Optimize the health of you program-career alignment looking holistically across the portfolio to spot overlap or gaps in addressing career needs. test

Optimize the health of you program-career alignment looking holistically across the portfolio to spot overlap or gaps in addressing career needs.

Optimize the health of you program-career alignment looking holistically across the portfolio to spot overlap or gaps in addressing career needs.

Optimize the health of you program-career alignment looking holistically across the portfolio to spot overlap or gaps in addressing career needs.

Optimize the health of you program-career alignment looking holistically across the portfolio to spot overlap or gaps in addressing career needs.

The Sunbelt and Mountain West continue to lead other regions when it comes to talent attraction. The top 3 large metros are Sunbelt stars: Dallas, TX , Austin, TX, and Miami, FL. Nineteen of the top 20 highest ranking large metros are in the Sunbelt. Across metros of any size, only three of the top 50 highest-ranking regions are outside of the Sunbelt and Mountain West.

Talent attraction has not merely added people to the Sunbelt and Mountain West—it has redefined their economies. In coverage of our first-ever Talent Attraction Scorecard in 2015, Richard Florida, a prominent urban theorist, noted with interest that “lower-wage service economies in the Sunbelt” were towards the top of the ranking. Those lower-wage service economies have since matured into diversified economies anchored by tech, logistics, and advanced manufacturing. 

The Sunbelt is now home to new semiconductor production facilities in metros including Austin, Dallas, and Phoenix (ranked #15 for large metro areas).These new industries required attracting experts from around the world, not just around the nation. Nashville (#19 for large metros) once primarily known for tourism and entertainment, has emerged as a hub for healthcare management and headquarters operations. Amazon selected Nashville for its Operations Center of Excellence in 2018, committing to locate 5,000 jobs in corporate logistics, tech, and operations management, while in 2024, Oracle announced in Nashville would be home to its new global headquarters. In Florida, metros like Orlando and Tampa (#4 and #8 large metros) are seeing a surge in fintech and aerospace engineering. These trends signal more than population growth: they point to rising economic value through the talent and industry now there.

A similar transformation has occurred in the Mountain West. Lifestyle metros like St. George, UT, and Bozeman, MT (#2 and #8 mid-sized metros), have attracted remote workers, entrepreneurs, and tech talent, fueling a surge in knowledge-sector startups and creative industries. Larger metros like Denver and Salt Lake City (#35 and #53 large metros) have become magnets for software development, aerospace, and finance. Semiconductor investment is making an impact here, too, with Boise (#48 large metro) home to two new fabrication plants. 

Across our various metrics of talent attraction, these regions are strongest in overall job growth. And critically, job growth in these areas is not simply a function of high-growth industries concentrated there. We measure a region’s “competitive effect” as the job growth in a region that cannot be attributed to industry mix effects or national growth effects, and these regions also perform highly in this metric. 

This table shows the top 10 highest-ranking metro areas by overall score, by job growth, and by competitive effect. Every single one of these metros is in either the Sunbelt (☀️) or Mountain West (⛰️).

To be fair, geography has an enviable role to play in talent attraction for these regions: if someone is invested in moving to a city with warm winters or mountain scenery, there’s only so much that the Great Plains can offer in response. But not every Sunbelt and Mountain West metro is benefiting equally, and neither is every Northeastern and Midwestern metro losing talent at the same rate. No matter its geography, every region can take steps to attract talent and grow their local economies.

The top-performing metros in the Sunbelt and Mountain West did not transform by chance. They have been and remain at the top of the Talent Attraction Scorecard because of intentional, data-informed decisions that align economic development, workforce planning, and infrastructure investment around long-term goals. 

How Lightcast Can Help

Lightcast tools empower regions like the Sunbelt and Mountain West to solidify their top spot—and equip other communities to follow their lead.

• Developer: Provides insights into your region's economic and workforce strengths. With data from Developer, Employ Prince George’s built a compelling case for investment—unlocking $6M in funding and transforming services for local businesses and residents.

• Gazelle: Identifies growing companies that need the talent your region offers. See how Florida’s Great Northwest leveraged Gazelle to target fast-growing businesses, helping secure $75 million in investment.

• Talent Migration Dashboard: Shows where talent is coming from or moving to, including which industries and occupations they work in. Learn how Action Greensboro used these insights to uncover key migration patterns and build an award-winning talent attraction strategy.