Provo / Orem fastest growing community in the nation

PROVO, Utah – Happy Valley has one more reason to smile. Projections show the Provo/Orem area is the fastest growing community in the nation.
 
“It doesn’t surprise me,” says Provo resident Audrey Bogado. “It’s a great place to live.”
 
Bogado and her husband moved to Provo 10 years ago for school, and liked it so much, they stayed.
 
“They have good jobs, it’s cheap, it’s a good place for families,” says Bogado.
 
The data comes from Pitney Bowes, a software company specializing in data analysis. Pitney Bowes looked at 384 metropolitan areas. Most of the country remains the same. The Utah County hub out-grew much larger cities in terms of growth percentage. Second ranked is Austin, TX followed by Fort Hood, TX. Third ranked is Raleigh, NC, San Antonio, TX rounds out the top five.  A full list of the rankings can be found here.
 
What it does is let other people know what we already know living here,” says Orem Mayor Jim Evans. “How blessed we are, what a beautiful valley and community we live in.”
 
Current numbers show a total of 146,567 households between the two cities. It’s projected by 2017 that number will increase over 7% to 157,441.
 
The reason the Provo-Orem area is really expanding and growing is it’s a place where people want to be,” says Provo Mayor John Curtis.
 
Curtis says the ranking is one of several the communities have received, including best downtown by Livability.com. Population growth is something all cities strive for, but in downtown Provo it’s visible. Provo’s deputy Mayor Corey Norman says there are currently 500-million dollars in construction projects going on in the area, both residential and commercial.
 
“We’re experiencing this demographic where people want to live in more of a high density situation,” says Curtis. “Our downtown is perfectly suited for that.
 
Evans credits the expansion of UTA Frontrunner as another reason for growth. Developers are eagerly looking to develop land surrounding the intermodal hubs.
 
Both Provo and Orem say within the next couple of months they will make significant development announcements they hope will attract even more businesses and residents.