996 counties · 22 indicators · 8 government data sources

The Boom Town Index

996 U.S. counties ranked by long-term economic strength vs. housing cost. Counties where quality of life, job growth, and affordability outpace home prices score highest. Government data, no opinions.

What Scores High
Counties where what you get outpaces what you pay. Quality of life, job growth, affordability, and current price trends all feed the score — but the core signal is the gap between local economic strength and housing cost.
The Score
0–100 composite from 22 indicators across 8 federal datasets. Measures long-term structural value, not short-term momentum. Think of it as a P/E ratio for housing.
How to Use
Sort, filter by population or climate, then click any county for the full breakdown: forecasts, employer data, comparable counties, and neighborhood-level detail.
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Population
Climate & Terrain
Safety

Top Counties

Percentile: Low
High
Rank County BTI Score Signals Safety 1yr Forecast 5yr Outlook GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R

[ED] Latest Analysis

Editorial takes on the data — what the rankings can't say in headline form.

The Builders Already Picked Their Next Boom Towns (And They're Not in Austin Anymore)
Editorial

The Builders Already Picked Their Next Boom Towns (And They're Not in Austin Anymore)

Single-family permits crashed 50% in Austin, Nashville, and Tampa from 2019 to 2024 — while doubling in counties most relocators have never heard of. Where builders put capital tells you what they think demand will support.
5 Signs a "Fastest-Growing" County Has Already Peaked
Editorial

5 Signs a "Fastest-Growing" County Has Already Peaked

Most fastest-growing-county lists are 2-3 years stale. Five data signals — building permits, job-mix, wage-vs-price, migration trend, amenity backing — tell you in five minutes whether a hot county has already crested.
$4 Trillion in Capital Investment: We Mapped 3,901 Projects Across 858 U.S. Counties
Editorial

$4 Trillion in Capital Investment: We Mapped 3,901 Projects Across 858 U.S. Counties

We tracked $4T in announced capital investment across 858 American counties. Data centers ($2T), energy ($890B), manufacturing ($590B). Here's where the money is flowing in 2026 — and the rural counties getting more capex than New York City.
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U.S. county economic strength by state Browse by State

Explore all 51 states ranked by average BTI score. See which states offer the strongest long-term value.

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Fundamentals vs. Momentum
Specs

Counties in Decline

Rank County BTI Score Signals Safety 1yr Forecast 5yr Outlook GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R

[SYS] How We Score

The BTI Score identifies counties where what you get outpaces what you pay. An ML model trained on 20 years of data learns which factors predict long-term county outperformance. Here's what it found:

Quality of Life39%
Price Momentum25%
Jobs & Wages13%
Housing Valuation10%
GDP Growth8%

Weights are learned from data, not manually assigned. Excludes national macro conditions (~19%) which affect all counties equally.

Read the full methodology →