LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In a study focusing on new construction permits filed in metropolitan areas across the United States, the Lafayette-West Lafayette area took the top spot as the fastest growing community.
The study, conducted by California-based company S-Line Contractors, utilized building permit data, focusing on new housing permits, filed between January and February of this year, according to a news release.
Ranking the 30 top spots for “fastest growing construction” across the U.S., here’s how the study’s findings came about.
How did Lafayette-West Lafayette rank as the fastest-growing metro?
The data used in the study, the release said, was collected through the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Building Permit Survey within the U.S. Census Bureau and residential data through the U.S. Census.
Additionally, the release said 2023 data retrieved from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was used to calculate construction-related GDP as a percentage of the metro area’s total GDP, to determine the proportion of funds each area was allocating towards housing growth and investment within the period.
The data concluded the Lafayette-West Lafayette metropolitan area secured the top spot, with a total of 630 new privately-owned housing units filed per 100,000 people in the two month time period. That number saw a significant gap between the second place spot of Carson City, Nevada, with 429 housing permits filed per 100,000 people.
Did any other Indiana cities make the list?
The study saw only one other Indiana city make the top 30 list, with Bloomington coming in at 18 with 177 housing permits filed per 100,000 people.
S-Line Contractors spokesperson Sam Bitar said in the release the data was positive news for the “rapidly expanding locales” as the data showed robust economic vitality.
“The housing market may feel stagnant right now in many places across the US, but these cities are operating against the trend,” Bitar said. “A high number of new residences reflects both an increase in residential demand and the willingness of local government to devote the necessary funds to developing these areas.”
What other U.S. cities made the fastest-growing metro list?
Here is the order, ranking 1-30, of U.S. cities identified in the study as “fastest growing.”
Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida
Greenville, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida
Naples-Marco Island, Florida
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Arizona; Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama; Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida; Homosassa Springs, Florida
Burlington, North Carolina; Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas
Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina
Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina; Harrisonburg, Virginia
Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina; Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee
Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette-West Lafayette named fastest growing metro area, study finds