CoWorkingCafe just published a study highlighting the U.S. cities that saw the most economic growth, which we categorized by population size: large, mid-sized, and small — and eight Arizona cities rank among those with most economic growth

In an economic landscape that is constantly changing, a city’s prosperity is not only brought by a robust job market, but also by investments in infrastructure, local entrepreneurship, innovation and community. So, we crunched the latest data from 2019 through 2023 across 11 key metrics — including GDP growth, job gains, housing expansion, export strength and infrastructure buildout — all detailed in the methodology section of this study.  

Arizona, and more specifically the Phoenix metro area, saw an incomparable economic growth between 2019-2023, having eight locations in the top 10 across the three population brackets.

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The Phoenix metro area of Arizona experienced impressive economic growth in infrastructure with 25.8% increase in roadway miles between 2019-2023. The area’s GDP grew by 42% in the same timeframe, while business applications saw a 61% growth.

Below we’ve extracted the key findings on the economic metrics that saw the most noteworthy growth by location.

Mesa took the fourth spot overall among large cities:

  • Mesa saw the second highest growth for median earnings between 2019-2023 – 38% – now standing at $43,958.
  • The employment rate grew by 1% in the same timeframe, placing the city third for this metric, while the 9% drop in crime places Mesa eighth among large cities. The 5% increase in housing stock puts Mesa ninth.

Phoenix ranked seventh overall among large cities:

  • Phoenix had an impressive 20% drop in crime which places the city fourth for this metric.
  • Employment grew by 1% in Phoenix as well, while median earnings saw a 34% increase reaching $43,488.

Gilbert crowned first among mid-sized cities:

  • With a 2% growth in employment rate, a 1% drop in unemployment rate and 16% more housing units added between 2019-2023, Gilbert takes the second spot for these metrics.
  • Educational attainment grew by 13%, placing the city third, while population increased by 12.8%, ranking fourth. The 32% growth in median earnings brought the median at $59,603 while placing the city in the seventh spot for this growth. 

Chandler took the fifth spot overall among mid-sized cities:

  • The 13% growth in educational attainment and the 14% more housing units added, place Chandler fourth for these metrics.
  • The city saw an impressive drop of 24% in crime between 2019-2023, ranking fifth for this metric.

Glendale ranked ninth overall in the mid-sized bracket:

  • With a 1% growth in employment rate, Glendale takes the third spot for this metric. The 1% drop in unemployment rate places it second among mid-sized cities.
  • The 30% growth in median earnings brought the median at $40,071 while placing the city in the ninth spot for this growth.

Goodyear takes the crown among small cities:

  • Goodyear took several first spots among key metrics, more specifically – there was a 32% increase in educational attainment, a 29.2% growth in population and 38% more housing units were added between 2019-2023.
  • The 1% increase in employment rate placed the city fourth, while the 30% growth in median income brought the income at $50,209 while placing the city 17th for the growth saw for this metric.

Surprise ranked fourth overall among small cities:

  • Surprise is ranked second for the employment rate metric, which saw a 3% increase, and the unemployment rate drop of 2%.
  • Other great-performing areas for Surprise were the population growth of 12.3% (ranking 18th), the addition of 7% housing units (16th spot) and the median income increase of 28% (19th spot) reaching $48,225.

Peoria came in the eighth spot among small cities:

  • The unemployment rate drop of 2% placed this city second for this metric, while the addition of 19% housing units ranked the city sixth. There was an increase of 18% in educational attainment, scoring seventh spot for this metric.
  • The 13.5% population increase got Surprise on the 11th spot, while the 29% median earnings increase got the city to $51,465 and placed it 18th among small cities.

Full data and methodology: https://www.coworkingcafe.com/blog/top-cities-for-economic-growth