As the economy grows, the up and coming cities are from unexpected places. Several smaller east coast cities and beyond are poised to become “powerhouses” according to Realtor.com [1], as they fill up with top paying jobs and housing that is much more affordable than other major U.S. metros.
Many of these cities, such as Salisbury, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Worcester, Massachusetts are east coast cities, with no cities on the West Coast on Realtor.com’s top 10 list of cities poised to become “powerhouses”. For instance, Salisbury, with a population of just 390,091, is by no means a large city, but that population has doubled in the last five years and is on track to keep growing. A lower cost of living coupled with rising wages and affordable homes have kept the population on the rise steadily, and job opportunities have continued to increase in this city.
A median home price of $289,900 is also a draw, especially compared with the median home price of $449,950 in nearby Washington, D.C. realtor.com also notes that there many homes for sale in Salisbury for just $100,000 or less.
Other east coast cities, such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Worcester, Massachusetts, are also on the rise. Myrtle Beach hasn’t seen growth due to job opportunities and wages, but instead, has seen an influx of retirees looking for an alternative to nearby Florida’s higher cost of living. Myrtle beach’s current population of 265,100 has seen around 150,000 newcomers within the past five years, drawn to lower-priced housing, with a median home price of $239,050.
Worcester, with a population of 930,667, is the second largest city in Massachusetts, but housing is half as cheap. The median home price in Worcester is $299,950, and the population is growing due to new businesses and industries cropping up.
This means the east coast is booming and is set to continue to grow. Lafayette, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Grand Rapids, Minessota; Knoxville, Tennessee; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Ogden, Utah were other cities on this list.