St. John's economy is growing quickly, and the city has been identified as having one of the highest proportion of scientists and engineers per capita of any city under one million population in North America. Economic forecasts suggest that the city will continue its strong economic growth in the coming years not only in the "oceanic" industries related to offshore oil,but also in tourism and new home construction as the population continues to grow.

This growth in St. John's and its surrounding suburban municipalities, particularly Paradise (+31%), Flatrock (+7%), Torbay (+15%), Conception Bay South (+11%) and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's (+12%) St. John's metro area: +5% population; The rest of the province: -1.5% population). Many feel that the growth in St. John's has not particularly spread to the rest of the Province.