Growth Score
Momentum in population, jobs, income, housing, tax base and capital investment.
Definition
The Growth Score measures a city's momentum across five dimensions: people, the local economy, housing supply, the municipal tax base and capital investment. Each is measured as recent multi-year change, adjusted for inflation where dollars are involved, and compared with other US cities. No single dimension dominates the score.
What goes into it
| Component | What it captures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Demographic | Population and household growth | Census ACS |
| Economic | Employment growth and inflation-adjusted household income | Census ACS, BLS CPI |
| Housing | Housing stock growth and new construction permitted | Census ACS, Building Permits Survey |
| Fiscal | Inflation-adjusted growth in the city's tax revenue | Census government finances |
| Capital | Recent construction spending per resident, outside utilities | Census government finances |
Example
San Ramon, CA
Distribution
8,097 US cities. Highlighted bar: San Ramon (54).
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2015-2019 · 2020-12
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2020-2024 · 2025-12
- U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (annual place files) · 2025
- U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (individual unit files) · FY 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0) · 2024 annual average
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025, incorporated places) · 2026-05
Coverage & confidence
Census, permit and government-finance inputs cover nearly every city CityCites scores. Where the Census Bureau estimated most of a city's finance figures instead of receiving them from the city, confidence is lowered. Some cities have building permits issued by their county; their housing growth uses housing-unit change alone.
Limitations
- Census five-year estimates are rolling averages, so recent shocks appear gradually.
- Government finance data is published with a lag of about two years.
- Growth is not a judgment of quality of life; fast growth can bring congestion and cost pressures.
- Revenue growth can reflect new taxes as well as a growing base.
Technical methodology
Technical methodology for partners
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