A Tri-Cities ‘boomtown’? Study ranks this city among nation’s fastest growing

Eric Rosane

Pasco is among the nation’s fastest-growing cities — both in population and businesses, says a new study by online financial technology company SmartAsset.

The Franklin County city placed 8th among the annual list of SmartAsset’s top 100 American boomtowns.

Half of the top 10 cities were from Washington, Idaho and California.

The study looked at data from 494 rapidly-growing cities during a five-year period between 2016 and 2021.

The communities were ranked on how much they grew during that time — in population, housing, income, gross domestic product, the number of businesses and changes in the unemployment rate.

Pasco — a city of 80,000 — found itself ranked similarly to other medium-sized cities such as Chino, Cal.; Lewisville, Texas; and Conroe, Texas.

Here’s why:

  • Median household income in Pasco has seen a nearly 45% increase between 2016 and 2021, which ranked the 18th highest among the group.

  • The city’s population grew by about 17% during that time, with the number of total housing units rising by almost 19%.

  • The number of new businesses in Franklin County increased by about 18% between 2015 and 2020.

  • Pasco in recent years has experienced an annual increase of about 3% in its gross domestic product (GDP).

  • Local unemployment also dropped. Between September 2021 and September 2022, unemployment in the Benton-Franklin counties dropped from 5.7% to 4.9%, according to a seasonally-adjusted average from the Washington Employment Security Department.

Nampa and Meridian — two medium-sized Idaho cities that share the Treasure Valley with larger city Boise — took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.

Looking to move to a boomtown? Well, for your budget’s sake, you may want to reconsider.

“Moving to a boomtown at its earliest stages can be a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors, as there’s still plenty of room for growth,” said Edith Reads, a senior editor at TradingPlatforms, in a provided statement.

“However, if a city has already reached its peak, it may be too late to get in on the action. In this case, it may be wiser to wait until the city’s growth slows down before making the move. This way you can avoid getting caught in the midst of a housing or job crunch,” she added.

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