Of the Top 100 ‘Boomtowns’, None are in Missouri or Illinois

There were a lot of cities that saw huge growth in 2022. Did you know that among the top 100, none of them were in Missouri or Illinois? To quote Metallica, it's sad but true.

Get our free mobile app

Smart Asset just shared their new 2022 list for the parts of America seeing the largest growth. Notice that their pretty map doesn't have any dots in Missouri or Illinois. There's a reason for that.

On their top 100 list, you won't find any that are in Missouri or Illinois. None. Nada. Where is the growth happening in America then? According to Smart Asset, it's in the West and the South. That's an accurate statement as Nampa, Idaho was #1 and the only big growth area anywhere near us is in Tennessee in the Nashville area.

By the way, this Smart Asset ranking isn't just a blogger's opinion. They crunch a lot of numbers including 5-year growth rates, average financial growth, housing units, unemployment, etc. It's real science that is deciding who's hot and who's not. Breaking news: we're in the "not" crowd unfortunately.

What's the culprit? I suppose some could point at taxes or state government policies or even weather. (Looking at you, current National Weather Service forecasts) Likely the issue of why more people don't choose to live in Missouri or Illinois is more complicated than one or two simple answers. For now, the trend is for less people to choose our part of America as home and that doesn't look likely to change anytime soon.