America’s Fastest Growing Small Towns, and What Growth Actually Feels Like
The small towns growing fastest in America are almost all doing it for the same reason: they sit within commuting distance of a metropolitan area that got too expensive. Remote work widened that radius considerably, and a town forty minutes outside a growing city now draws people who would once have needed to live in it.
That pattern is worth understanding before you move to one, because the thing that makes a town attractive at the point you arrive is frequently the thing growth removes.
Where the Growth Is
Four regions account for most of it.
Central Texas, in the ring around Austin and San Antonio. Places like Dripping Springs, Kyle, New Braunfels and Georgetown have grown at rates that would be unremarkable for a suburb and are dramatic for a small town. No state income tax, a strong job market and land to build on.
The Southeast, particularly around Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh and Greenville. Mild winters, lower costs than the Northeast, and towns close enough to a city for work and far enough for space.
The Mountain West, around Boise, Bozeman, Coeur d’Alene and the Wasatch Front. This is the region where growth has been most contentious, because the arriving incomes are frequently from higher cost markets and local wages have not kept pace with local prices.
Florida’s interior, inland from the expensive coasts, where towns near Ocala, Lakeland and the Orlando ring offer the climate without coastal property costs or coastal insurance.
What Growth Does to a Town
Roads are the first thing to break. A two lane road built for a town of 4,000 does not work for a town of 12,000, and road funding lags population by years because it follows tax receipts that follow construction that follows the people.
Schools are next. Portable classrooms are the visible sign, and a bond issue to build a new school is a property tax increase two or three years after you arrive. Ask about enrollment growth and any pending bond measures before you buy, because both are public information and both will affect what you pay.
Water is the constraint people miss entirely. In the Mountain West and Central Texas, several fast growing towns are approaching real limits on supply, and building moratoriums have already been imposed in some. Ask what the water source is and whether the utility has capacity for planned growth.
Then healthcare. A town that gained 60 percent of its population in a decade rarely gained 60 percent more doctors. Call a local practice and ask whether they are accepting new patients before you commit, and check the drive to a full service hospital rather than a clinic.
The Part Nobody Puts in the Rankings
Fast growth changes the social character of a place, and that is worth naming honestly rather than treating as a soft factor.
Existing residents watch housing costs rise beyond what local wages support, which means their own children cannot afford to stay. Newcomers arriving with metropolitan incomes are frequently, and not unreasonably, resented for it. Local politics in fast growing towns tends to revolve around exactly this, and arriving in the middle of it is different from arriving in a stable place.
The practical version of this for a buyer: the town you visit is not the town you will live in five years from now. Look at what has been approved for construction rather than what exists, because that tells you where it is heading.
Employment concentration is worth checking too. A town whose growth rests on one employer, one plant or one distribution center is exposed in a way a commuter town serving a whole metropolitan job market is not.
How to Check a Town Properly
Visit twice, in different seasons, and at least once on a weekday rather than a weekend. Drive the commute at the hour you would actually drive it, because a fifteen minute trip on a Sunday can be forty on a Tuesday morning.
Read the local newspaper for a month before you buy. Planning disputes, water restrictions, school funding and road projects all appear there long before they appear anywhere a prospective buyer would normally look.
Rent first if you can. Six months answers questions that no amount of research will, and it is far cheaper than selling a house you regret.
Getting Your Vehicles There
Small town moves have a common shape: two vehicles, one driver, and a destination well off the interstate.
Shipping one and flying is usually simpler, and on a long move it competes with driving once fuel, hotels, meals and vehicle wear are counted. Allow more lead time than you would for a city, because a carrier has to justify the detour off the interstate for a single vehicle, and be honest about access. A 75 foot hauler cannot manage a narrow lane with low branches, and a meeting point at a large lot in the nearest town is normal practice.
If you are weighing regions rather than towns, our guide to the best places to retire in the U.S. covers the state level decision.
Common Questions
Why are these towns growing? Almost all sit within commuting distance of a metropolitan area that became expensive, and remote work widened that radius.
What breaks first? Roads, then schools. Both lag population because funding follows construction, which follows the people.
What should I check that rankings never mention? Water supply and utility capacity, particularly in the Mountain West and Central Texas, plus whether local practices are taking new patients.
How do I find out where a town is heading? Look at approved construction rather than what exists, and read the local paper for a month.
Why does shipping to a small town take longer? A carrier has to justify leaving the interstate for one vehicle. Extra lead time and a meeting point both help.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 821-4555 with both zip codes, your date range and an honest description of the access at the destination, or price the move with the instant calculator.
