The Falling and Rising Stars of U.S. Cities

Current trends suggest that the popularity of major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York may be fading, while more homebuyers might flock to "opportunity boomtowns" like Nashville, Madison, Wis. and Fargo, N.D. 

Executive director of the Center for Opportunity Urbanism Joel Kotkin broke down big cities into five categories, "falling stars", "opportunity boomtowns", "on the move", "great again", and "left behind". Kotkin says that the demographic challenge for many cities will increase as Millennials age into their 30s, "the fastest growth in millennial migration is taking place in cities like Charlotte, Houston, and Austin." Kotkin attributes this change to the growth of tech and professional services in these regions, per Chief Executive.

When it comes to the death and life of American cities, things change, often in unpredictable, once unthinkable ways. Now, high prices and a lean to the left in the nation’s coastal metropolises could spell new opportunity for more business-friendly, less costly regions like Dallas-Fort Worth and Salt Lake City. If current trends continue, there may be new hope not only for Midwestern cities like Columbus, Indianapolis and Kansas City, but even for some long down-on-their-luck metros, like Detroit and Cleveland.

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