The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Jacksonville, Florida is the American city with the fourth greatest economic growth in 2021.

Surprise, surprise.

Other Southern cities, such as Orlando, Tampa and Charlotte, typically get more attention and don’t often share the spotlight with Jacksonville, the booming metropolis in northeastern Florida.

But according to a new survey, Jacksonville is growing faster than all but three other American cities. Among the largest metropolitan areas only Nashville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C., and Austin, Tex., outpace Jacksonville.

Having moved here a couple of years ago, I think that Jacksonville is slighted as a major metropolitan area. Often it’s identified as “more Georgia” than Florida because it abuts the Peach State. But compared with other Florida cities, Jacksonville’s beaches are as good, if not better.

And there’s more. It’s developing into a major port city, the home to two major Navy bases and, not the least, a quality symphony orchestra that found a way to continue to perform during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown.

The amount of construction underway here is amazing, as rational planning extends the growth to the city’s border and beyond. Interestingly, Jacksonville was ahead of most cities some years ago when it consolidated the city and Duval County functions.

Here are some of the stats, according Stessa.com:

Percentage change in total employment: 0.8%
Unemployment rate: 4.2%

Average monthly building permits per 100,000 residents: 127
Average monthly home sales per 100,000 residents: 191
Population: 1,559,514

According to the study, “The [national] economy is rebounding from the shock of the pandemic faster and stronger than many anticipated.”

C’mon down.

Here are some links to Jacksonville:

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fastest growing cities, Jacksonville, Stessa