Austin came in third in a new study by the real estate software company Stessa Inc. that ranked the U.S. metro areas with the greatest economic growth in 2021.
The city earned a composite score in the analysis of 77.9 based on its unemployment rate change between January and May of this year (1.3%); its jobless rate in May (4.2%); average monthly building permits issued in the first half of 2021 (207 per 100,000 residents); and average monthly home sales per capita (138 per 100,000 residents).
Nationwide, nonfarm employment rose by 1.5% from January to May as the U.S. jobless rate fell to 5.9%, according to the study. That compares to a high of 14.8% in April of last year.
Utah and Florida saw the most economic growth over that time period among the 50 states, the Stessa Inc. report found, while Louisiana and Alaska posted the weakest economic growth. Louisiana actually saw a decrease in employment from January to May, the researchers found.
The study used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau and the real estate brokerage Redfin.
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Top-50 List of Metro Areas With Most Economic Growth
| Rank | Metro | Composite Score | Percentage Change in Total Employment | Unemployment Rate | Average Monthly Building Permits per 100,000 Residents | Average Monthly Home Sales per 100,000 |
| 1 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro- Franklin, TN | 78.9 | 1.10% | 3.90% | 132 | 174 |
| 2 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 78.6 | 1.00% | 3.80% | 136 | 168 |
| 3 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 77.9 | 1.30% | 4.20% | 207 | 138 |
| 4 | Jacksonville, FL | 75 | 0.80% | 4.20% | 127 | 191 |
| 5 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 74.7 | 2.80% | 5.40% | 84 | 173 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City, OK | 73 | 1.30% | 3.60% | 55 | 139 |
| 7 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 71.4 | 1.70% | 3.80% | 57 | 122 |
| 8 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 70.4 | 1.00% | 4.60% | 75 | 193 |
| 9 | Salt Lake City, UT | 69.9 | 1.10% | 2.80% | 78 | 107 |
| 10 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 68.9 | 1.10% | 3.90% | 55 | 153 |
| 11 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 65.3 | 1.60% | 5.90% | 77 | 156 |
| 12 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 64.7 | 3.10% | 8.90% | 63 | 181 |
| 13 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro,
OR-WA | 64.6 | 2.60% | 5.30% | 51 | 133 |
| 14 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 64.4 | 1.30% | 6.20% | 88 | 173 |
| 15 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia,
NC-SC | 63.6 | 0.40% | 4.30% | 83 | 152 |
| 16 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 58.7 | 1.80% | 5.10% | 60 | 104 |
| 17 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 57.7 | 1.60% | 6.60% | 80 | 120 |
| 18 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 56.9 | 1.10% | 3.70% | 40 | 101 |
| 19 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 56.4 | 0.00% | 2.60% | 32 | 135 |
| 20 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 53.8 | 1.10% | 5.30% | 61 | 113 |
| 21 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 52.3 | 0.20% | 4.30% | 46 | 131 |
| 22 | Tucson, AZ | 52 | 1.10% | 6.70% | 49 | 156 |
| 23 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 51.3 | 1.30% | 5.00% | 41 | 106 |
| 24 | Kansas City, MO-KS | 50 | 0.50% | 5.00% | 45 | 131 |
| 25 | Richmond, VA | 49.7 | -1.00% | 4.50% | 57 | 128 |
| 26 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom,
CA | 49.6 | 1.90% | 6.30% | 44 | 110 |
| 27 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 48.5 | 0.60% | 4.30% | 34 | 112 |
| 28 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 48.1 | 2.40% | 4.70% | 24 | 77 |
| 29 | Riverside-San Bernardino-
Ontario, CA | 45.8 | 2.70% | 7.20% | 25 | 111 |
| 30 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 44.5 | 0.70% | 5.50% | 27 | 136 |
| 31 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 43.5 | -1.10% | 4.70% | 36 | 146 |
| 32 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 41.6 | 0.40% | 5.30% | 89 | 73 |
| 33 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 40.5 | 0.10% | 4.60% | 24 | 119 |
| 34 | Rochester, NY | 40.3 | 1.50% | 4.80% | 14 | 76 |
| 35 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 39.5 | 2.40% | 6.40% | 21 | 95 |
| 36 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 39.5 | 2.30% | 5.50% | 24 | 25 |
| 37 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 39.3 | 1.40% | 6.30% | 37 | 77 |
| 38 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 39.2 | 2.30% | 5.30% | 12 | 76 |
| 39 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton,
MA-NH | 38.7 | 1.30% | 5.50% | 30 | 75 |
| 40 | Columbus, OH | 38.7 | -0.80% | 4.70% | 40 | 110 |
| 41 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 38.3 | 0.80% | 4.70% | 16 | 100 |
| 42 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 37.1 | 1.10% | 4.60% | 18 | 38 |
| 43 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 36.7 | 1.20% | 5.70% | 33 | 55 |
| 44 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 35.1 | 0.90% | 5.20% | 12 | 100 |
| 45 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Anaheim, CA | 33.7 | 3.40% | 9.10% | 21 | 48 |
| 46 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 31.1 | 0.90% | 6.10% | 35 | 37 |
| 47 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 29.2 | -0.40% | 8.10% | 41 | 113 |
| 48 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 27.9 | -0.50% | 5.10% | 13 | 111 |
| 49 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin,
IL-IN-WI | 24.7 | 0.90% | 7.30% | 14 | 92 |
| 50 | New York-Newark-Jersey City,
NY-NJ-PA | 24.4 | 0.90% | 7.50% | 22 | 32 |