NORTH PORT, Fla. — The city of North Port is the third biggest “boomtown” in the United States, according to LendingTree.
North Port, now with a population of 95,000, ranked sixth in LendingTree’s previous similar study.
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According to the report, LendingTree “ranked and scored” the 100 largest metropolitan areas across the country with “eight unique metrics” and looked at: people and housing, work and earnings, and business and economy.
North Port ranked second in the analysis of people and housing; fourth in the analysis of business and economy, and 26th in work and earnings.
Five of the top 10 fastest growing metros are in the state of Florida, according to the study. And eight in the top 10 are from the South – in Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas.
Austin ranked No. 1, while Orlando came in second. North Port was ranked just behind at third place while other Florida cities ranked in the top 10 per the study included Cape Coral, Lakeland and Deltona.
North Port, according to the report, was “bolstered by strong GDP growth (11.8%) and a high rate of new residents from outside the area (18.9%) – both fifth overall.”
North Port also saw a 6.5% increase in housing units, a population increase of 5.9%, median earnings rise 15.3% and an increase in workforce rise of 5.4%.
Officials in North Port are happy to see the city on a list shining a positive light with North Port previously ranking high in a Consumer Affairs report that said North Port has the fastest falling home prices in the nation.
The North Port Economic Development official social media page posted about the LendingTree boom town ranking and said North Port is “a city positioned for long-term success, with land to build, a growing workforce, and strong economic momentum.”
North Port’s Mayor Phil Stokes spoke to The Daily Sun and said “there is no doubt that the city is going to keep growing.”
“It’s not a surprise North Port is one of the boom towns,” Stokes said.
Home prices and property values may be down, Stokes said, but the growth continues with the population continuing to skyrocket.
And those decreases, according to Stokes, can actually be a good thing for people looking to purchase properties.
“It doesn’t appear as if anyone’s not building,” he said.
New homes and more are being built in Wellen Park and other places, he said.
North Port, according to Stokes, are particularly focused on commercial development and bringing more jobs to the city to increase the tax base. Especially in places like the Yorkshire area and off of Interstate 75.
Stokes said North Port will also continue working to make the city an attractive destination for people to move to and stay in. That will foster needed commercial development being achieved.
“We’re on the right trajectory. The growth is going in the right direction,” Stokes said.
