Two Central Texas communities along the I-35 corridor have been named the top boomtowns in America, with Georgetown and New Braunfels outpacing hundreds of cities nationwide thanks to explosive growth in housing, workforce size and economic activity.
A new study from SmartAsset ranked the Austin suburb of Georgetown as the No. 1 boomtown in the United States and the San Antonio-area town of New Braunfels at No. 2, placing both cities ahead of more than 400 communities analyzed across the country. The ranking measured growth over the past five years using three factors: housing unit growth, labor force expansion and county-level economic output.
A drone captures an overhead shot of the 2024 annual Wurstfest celebrations hosted in New Braunfels, Texas (Courtesy of FlyBy Photography)
Georgetown claimed the top spot after recording a 34% increase in both housing units and labor force. Williamson County, where the city is located, also posted a 7.7% compound annual growth rate in real GDP, according to the study. New Braunfels followed closely behind.
The city added housing at an even faster pace, with the number of housing units climbing 40% between 2019 and 2024. Its labor force expanded by 32% during the same period, while Comal County’s real GDP grew at a compound annual rate of 6.8%, according to the study.
The report underscores the remarkable growth that has reshaped much of Central Texas in recent years as people continue moving to communities between Austin and San Antonio in search of jobs, housing and quality of life. Texas placed 18 cities on the list of the nation’s top 75 boomtowns, second only to Florida’s 19.
The city of Leander is a fast-growing, popular suburb north of the Texas capital of Austin. (Courtesy city of Leander)
Researchers used U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis data, comparing changes between 2019 and 2024 to determine which cities are growing the fastest. Several other Texas cities cracked the top 10, including Leander at No. 4, Lewisville at No. 5, McKinney at No. 8 and Frisco at No. 10.
Elsewhere in Central Texas, Cedar Park ranked No. 29, Temple landed at No. 30, Austin came in at No. 37 and Round Rock placed No. 43.
This article originally published at Austin suburb bests San Antonio-area town as No. 1 US boomtown, report says.