Many people have dreamed about moving to a “big city” to chase their dreams.
Historically, the big city meant going to one of the liberal coastal metropolitan areas, but the shiny façade of these areas is gone and it no longer has the allure of years past.
Now four red-state cities have the potential to overtake these major Democrat-run metropolitan areas soon.
Sunbelt cities starting to prevail
A report from Barron’s found the economic and societal power in the United States is starting to shift from cities like New York and San Francisco to other metropolitan areas located in the Sunbelt.
Four of these cities, mostly located in the middle of the country, are starting to see an influx of new residents and investors.
These cities include Houston and Dallas in Texas, Miami in Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee.
While New York has Wall Street and San Francisco famously has Silicon Valley, the city of Houston has a booming energy economy, and Miami is seeing a growing financial industry.
Even though Los Angeles is home to Hollywood and Washington, D.C. has political power, Dallas is witnessing an influx of major businesses calling it home, while Nashville is quickly becoming a large tech and healthcare hub.
According to Niall Ferguson, a Stanford historian, “You used to have two coastal power zones where you could live your best life, never really touching down in the red states. We now have much more of a multipolar America rather than a bipolar America. That reflects taxes, quality of life, cost of living, the ability to build, and the incredibly striking differentials in quality of governance.”
Redfin analyzed its user search data and found that New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. were the top four cities that Americans were looking to move away from.
In the same data, the company found that Miami was the city that its users were most interested in moving to.
Dallas and Houston ranked eighth and ninth respectively, with lower taxes and housing prices appearing to be the top motivating factors.
And while economy and housing prices are certainly major influencers, these red-state cities also have quite a lot to offer their residents.
How these cities are run and governed could also play a role.
The appeal of the Sunbelt
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the nation and is also host to 26 Fortune 500 companies with major energy companies like Phillips 66, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips calling it home.
Approximately 40 percent of Houston’s economy is tied to oil and gas, which isn’t going away anytime soon.
The city of Dallas has seen the biggest population increase of any US metro area from 2021 to 2002, with an increase of over 170,000 people.
Over 175 companies have moved their headquarters to Dallas and other North Texas area cities since 2010.
Miami has also seen a population boom, increasing by 1.7% from 2021 to 2022 and is headquarters to over 1,100 multinational corporations.
The finance industry is a major player in Miami, with hedge funds Elliot Management and Citadel calling it home.
And Nashville was ranked as the top city in the nation for job opportunities and earnings potential, according to data from the HR firm Checkr.
It’s also been named the healthcare capital of the United States, with over 500 companies in the industry calling it home.
Only time will tell whether Americans will flock in masse to red-state cities, but things are certainly looking up.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
