Four California cities make list of America’s newest boomtowns

Four cities in the Golden State made a list of America’s newest boomtowns due to their rapid growth in recent years.

Three of the cities named on SmartAsset’s ranking are located in Northern California, where the tech boom has super-charged everything from population size to property prices.

But the highest ranking city on the list is nowhere near Silicon Valley.

Menifee, in Riverside County, saw a 29% increase in housing units between 2019 to 2024, according to the study.

“Boomtown status does not mean growth benefits everyone equally, but it does reflect a city’s expanding economic capacity and the new opportunities that come with it,” SmartAsset said in its report.

The analysis evaluated over 400 cities with at least 65,000 residents, whittling it down to the 75 highest-scoring cities.

Here’s how California stacked up:

Menifee (No. 65 on the list)

Menifee, which was only incorporated as a city in 2008, saw a 45% increase in its labor force between 2019 and 2024.

Rancho Cordova (No. 70)

Rancho Cordova, in Sacramento County, saw a 21% increase in housing units between 2019 to 2024, while its labor force jumped 17%, according to the study.

Santa Clara (No. 72)

Home to the oldest institution of higher education in the U.S., Santa Clara University, the city is famous for its booming tech economy and cultural attractions. Santa Clara recorded an 11% increase in housing units and a 7% increase in labor force, the report found.

Sunnyvale, CA (No. 75)

Major tech giants including Yahoo and LinkedIn are headquartered in Sunnyvale, and Google, Meta and Apple also have massive footprints in the city. Sunnyvale saw an 11% increase in housing units and a 6% increase in labor force, according to the study.

The overall list was topped by two Texan cities — Georgetown and New Braunfels — which both saw five-year increases of more than 30% in both labor force size and housing units.

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