Gargantuan growth
New report says San Antonio is one of the fastest changing cities in the U.S.
There is no denying that Texas is experiencing unprecedented growth. Since 2006, almost every major city in the Lone Star State has undergone a rapid transformation as folks from across the country make their way to our major metropolises. In fact, the MoneyMagnify website crunched the numbers and ranked San Antonio the No. 8 most changed city in the U.S. over the past decade.
Texas’ three other major metro areas top the list: Austin at No. 1; Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 2; and Houston at No. 3.
To create the ranking, MoneyMagnify examined nine change factors for the country’s 50 biggest metro areas:
- Commute times
- Employment growth
- Median income
- Home prices
- Rent
- Recent moves by residents
- Median age
- Number of residential building permits issued
- Crime rate
For the San Antonio area, the biggest changes were a rise in employment since 2006 (No. 4 among the 50 metro areas) and housing prices (No. 5 out of 50).
The website also ranked the lowest ranked element of each city. In San Antonio, the crime rate (No. 42 out of 50) has remained relatively unchanged.
Highlights for Texas’ three other major metro areas include:
- Austin — No. 1 out of 50 in home prices and job growth; No. 6 for rise in median income.
- Dallas-Fort Worth — No. 4 out of 50 for decline in crime rate; No. 5 for climb in home prices; and No. 19 for rent growth.
- Houston — No. 2 out of 50 for climb in home prices; No. 3 for growth in residential building permits; and No. 23 for decline in crime rate.
“Change isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing,” the MagnifyMoney report concludes. “Big growth in commute times and rents can be negative, but they can also be a function of positive developments like job and income growth. Similarly, places without as much change could be more attractive to people working their way up the salary ladder or those retirees on fixed incomes, offering more affordable housing and less congestion.”
By the way, according to MoneyMagnify, the U.S. metro areas that have changed the least in 10 years are Birmingham, Alabama (No. 50); Milwaukee (No. 49); New Orleans (No. 48); Buffalo, New York (No. 47); and Indianapolis (No. 46).
