15 Satellite Cities Poised to Thrive in 2018

Job seekers often overlook the small and medium cities located near or in-between the big hubs.

satellite image of the U.S. at night
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Job seekers often overlook the small and medium cities located near or in-between the big hubs. These smaller “satellite” cities benefit from expanding regional business growth, while offering lower housing and commuter costs, putting less of a squeeze on employee salaries than more expensive, congested places a few hours away.

That can mean both abundant job opportunities and budget-friendly home prices for folks looking to relocate. Check out these 15 up-and-coming satellite cities where the job markets are hot but the cost of living won’t eat all of your paycheck. All of these cities’ job markets have been growing faster than the national average, most have lower jobless rates than the national average, and all are expected to continue to outperform economically this year.

Karla Rivera also contributed to this report.

Disclaimer

Unemployment rates as of December 2017. Population data is as of 2016.

David Payne
Staff Economist, The Kiplinger Letter

David is both staff economist and reporter for The Kiplinger Letter, overseeing Kiplinger forecasts for the U.S. and world economies. Previously, he was senior principal economist in the Center for Forecasting and Modeling at IHS/GlobalInsight, and an economist in the Chief Economist's Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. David has co-written weekly reports on economic conditions since 1992, and has forecasted GDP and its components since 1995, beating the Blue Chip Indicators forecasts two-thirds of the time. David is a Certified Business Economist as recognized by the National Association for Business Economics. He has two master's degrees and is ABD in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.