability, labor pool and cost of living, as well as entrepreneurial activity and other factors.
NerdWallet placed Pittsburgh at number 17 in its 2015 list of the best places to start your own business. This was alongside cities like Boulder, Colorado, and Wilmington, North Carolina. NerdWallet placed Pittsburg higher than San Francisco and Seattle. Pittsburgh rose to the top due to an increase in startup investments in local tech companies.
7. Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a boomtown with a growing tourism industry, median home prices of $279,050 and a population of more than 600,000. It also boasts vast beaches and a population of over 600,000. Daytona Beach is a popular tourist destination, but it has been expanding its wings to entrepreneurship.
In 2016,
According to the Milken Institute, Daytona Beach has the best-performing economy in America. Its rapid growth, affordable housing and irresistible ocean breezes make it a potential boomtown. If you are looking to outdo the crowd, consider moving south.
8. Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana is a place that’s booming with new jobs, new homes and unique cultural identities. Lafayette has created around 60,000 jobs in the technology industry over the last five years. There are also new constructions, which is a unique feature in the area.
After the economic downturn in 2013, Lafayette built houses twice as fast than the national average. Since then, new builds have been popping up all over town at an even faster pace. Lafayette’s median home price is currently $210,000
Its personality is what makes Lafayette so appealing. The National Bureau of Economic Research ranked Lafayette as the most happy city in America in 2014. The city has a lot of things to do both in and outside the city limits.
Lafayette, located just two hours from New Orleans is a great spot for those who want to experience all that NOLA has to provide without having to live in the heart of it all. Lafayette is a place to be seen because of its unique quality of life and delicious food. There are also many work opportunities.
9. Mountain’s Edge, Las Vegas (Nevada)
Mountain’s Edge is a planned community located just 14 miles from Sin City (Las Vegas), Nevada. It offers a taste for suburban living. With a projected household growth rate of 19.4% over five years, Mountain’s Edge was named one of the fastest growing neighborhoods by Realtor.com in 2016.
Mountain’s Edge is close enough that it can offer all the amenities and job opportunities in Las Vegas, but far enough that it can provide quiet, peaceful, and safe neighborhoods. Mountain’s Edge is home to new elementary schools, lots of open spaces, parks and trails, as well as community parks. This Las Vegas Valley community could be a future boomtown.
10. Myrtle Beach in South Carolina
Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is last but not least on this list of predicted boomtowns. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is poised to boom because of its affordable housing (median listing price $239,000), more than 200 days of sunshine each year, numerous outdoor recreational activities, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. USA Today’s “Best East Coast Beaches” listranked Myrtle Beach number 5.
Myrtle Beach’s beautiful weather and great quality of life has attracted over 150,000 new residents in five years. However, it is still relatively uncrowded compared to Florida. This is why many retirees choose Myrtle Beach, SC over Florida. It has also contributed to the city’s growth.
Although Myrtle Beach has fewer housing options than Florida, its crime rate is higher than the national average. Myrtle Beach could be the right place for you if you are looking to live in a growing town with plenty of job opportunities and a lot of sunshine.
