A new year brings new growth, and for the year of 2022, that’s exactly what our town did. According to 24/7 Wall St., Hattiesburg is among America’s fastest growing big cities for 2022.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was established in 1884 with a population of approximately 400. Things sure have changed throughout the last 134 years.
24/7 Wall St. recently published their article, “America’s 20 Fastest Growing Big Cities.” In this article, Hattiesburg was named as number 16!
Many of the metro areas found on the list benefit from being home to major universities. For example, Hattiesburg is home to The University of Southern Mississippi.
Among this, there are many other reasons why Hattiesburg and other cities in the South are booming. Statistically, the South has a lower cost of living, offers desirable places to retire, and brings warmer weather.
More about Hattiesburg
In order to determine the fastest growing big cities, they reviewed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey one-year estimates. Listing all 20 metropolitan statistical areas with at least a 15% population growth from 2016 to 2021. They then added seasonally adjusted December employment figures, used to calculate employment growth from 2016 to 2021, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Let’s take a look at the numbers and see why Hattiesburg is among America’s fastest growing big cities for 2022.
From 2016 to 2021, the population of Hattiesburg grew by 15.9%—that’s a growth of 23,704 people! Rising from 148,803 to 172,507, Hattiesburg went from number 277 to number 247 out of 381 cities.
Along with the population growth came a rise in employment. During those five years, employment rose by 2%. Lowering the unemployment rate in December 2021 to 3.3% compared to 4.9% in December 2016.
Summary
Will you be joining those moving to Hattiesburg? Point O’Woods would love to welcome you home! Contact us today to learn about any of our current or upcoming availabilities.
Finally, continue reading our blogs for more local news and events.