Charleston, S.C. Ranked #3 Most Prosperous City Based on Latest RentCafe Study

RentCafé has just completed a survey of the most prosperous cities in the United States based on six indicators.

To get an idea of how cities compare to each other in terms of prosperity, RentCafé measured increases across six indicators—population, income, home value, higher education, poverty rate and unemployment rating—from 2000 to 2016. The final standings were based on the combined value of all ranks.

As for cities with positive changes in all prosperity indicators, Odessa, Texas ranked at the top, followed by Washington, D.C, Charleston, S.C., and Brownsville, Texas. At the bottom of the list across all prosperity indicators? Rockford, Ill., landed the last spot with Toledo, Ohio, and Mesquite, Texas, not far behind.

Here are the top five most prosperous cities in the U.S.:

1. Odessa, Texas

Population Change: 25 percent
Income Change: 38 percent
Home Value Change: 91 percent
Higher Education Change: 26 percent
Poverty Rate Change: -36 percent
Unemployment Rate Change: -24 percent

2. Washington, D.C.

Population Change: 15 percent
Income Change: 30 percent
Home Value Change: 135 percent
Higher Education Change: 42 percent
Poverty Rate Change: -11 percent
Unemployment Rate Change: -19 percent

3. Charleston, S.C.

Population Change: 35 percent
Income Change: 16 percent
Home Value Change: 39 percent
Higher Education Change: 34 percent
Poverty Rate Change: -15 percent
Unemployment Rate Change: -10 percent

4. Fontana, Calif.

Population Change: 60 percent
Income Change: 3 percent
Home Value Change: 60 percent
Higher Education Change: 57 percent
Poverty Rate Change: 3 percent
Unemployment Rate Change: 18 percent

5. North Charleston, S.C.

Population Change: 34 percent
Income Change: -3 percent
Home Value Change: 59 percent
Higher Education Change: 53 percent
Poverty Rate Change: -2 percent
Unemployment Rate Change: -1 percent

Not many cities (only 11 out of over 300) reported improvements across all indicators. This just means many cities focus on big improvements across one or two indicators instead of minor improvements in all categories.

Complete Rentcafe.com Study