Austin’s growing appeal as a relocation destination for both companies and individuals is fostering the creation of new employment opportunities and households, according to Marcus & Millichap in the U.S. Retail Index for 2022. This is translating into one of the fastest paces of retail sales growth in the nation this year, placing the market squarely at the top of the ranking.
West Palm Beach, Fla. (No. 4); Charlotte, N.C. (No. 5); and Phoenix (No. 8) are not far behind in their paces of household formation, creating demand for local retail services and placing these metros in the Top 10 of the NRI. Las Vegas (No. 7) and Orlando (No. 9) are adding households at even faster rates than Austin but face ample new supply pressure this year. Other markets leading in the index for 2022 include Seattle-Tacoma (No. 3), where consumer spending is more than 40 percent above pre-pandemic levels, and Tampa–St. Petersburg, Fla. (No. 6), where the employment base has grown 6 percen