The 2024 Most Dynamic Metropolitans Report from Heartland Forward, a think tank, highlights the diverse economic trajectories of metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S., those with populations of more than 50,000. It focuses on employment growth, average annual pay, real GDP, per capita income and entrepreneurial activity.
The new study shows that successful metros leverage their natural assets while they diversify into sectors such as technology, advanced manufacturing and health care. High-performing regions capitalize on young firms’ intensity and knowledge-driven sectors.
Metro areas with research universities thrive through the skilled labor produced there and public-private partnerships community and university leaders foster. Energy-driven regions ensure sustainability by leveraging natural resources alongside clean-energy innovations.
The 2024 Most Dynamic Metros rankings are based on an analysis of key economic indicators across 380 metropolitan statistical areas with available data. These metrics include average annual pay, employment, real gross domestic product (in 2017 dollars), per capita personal income, the share of total employment at firms five years old or younger and the proportion of employees at young firms with a bachelor’s degree or higher (young firm knowledge intensity).
See the gallery for the 12 most dynamic metro areas, according to Heartland Forward.
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