Miami Had the Second-Most "Socioeconomic Growth" Since 2008 of Any Big U.S. City

2008 Miami was in the worse shape it had been in ages. On top of a global economic meltdown, our local real estate market had collapsed and the foreclosure crisis was at three-alarm status. So it's really no surprise that we've grown so much since then considering we had such...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

September 29, 2015

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Miami in 2008 was in the worse shape it had been in ages. On top of a global economic meltdown, the area's local real estate market had collapsed and the foreclosure crisis was at three-alarm status. So it's really no surprise that the city has grown so much since then considering it had such a long way to go.

In fact, according to a new WalletHub analysis, Miami had the second-most "socioeconomic growth" since 2008 of any large American city save for Austin, Texas.

What is "socioeconomic growth," you might ask? WalletHub defines it as a split measure of “Socio-Demographic Landscape” and “Jobs & Economic Environment." Ten different criteria were then measured to come up with a ranking. Socio-demographic landscape included population growth, the increase of the working-age population (those between 16 and 64), and the decrease in poverty.

The jobs and economic measure included the decrease in unemployment, median household income growth, job growth, the change in the ration of part-time to full-time jobs, growth of the regional GDP per capita, increase in number of business, and increase in the median home price.

Miami came in second for big cities overall and 17th of all 515 cities measured.

WalletHub also tells us that for big cities Miami placed in the top ten for various other criteria:

1st – Population Growth
10th – Median Household Income Growth
18th – Job Growth
6th – Poverty Rate Decrease
7th – Growth in the Number of Businesses
1st – Full-Time Jobs Increase
1st – Working-Age Population Growth

Other local cities also were ranked but didn't get as high as marks.

Miami Beach came in 39th for small cities and 130th overall. Miami Gardens was 211th for medium-sized cities and 429th overall. Hialeah was 90th for medium-sized cities and 185th overall. Kendall was 189th for small-cities (despite not technically being a city) and 480th overall.

So, while Miami continues to surge, thanks in large part to rapid real estate growth, the rest of the county isn't necessarily reaping the benefits.

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