I recommend looking into Columbus OH - lots of population growth, job growth, and major companies building out here like Intel, Meta, Google, Amazon, etc.

I chose Columbus because of the massive growth in population and the job market along with companies choosing to move and develop here like Intel, Meta, Honda, Amazon, etc.

The proximity to CA, low taxes, landlord friendly, tech jobs, population growth, and temperate weather make it appealing for investing.

Solid business and population growth to support long term appreciation. 

The appealing aspect here is the ongoing population growth and other economic factors.

Investing in areas with solid job growth, diverse economies, and population influx can mitigate some risks associated with economic downturns.3.

The future of housing scarcity, population growth or lack thereof, industry growth or lack thereof, tax rules, landlord/tenant laws all will play a more pivotal role; do you think population growth in 1974 has a factor on your REI success, or population growth in 2025-2035?

It’s ever growing in population due to the investments going in around.

I'd recommend doing some research into what markets you want to target (landlord friendly / growing population / economic drivers and developments) of those markets. 

High appreciation markets have low cap rates, good population and job growth.