3 Valley cities among the top 5 ‘fastest-rising’ cities in the country

PHOENIX — Three Valley cities ranked in the top-5 of FinanceBuzz’s “fastest-rising” cities across the U.S.

Gilbert ranked No. 2, Chandler was slotted at No. 3 and Glendale placed No. 5.

Arizona cities were littered throughout the list of fastest-rising cities, with Mesa coming in at No. 13, Scottsdale at No. 20 and Phoenix at No. 26.

Frisco, Texas, was ranked as the nation’s fastest-rising city.

San Francisco, California, New Orleans, Louisiana and New York City are the fastest-declining cities in the United States.

What criteria was used to rank the fastest-rising cities in the U.S.?

FinanceBuzz tracked growth and decline by looking at a three-year period starting with 2019 and ending with 2022. Every U.S. city with a population larger than 200,000 in 2019 was included, for a total of 117 cities.

FinanceBuzz then compared the cities across the following eight dimensions and evaluated the variables by using weighted averages:

• Population change (2019 to 2022).
• Unemployment rate change (2019 to 2022).
• Per capita income increase compared to peer cities (2019 to 2022).
• New home construction per capita.
• Number of new businesses opened relative to the population.
• Percentage of homes that are vacant.
• Home value increase compared to peer cities (2019 to 2022).
• Percentage of residents with debt in collections.

How did the Valley cities make it near top of fastest-rising list?

Gilbert has a vacant housing rate of only 2.9% and home values there have risen 77% faster than the national average since 2019.

Chandler has a housing market very similar to Gilbert and the unemployment rate in Chandler has fallen by 0.6% in the last three years, while nearly 30,000 new businesses per 100,000 people opened in 2022.

Glendale saw the biggest increase in home values in the country between 2019 and 2022. Home values in Glendale have risen 82% faster than in peer cities.

Follow @veenstra_david