Three Lee County communities named in 2019 list of fastest-growing cities

Three of Lee County’s communities have been named some of the fastest growing in the U.S.

Lehigh Acres scored number one on the list, mainly because of its high population.

People we spoke to say they like living there because it’s quieter, less expensive and more spacious than other spots in Lee County.

“More people on the road, more people in the stores,” said Randy Car.

It’s a big change he sees driving down roads in Lehigh Acres compared to how the area looked when he first moved here nearly 40 years ago.

“I don’t know how people find out about this place. I had to ask my mom one day in 1978, ‘How’d you hear about Lehigh Acres,'” he said.

But Lehigh Acres is no secret anymore. The unincorporated area ranks number one on Wallet-Hub’s Fastest Growing Cities in America for 2019.

It may be less of a surprise though that two other Lee County cities made the cut: Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

“I’ve seen buildings pop up. I’ve seen a lot of construction,” said Cape Coral resident Alex Bose.

”It’s beautiful. You can live on the water,” said Kim Lendway, also of Cape Coral.

Year-round warm weather, tax benefits and job opportunities are some of the reasons estate experts with LSI Companies say people keep moving to Lee County.

It’s an impact local businesses are also seeing.

“Our sales are kicking up. We keep having new guests coming in,” said Catherine Wainey with the Boat House in Cape Coral. “It’s just going to keep growing.”

The biggest challenge with such a fast-growing area is the infrastructure. But the experts we talked to said Lee County has a lot of road improvement projects in the works that will support its future growth.