Springdale jumps two spots to sixth fastest-growing U.S. small city
by October 2, 2017 5:14 pm 1,016 views
Springdale is the sixth fastest-growing small city in the United States, according to WalletHub.com.
The Northwest Arkansas city jumped two spots in WalletHub’s 2017 study on the Fastest-Growing Cities in America, from eighth in the 2016 study. Overall, Springdale was the 17th fastest growing city, while Fayetteville, Little Rock and Fort Smith were 35, 448 and 508, respectively. The fastest growing city in the United States was Frisco, Texas.
“To determine where the fastest local economic growth has occurred in the U.S., WalletHub’s analysts compared 515 cities of varying population sizes based on 15 key measures of both growth and decline over a period of seven years,” according to WalletHub. “Our data set ranges from population growth to unemployment rate decrease to growth in regional GDP per capita.”
Meridian, Idaho, was the fastest growing small city. Fayetteville was the 14th fastest growing small city. Fort Smith was the 200th fastest growing small city, and listed as one of the small cities with the lowest growth. Jacksonville, N.C., at No. 202, was the small city with the lowest growth.
Little Rock was No. 222 on the list of fastest growing mid-size cities, which was the same category Frisco, Texas, was in.
A mid-size city has between 100,000 and 300,000 people, while small cities have fewer than 100,000 people.
As of July 1, Little Rock had a population of 198,541, while Springdale, Fayetteville and Fort Smith had populations of 78,557, 83,826 and 88,133, respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“More and more families are choosing to move to Springdale because of our job opportunities, top-tier school system and safe, family friendly environment with high-quality amenities,” Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said. “We have a strong economy in Springdale and this population growth helps to support the entire community by increasing the city’s sales tax base that pays for vital services such as police and fire. Population growth also helps to support local businesses that create jobs.”
Click here to view the WalletHub study.