Suppose you’ve ever watched a sunset over Fort Myers’ pristine shoreline. In that case, you know how easy it is to make this stunning Gulf Coast city your home. As it turns out, a lot of people do.
Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks the best places to live in the United States based on several categories, including population growth, which is also part of each neighborhood’s attractiveness score. While Naples was this year’s overall winner, Fort Myers won the award for fastest-growing city in the country.
U.S. News & World Report notes that this is the most recent complete data available from the U.S. Census Bureau and that “Fort Myers was the fastest growing city among 150 major cities in this year’s analysis, with a 6.73 percent population increase between 2021 and 2022 due to net migration.”
The city currently has 109,595 residents with an average age of 45. U.S. News also highlights affordable real estate in Fort Myers – the median home price is $273,214, although Zillow’s current estimate is $361,966. The median household income during that period was $71,154, higher than Florida’s state level.
So, what are Fort Myers’s other major attractions? According to U.S. News & World Report, the city’s “vibrant downtown,” plenty of outdoor recreation, warm weather, and natural beauty are all magnets for newcomers.
Good economic prospects are another factor. In May, the unemployment rate in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area was just 3 percent, a whole percentage point below the national average. Earlier this year, WalletHub ranked Fort Myers as the third-largest city for startups. It has one of the highest numbers of investors per capita in the U.S., making it a startup hub. While the office vacancy rate in metropolitan areas is the highest it has ever been, the current national vacancy rate is 18%, with the Fort Myers/Naples area having a vacancy rate of just under 5%.
Killeen, Texas, ranks second on U.S. News & World Report’s list of the fastest-growing places in America. The city’s population grew by 6.57%, and the median home value is $161,449 (currently $229,154).
Another Florida coastal community, Port St. Lucie, ranked third. In 2021-2022, the resident population will grow by 4.93%.
