Polk County Courthouse at night

The Midwest is Booming - Just Not Where You Think

by Joel Kotkin — The Midwest is booming, but not where you might think. Kansas City, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Grand Rapids, and Des Moines are the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest—lapping bigger hubs like Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and even Chicago that are still suffering from stagnant economies and slow or even negative population growth.
Suburb of Des Moines

Suburbs Could End Up On The Cutting Edge of Urban Change

by Joel Kotkin — Overwhelmingly, suburbs are where most growth is happening. Since 2010 suburbs and exurbs have produced roughly 80 percent of all new jobs. Even tech growth is shifting...

Landless Americans Are the New Serf Class

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — For the better part of the past century, the American dream was defined, in large part, by that “universal aspiration” to own a home. As housing prices continue to outstrip household income, that’s changing as more and more younger Americans are ending up landless, and not by choice.
Los Angeles Central Business District, by Doc Searles

California's Middle Class is in Decline Despite State's Immense Wealth

by Amita Sharma — The California Dream of two or three generations ago was, `I’m going to move from a place that’s cold and flat to a place where there’s lots of opportunity,’” said Joel Kotkin, a presidential fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University.

The Screwed Millennial Generation Gets Smart

by Joel Kotkin — It’s been seven years since I wrote about “the screwed generation.” The story told has since become familiar: Millennials, then largely in their twenties, faced a future of limited economic opportunity
suburban homes

Housing and the California Dream are at a Crossroads

by Joel Kotkin — For generations, California has offered its people an opportunity to own a home, start a business, and move up, whether someone came from Brooklyn, east Texas, Morelos or Taipei. That deal is still desired by most
Kowloon, HK

Housing Affordability and the Standard of Living: The 14th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey

by Wendell Cox — For the eighth year in a row, the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey shows Hong Kong to be the least affordable housing market (metropolitan area) in nine nations.
economics of millennial generation

Millennials Search for Home...On Their Terms

How are millennials affecting the housing market? As millennials come of age and the older tier in particular begins to settle down, there are four key trends worth noting.
Photo credit: Ryan J. Quick

The Cities Where African-Americans Are Doing the Best Economically 2018

by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox — To determine where African-Americans are faring the best economically, we evaluated America’s 53 largest metropolitan statistical areas...
Photo credit: Aerial vies of Irvine, Texas by La Citta Vitta, via Flickr

The Price of Texas Growth: Housing Affordability

by Dr. Luis Torres — During the housing recovery, Texas price gains uncharacteristically outpaced those at the national level from December 2010 to June 2017, pushing home prices to record highs.