SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Three South Carolina cities made US News and World Report’s fastest growing city list for 2023-2024.

The Upstate happens to be home to two cities on the list, Spartanburg was named the 12th fastest growing metro area.

People are swapping larger metro areas for places like Spartanburg, one of those people is Erica Cornego, co-founder Integrarte Dance Art Movement Center.

“I like big cities but sometimes it can become so overwhelming,” Cornego said.

Cornego and her husband Carlos Molina, were looking for a fresh start.

“We were just searching and Googling and Spartanburg was one of the places that popped from the list,” Cornego said. “We didn’t know about Spartanburg so we were wondering, ‘Okay, let’s go see.’”

Soon after, they decided to leave their home in Boston to open up a new business in the Hub City.

“It was a challenging situation because Boston is an expensive city. It’s a bigger city. Here it seems to be a place where we can establish something in a more comfortable way and still be able to offer to the community what we love to do, which is dance,” said Molina, who co-founded the center with his wife.

Their story resonates with a lot of people.

“We hear that a lot, folks move to our area because it’s just easier particularly if they have a business idea to get that off the ground because start-up costs here can be lower just like housing costs and everything else,” said Christopher George, City of Spartanburg Communications Director.

George added that their own data concluded that around 15 people a day are moving into Spartanburg County.

And with all the buzz surrounding Spartanburg, the city implemented a new outline for growth.

“Council just approved our city-wide comprehensive plan that seeks to guide all development and conservation efforts in the city for the next decade plus.” George said.

With the intention of making Spartanburg that greener grass on the other side for everyone.

“A lot of that is tied to housing is tied to infrastructure improvements and its really to make this a welcoming lace for newcomers but also to make sure those newcomers and the energy they are brining benefits folks already here,” said George.

Greenville also made the list coming in as the 23rd fastest growing city in the country while Myrtle Beach was number one.

US News and World Report’s list is determined by the net migration of each metro area over the past five years.