Jacksonville Among 19 Florida Cities Named Nation's Top 'Boomtowns'

Florida has claimed the nation's top spot for rapidly growing cities, with 19 communities — including Jacksonville — landing among the country's 75 fastest-growing boomtowns, according to a new analysis released this week by financial technology company SmartAsset. The findings place Florida ahead of every other state, narrowly edging Texas, which secured 18 spots on the list.

The analysis examined more than 400 U.S. cities with populations exceeding 65,000, measuring changes from 2019 to 2024 across three key metrics: housing unit growth, labor force expansion, and real gross domestic product increases at the county level. SmartAsset characterized boomtown status as reflecting "a city's expanding economic capacity and the new opportunities that come with it."

What the rankings show

Among Florida's entries, Palm Coast in Flagler County earned the state's highest national ranking at No. 6 overall, posting a 27 percent increase in housing units, 21 percent labor force growth, and a 6.7 percent annual real GDP growth rate during the five-year period. North Port in Sarasota County followed at No. 12 nationally, recording a 42 percent jump in housing units and a 78 percent surge in workforce size — the largest labor force gain of any Florida city on the list. Palm Bay in Brevard County came in at No. 14, with housing units growing 19 percent and the labor force expanding 27 percent.

Southwest Florida's growth corridor also made a strong showing, with Fort Myers ranking No. 20 nationally after housing units rose 21 percent and the labor force grew 42 percent. Cape Coral landed at No. 22, posting a 30 percent increase in housing units and 22 percent labor force growth. Beyond the top-ranked cities, the Florida list included West Palm Beach, Doral, Homestead, Lauderhill, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville, Deerfield Beach, Lakeland, Kissimmee, Orlando, Tamarac, Melbourne, and Pompano Beach, though specific rankings and data for these cities were not detailed in the analysis.

SmartAsset's methodology weighed housing construction, workforce participation, and economic output equally, aiming to capture where population growth, employment opportunities, and business activity are moving in tandem. The company noted that rapid growth does not necessarily benefit all residents equally, but the rankings identify markets where expansion is occurring across multiple dimensions simultaneously.

What this means for Northeast Florida housing

The inclusion of Jacksonville and nearby Palm Coast signals that Northeast Florida is participating in the broader statewide housing and economic boom that has reshaped the state's real estate landscape over the past five years. For Jacksonville, the boomtown designation reflects sustained residential construction activity, particularly in growth corridors such as the Southside, Baymeadows, and the Westside, as well as large-scale master-planned developments in suburban Duval County and neighboring Clay and St. Johns counties.

Housing supply has been a persistent challenge in the region as in-migration has outpaced new construction in some submarkets. The boomtown data suggests that builders have been adding significant inventory, though the specific rate of housing unit growth in Jacksonville was not disclosed in the summary. Projects of the scale implied by boomtown status typically involve thousands of new single-family homes, townhomes, and apartment units delivered over multi-year timelines, often concentrated in areas with available land and infrastructure capacity such as eTown, the Rail Yard District, and greenfield sites along the First Coast Expressway in Clay County.

The housing growth documented in the analysis also has implications for property values and market competition. Sustained increases in housing stock can moderate price appreciation if supply keeps pace with demand, but if workforce growth outstrips housing delivery — as the data suggest may be occurring in some markets — upward pressure on home prices and rents would persist. For prospective buyers and renters, the key question is whether the pace of construction can accommodate the expanding labor force without reigniting the severe inventory shortages that characterized the 2020-2022 pandemic-era market.

Economic and workforce implications

The labor force growth captured in the analysis reflects both net in-migration and an expanding employment base, driven by factors including the region's military installations, the logistics and distribution sector anchored by JAXPORT and Cecil Commerce Center, healthcare systems, financial services, and the ongoing diversification into technology and advanced manufacturing. Jacksonville's role as a regional employment hub means workforce expansion here ripples across neighboring counties, as workers commute from St. Johns, Clay, and Nassau for jobs in Duval.

Real GDP growth at the county level, the third metric in SmartAsset's analysis, reflects overall economic output and business activity. For Duval County, GDP growth during the 2019-2024 period would encompass expansions at the port, new corporate relocations and expansions incentivized by the Downtown Investment Authority and city economic development programs, construction activity itself, and growth in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and logistics. The specific GDP growth rate for Duval was not provided in the summary, but the boomtown ranking indicates output kept pace with housing and workforce increases.

The parallel growth in housing, labor, and GDP suggests a self-reinforcing cycle: businesses expand or relocate to access a growing workforce, workers move to the region for employment opportunities, and housing construction follows rooftop demand. Sustaining that cycle requires continued investment in infrastructure — roads, schools, water and sewer capacity — that development impact fees and property taxes are meant to fund. The open question for policymakers is whether public-sector capital projects can keep pace with private-sector growth without creating bottlenecks in traffic, school capacity, or utility service.

Palm Coast's regional influence

Palm Coast's No. 6 national ranking and status as Florida's highest-ranked boomtown has direct relevance for Northeast Florida, as Flagler County is part of the Jacksonville metro statistical area and shares economic and demographic ties with Duval, St. Johns, and Clay. The city's 27 percent housing unit growth and 21 percent labor force expansion from 2019 to 2024 reflect its position as an affordable alternative to higher-cost coastal markets in St. Johns County and its appeal to retirees, remote workers, and families seeking lower housing costs with proximity to Jacksonville employment centers and beaches.

Palm Coast's growth feeds demand for commercial services, healthcare, and retail throughout the region and contributes to traffic on I-95, the primary north-south corridor linking Flagler to Duval and St. Johns. The city's boomtown status also underscores the spillover effects of Jacksonville's growth: as Duval and St. Johns housing markets tighten, demand pushes north into Flagler and south into St. Johns, accelerating residential construction in adjacent counties. For developers and builders, the Palm Coast data point suggests that the broader Northeast Florida growth story extends well beyond Duval's borders and that opportunities exist across the multi-county region.

What happens next

The SmartAsset rankings capture a historical snapshot of growth from 2019 to 2024, a period that included the pandemic-driven surge in Florida in-migration, record-low interest rates through 2021, and the subsequent interest-rate spike in 2022-2023. The trajectory of growth in Jacksonville and other Northeast Florida cities going forward will depend on factors including mortgage rates, insurance costs, infrastructure investments, and whether the state's tax and regulatory advantages continue to drive corporate and individual relocations from higher-cost states.

For residents and stakeholders, the boomtown designation raises questions about quality of life, affordability, and whether growth is managed in ways that preserve the region's character and natural assets. Rapid housing and workforce expansion typically strain roads, schools, and public services in the near term, and the long-term benefits of economic growth depend on whether infrastructure investments and land-use planning keep pace. Public hearings on rezonings, transportation plans, and school construction will remain forums where residents can weigh in on how and where growth occurs.

The rankings also serve as a signal to developers, investors, and businesses evaluating where to commit capital. Jacksonville's presence on the list, alongside 18 other Florida cities, reinforces the narrative that the state remains a national magnet for population and economic growth, with Northeast Florida positioned as a lower-cost, high-quality-of-life alternative to South Florida's congestion and expense. Whether that growth continues at the pace documented in the SmartAsset analysis — or whether affordability constraints, insurance costs, and infrastructure limits slow the boom — will shape the region's trajectory through the rest of the decade.