The national economy has been slow to recover but some communities are doing better and much better than others. Personal finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2015’s Cities with the Fastest Growing Economies to see where the opportunities are and all roads lead to Texas—except one --which rolls straight into Kent, Washington.

In 2014, the U.S. recorded its lowest population gain since the Great Depression. Growth stood at .73 percent, largely in contrast with the 5 percent of the 1990s which was a period of prosperity. Demographer William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution attributed the decline to the economic downturn. Not only did the crisis deter job-seeking migrants from flocking to the U.S., but it also discouraged couples from having children. Meanwhile, population numbers shifted across states, creating short- and long-term effects on local economies. Kent, Washington is one community where population numbers are on the rise.

In order to identify the American cities that have grown the most rapidly in socioeconomic terms, WalletHub compared 515 U.S. cities across 10 key metrics, ranging from population growth to decline in unemployment.

Checkout WalletHubs interesting homework:

Fastest Growing Cities Slowest Growing Cities
1 Odessa, TX 506 Parma, OH
2 Frisco, TX 507 Albany, GA
3 Midland, TX 508 Skokie, IL
4 Mission, TX 509 Deltona, FL
5 College Station, TX 510 Decatur, IL
6 Killeen, TX 511 Detroit, MI
7 Kent, WA 512 Sunrise Manor, NV
8 Bryan, TX 513 Westland, MI
9 Austin, TX 514 Yuma, AZ
10 Round Rock, TX 515 Carson, CA

Key Stats
• Lehigh Acres, Fla., experienced the highest population growth at 9.7 percent. Gary, Ind., experienced the biggest population decrease at 2.5 percent.

• McAllen, Texas, experienced the highest household income increase at 6.9 percent. Deltona, Fla., experienced the biggest household income decrease at 4.4 percent.

• Midland, Texas, experienced the highest job growth at 7.0 percent. Jackson, Miss. experienced the biggest job decrease at 2.4 percent.

• Asheville, N.C., experienced the biggest poverty rate decrease at 6.7 percent. Ellicott City, Md., had the highest poverty rate increase at 81.3 percent.

• Midland, Texas, had the highest growth in GDP per capita at 13.3 percent. Gulfport, Miss. experienced the biggest decrease in GDP per capita at 2.9 percent.

For the full report https://wallethub.com/edu/fastest-growing-cities/7010/

A US national flag hangs in front of the Boeing office in Washington, DC on September 11, 2015. As commemorations across the eastern United States replicated the timeline and solemn geography of September 11, 2001, there was also a reminder that the threat posed by Islamist terror groups remains both clear and present. Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 at Ground Zero in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard a hijacked airliner that went down in rural Pennsylvania. AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS (Photo credit should read Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
A US national flag hangs in front of the Boeing office in Washington, DC on September 11, 2015. As commemorations across the eastern United States replicated the timeline and solemn geography of September 11, 2001, there was also a reminder that the threat posed by Islamist terror groups remains both clear and present. Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 at Ground Zero in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard a hijacked airliner that went down in rural Pennsylvania. AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS (Photo credit should read Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
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