Americans are flocking to these 6 California cities where business is booming and salaries are rising

Published Sat, May 11 2019 9:00 AM EDT
Emmie Martin@EMMIEMARTIN



Santa Cruz beach boardwalk amusement park. Santa Cruz, California. Mitch Diamond | Getty Images


Though wages remain largely stagnant for many American workers, there are several cities around the U.S. where incomes are on the rise.

Personal finance website GOBankingRates analyzed 347 American cities with populations of 500,000 or under, looking for places experiencing a combination of economic prosperity, population growth and rising incomes. To rank the top “boomtowns,” or cities that meet these criteria, the site looked at five-year data on population, housing, GDP and per capita income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.



Though it’s home to notoriously expensive cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, California also showed up several times on the list with cities including Santa Rosa, San Luis Obispo and Sacramento. These metro areas “offer incentives, such as a more affordable cost-of-living or a higher paycheck — or both,” GOBankingRates reports.


Below, check out six growing cities in California where the economy is strong and salaries are on the rise.

6. Oxnard
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 18.5%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 4.7%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 11.4%


5. Santa Maria
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 16.3%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 6.2%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 19.3%


4. Sacramento
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 20.6%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 4.7%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 26%



3. Santa Cruz
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 20.5%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 6.1%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 23.3%


2. San Luis Obispo
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 23.9%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 3.7%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 26.2%


1. Santa Rosa
Personal income growth, 2012 to 2017: 28.6%
Population growth, 2012 to 2017: 4.2%
GDP increase, 2012 to 2017: 33.8%

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/cali...re-rising.html