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Florida and Texas dominate a list of America’s new “boomtowns” this year, showing that the two states are still appealing to newcomers despite the terrible reversal of fortune that has hit them when the so-called pandemic boom—a surge in domestic migration and housing demand—abruptly ended after the end of the health emergency.
Nine cities in Texas and four in Florida are among the top 20 cities in the country showing great economic and population growth and a promising outlook for the future, according to a new study by SmartAsset. Out of a total of 75 “boomtowns” with populations of more than 65,000 analyzed by the company, 18 were in Texas and 19 in Florida.
Florida and Texas have long dominated the U.S. population and wealth boom, attracting millions of new residents and billions in taxable income in recent decades thanks to their lack of income tax, good weather, and thriving job markets. While the two states are no longer the fastest-growing in the country, in terms of either population or economic growth, together they account for half of all U.S. “boomtowns” this year, according to SmartAsset.
Florida and Texas Are Still Popular Despite Losing Luster
During the pandemic, when the rise of remote work and the nationwide homebuying frenzy led to a surge in domestic migration to Florida and Texas, two states where housing was relatively affordable at the time, most newcomers were flocking to cities like Austin, San Antonio, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, and Tampa.
But when employers started calling workers back to the office and mortgage rates surged as a result of the Federal Reserve’s campaign to stop the rise in inflation in 2022, domestic migration to these markets slowed down significantly.
Florida and Texas’ long-term population and economic growth did not stop entirely—but suddenly the two states, which had encouraged new housing construction in response to the rise in demand, found themselves facing a stark price correction and a painful rebalancing.
Florida’s net domestic migration was 22,517 in 2025, according to Census data, down sharply from 2023 (183,646) and 2022 (310,892). But the state was still the one with the highest net international migration between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, at 178,674, followed by Texas (167,475), California (109,278), and New York (95,634). In terms of overall population growth, Florida and Texas still had the biggest numeric increase (391,243 for Texas and 196,680 for Florida). Texas also reported the fourth biggest percentage increase at 1.2 percent, while Florida was not even in the top 10.
It was South Carolina that reported the biggest population growth, by percent, between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, at 1.5 percent, followed by Idaho (1.4 percent) and North Carolina (1.2 percent).
Fewer people means fewer buyers for the homes that flooded the Florida and Texas markets since the pandemic, properties that had already become much less affordable to residents due to higher borrowing costs and skyrocketing prices.
According to a ResiClub analysis of the Zillow Home Value Index published earlier this year, among the 300 biggest U.S. cities where prices have fallen at least 10 percent from their 2022 peaks, the top four are former pandemic boomtowns in Florida and Texas. These include:
- Austin, Texas: down 27.8 percent
- Punta Gorda, Florida: down 25.4 percent
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida: down 18.9 percent
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida: down 17.5 percent
Florida and Texas are also not the fastest-growing states from an economic perspective. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Florida’s real domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.6 percent between the second quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, while Texas’ real GDP grew by 0.9 percent. By comparison, Washington reported the biggest increase in the nation at 4.5 percent, followed by California (3.7 percent), North Carolina and South Carolina (both at 3.2 percent), and New Mexico (3.1 percent).
But both states are still able to offer something that has become rarer across the U.S. in recent years: cities where housing is relatively affordable and the cost of living relatively low, but where residents can also find a good job and enjoy a decent quality of life, with plenty of outdoor time spent under a sunny sky.
Where Are America’s New Boomtowns?
SmartAsset analyzed more than 400 U.S. cities with populations of 65,000 or more to identify places experiencing rapid economic and population growth. Each city received a composite score based on five-year changes in three factors: economic output, housing units, and labor force size. Researchers then identified the 75 highest-scoring cities as America’s new boomtowns.
Even as Florida is home to the most boomtowns in the country, with one more than Texas overall, the two top cities are both in the Lone Star State.
Georgetown and New Braunfels, both in Central Texas, each saw five-year increases of more than 30 percent in labor force size and housing units, while county-level economic output grew at compound annual rates of 7.7 percent in Williamson County and 6.8 percent in Comal County.
Lehi, Utah, ranked third, with the city’s population nearly doubling since 2010 as major employers, including Adobe, Microsoft and Texas Instruments, have established or expanded facilities there.
In the West, Arizona stuck out for having three cities in the top 20 (Buckeye, #13; Goodyear, #15; Surprise, #16) and seven in total (with the addition of Avondale, #30; Chandler, #35; Glendale, #38; Peoria, #45).
Significantly, there was only one boomtown in the Northeast, a region where the housing shortage at the root of the nationwide affordability crisis is still most acute and home prices are still soaring. This was Portland, Maine, which ranked 55th; according to SmartAsset, the city is now a “boomtown” thanks to recent investments tied to biotech and artificial intelligence.
Austin, possibly the poster child for the pandemic housing boom, is still technically a “boomtown” but only ranks 37th in SmartAsset’s list.
Full Rankings
These are the top 20 “boomtowns” in the nation. Below, you will find the full rankings.
Georgetown, Texas• Housing unit increase: 34 percent
• Labor force increase: 34 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 7.7 percent
New Braunfels, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 40 percent
• Labor force increase: 32 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.8 percent
Lehi, Utah
• Housing unit increase: 39 percent
• Labor force increase: 67 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 5.6 percent
Leander, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 48 percent
• Labor force increase: 25 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.1 percent
Lewisville, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 24 percent
• Labor force increase: 23 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
Palm Coast, Florida
• Housing unit increase: 27 percent
• Labor force increase: 21 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
Nampa, Idaho
• Housing unit increase: 25 percent
• Labor force increase: 24 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.2 percent
McKinney, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 20 percent
• Labor force increase: 25 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
Conroe, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 37 percent
• Labor force increase: 33 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.9 percent
Frisco, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 19 percent
• Labor force increase: 25 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
Denton, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 23 percent
• Labor force increase: 18 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
North Port, Florida
• Housing unit increase: 42 percent
• Labor force increase: 78 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.8 percent
Buckeye, Arizona
• Housing unit increase: 70 percent
• Labor force increase: 39 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.8 percent
Palm Bay, Florida
• Housing unit increase: 19 percent
• Labor force increase: 27 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 5.7 percent
Goodyear, Arizona
• Housing unit increase: 65 percent
• Labor force increase: 31 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.8 percent
Surprise, Arizona
• Housing unit increase: 25 percent
• Labor force increase: 44 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.8 percent
Redmond, Washington
• Housing unit increase: 21 percent
• Labor force increase: 20 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 5.0 percent
Meridian, Idaho
• Housing unit increase: 33 percent
• Labor force increase: 35 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.4 percent
Allen, Texas
• Housing unit increase: 17 percent
• Labor force increase: 13 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 6.7 percent
Fort Myers, Florida
• Housing unit increase: 21 percent
• Labor force increase: 42 percent
• Compound annual real GDP growth: 4.7 percent
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Sam Wilson.
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