To cull the list, they began with the 100 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S., geographic areas designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that include cities and their surrounding suburbs. They rated these places based on six metrics. Using data from Moody’s Analytics, they assessed the estimated rates of population growth for 2013 and 2014, year-over-year job growth for 2013, and the rate of gross metro product growth—a.k.a. the economic growth rate–for 2013. They also considered federal unemployment data and median salaries for local college-educated workers, courtesy of Payscale.com. The result is a list of the 20 fastest growing metro areas in America in terms of population and economy.

See where Seattle lands on the list!