7. Provo, UT Metro: Up 2.7%
The Provo area’s latest population increase is part of a longer-term trend: the metro population has doubled over the past two decades. Provo benefits from the presence of Brigham Young University, the top employer in the metro area. It also has three major hospitals, software company Novell, and two large nutrition product wholesalers. Overall, the number of jobs grew by 3 percent in the Provo metro in 2011, third-best in the country, and the area had the 10th-lowest crime rate nationally, according to Forbes. The city also topped Forbes’ 2012 list of best U.S. cities for business and careers.
