Pennsylvania: This is the Fastest-Growing Town in the State
What’s a boomtown, and what Pennsylvania towns are considered boomtowns? First of all, boomtowns are the fastest-growing cities in America, because of fast rapid business and population growth. They’re the hot spot to live and buy property, and they’re only getting hotter.
So, which boomtowns are, well, booming around America? GOBankingRates recently released a study with the biggest boomtowns in every state. To conduct the study, they looked at the “one-, five- and eight-year changes in population, occupied housing units and owner-occupied housing units of cities with a population of more than 25,000 but less than 500,000.”
Pennsylvania Fastest-Growing Town
So, which Pennsylvania town is the fastest-growing in the entire state? The answer is Hazleton. According to the study, the change in population for that town in one year is 18.28%, five years is 17.57% and eight years is 16.27%. That’s a lot of positive growth across the board. The change in occupied housing units is also growing fast. For one year, the rate is 18.59%; for five years, it’s 18.68%; and for eight years, it’s 17.10%. Finally, the change in owner-occupied housing units is 22.36% for one year, 5.70% for five years and 5.25% for eight years.
Hazelton, according to the VisitPA.com website, “Owes its fame and fortune to two incongruously paired goods: coal and silk. Located on one of only two pockets of anthracite coal in the world, the city got its start when Asa Packer started mining and canal operations in the 1830s. This brought the railroads to town; at one point the nearby Weatherly terminal dispatched more than 100 trains a day.” Today, it’s home to the Duplan Silk Corporation, at one time produced about 25 million yards of cloth a year. VistPA.com adds, “Visitors to Hazleton today can enjoy boating, skiing, and fishing. Penn State maintains a branch campus here.” Find the full list of the most booming cities in America here.