Austin Rankings & News Coverage

(some recent Austin news coverage from 2009-2011)

The popularity of Austin TX is no longer a secret.  Austin is at the heart of the hyper-growth being witnessed within the TexaPlex. With 70% of the population of Texas living within two hours of Austin, its no wonder that Austin has ranked at the top of or highly on so many national and International Lists.

Here's a summary of some recent press and rankings

What the Census tells us about America's Future - Feb 25, 2011 - By Joel Klotkin - (Newgeography)  The Shift to “Opportunity Regions” As the economy slid in the last years of the decade, population growth slowed, particularly in some Sun Belt states, such as Florida and Nevada, that thrived during the bubble. In contrast newcomers flocked to places, notably in the Texas cities, that offered better prospects. Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth regions all grew by 20% or more over the decade.

MovieMaker - 10 Best Cities to Live, Work, and Make Movies - Jan 18, 2010 - By Julie Jacons w/ Jennifer M. Wood Some say that money is the root of all evil, while others hold that evil follows money’s absence. Likewise for today’s independent moviemakers, while some contend that bigger budgets open up more creative options, others maintain that limited budgets have a better chance of generating true innovation.

Austin is the #1 Most Popular City for College Graduates - Jan 14, 2011 - By Derek Thompson (Yahoo Finance)  Americans value mobility. But if you want to move up in the world, sometimes you have to move, literally. In a recession, that's a problem.

Austin is the only large metro is US to have college graduate migration gains of more than 2 percent from 2007-2009 - Jan 12, 2011 (Brookings Institute)  The tepid gains in employment and the rise in home foreclosures over the last couple of years have led to an even further plummeting of the nation’s already historically low levels of long distance migration, as chronicled earlier. Between March 2009 and March 2010 interstate migration stood at 1.4 percent, lower than any year since the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey started collecting that data in 1948.

Austin Leads the Nation In Job Growth - Jan 7, 2011 - By Anthony Mason - (CBS Evening News)  The Brookings Institution just looked at how well cities had emerged from the recession. The rankings are based largely on job creating and housing. Five of the top 10 are in Texas, with the state capital Austin leading the list.

Austin Second Strongest Job Market in Country - Jan 2011 - (Milken Institute) Texas metros, occupied 11 of the top 25 positions among the 200 largest metros in the 2010 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index – and five of the top 10. Austin Ranked #2.

Austin is the #1 Most Popular City for College Graduates - Jan 2011 - (Yahoo Finance)  Austin is one of the most resilient cities in the U.S. It is also the most dynamic city in the United States, according to the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, a mecca for music lovers, and a cultural jewel of the South. It's got brains, it's got growth: Indeed, Austin could be America's hottest city at the moment.

Austin is the #3 Best Job Market in America - Jan 2011 - (Forbes) - Austin has a number of assets that have helped it weather the downturn: It's a state capital and major convention center (especially for the music industry), the home of the University of Texas, and a tech hub.

Austin Second Strongest Job Market in Country - Jan 2011 - (Milken Institute) Texas metros, occupied 11 of the top 25 positions among the 200 largest metros in the 2010 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index – and five of the top 10. Austin Ranked #2.

Austin is the #1 Most Popular City for College Graduates - Jan 2011 - (Yahoo Finance)  Austin is one of the most resilient cities in the U.S. It is also the most dynamic city in the United States, according to the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, a mecca for music lovers, and a cultural jewel of the South. It's got brains, it's got growth: Indeed, Austin could be America's hottest city at the moment.

Austin is the #3 Best Job Market in America - Jan 2011 - (Forbes) - Austin has a number of assets that have helped it weather the downturn: It's a state capital and major convention center (especially for the music industry), the home of the University of Texas, and a tech hub.

Austin No. 4 best place to visit in U.S. - Dec 20, 2010 (Lonely Planet) Austin has been named one of the “Top 10 Places to Go in the U.S. for 2011” by travel-guide publisher Lonely Planet.

Austin is the #1 Celeb city to live or visit  - Dec 17, 2010 - By Colleen Kane (CNBC) Los Angeles and New York are the go-to galaxies for stars to cluster in America. But consider how many famous people don't need to be in L.A. or New York often for work, or those who like more privacy, or who are loyal to whatever place they feel at home.

Forbes - America's Best Cities for Young Adults - Dec 15, 2010 - By Morgan Brennan (Forbes) With the sluggish economy slowing many a budding career, 30 has for many become the new 20. But regardless of their age when they strike out on their own, young adults continue their endless quest for the most vibrant cities to call home.

Forbes - Best Shopping Cities - Dec 13, 2010 - By Meghan Casserly (Forbes)  Move over New York. When it comes to shopping, everything’s bigger in Texas. Forbes’ first-ever ranking of the best U.S. cities for shopping takes a look at the real numbers behind what makes retail sparkle in the 25 biggest cities in America. One look at the top 10 shows that NYC, long thought to be the best city for style, sophistication and putting your pocketbook to work, is nowhere to be found.

Military.com Best Cities for Military Retirees - Dec 6, 2010 - By Jeremy Schwartz Austin's not your traditional military town, but its healthy economy, proximity to Army posts and cool factor have earned the city a third-place ranking on a national survey of best places for military retirement.

Austin Ranks 3rd in the nation as the best place to retire for military retirees - Dec 6, 2010 (Brookings Institute) USAA and Military.com announced today that Waco, Texas, heads the first-ever "Best Places for Military Retirement" list. USAA and Military.com commissioned a study to create the list to pinpoint places in the U.S. that offer a high quality of life and help maximize military retiree benefits as servicemembers manage their "first retirement" from the armed forces and begin planning their "second retirement" from civilian life.

AOL's Daily Finance - America's 11 Best Cities for Telecommuters - Dec 2, 2010 - By Bruce Watson - (Daily Finance)  In most lists of the best telecommuting cities, the focus is on local technology and the quality of Internet access. But as high-speed broadband and wireless options become more ubiquitous, and with freelancing making traditional workers less profitable, the needs of telecommuters are shifting. 

Austin is the 26th Most Dynamic City in the World - Dec 1, 2010 - By Derek Thompson (The Atlantic) What is the most dynamic city in the post-recession world?

Austin is the 5th Best City to Relocate to in America - Dec 2010 (CNBC) Austin-Round Rock ranks high on quality of life and affordability: It has at least a dozen colleges and was voted the No. 1 college town by the Travel Channel. The cost of living is 2.4 percent below the national average.

Austin 8th best college town in U.S. - Dec 2010 (Huffington Post) From our friends at Unigo: Many factors can sway your college decision, but location might just be the most important. We're not just talking about the weather, either. A school's location is the inherent culture surrounding the campus, and what that environment can offer its students.

Austin is a top manufacturing city  - Dec 2010 (Manufacturer News)

Austin has the 9th Strongest Job Market in the U.S.  - Dec 2010 (Indeed.com) How hard is it to find a job in your city? Here's the number of unemployed per job posting for the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Austin is a Top 10 Place in America Poised for Recovery (Newsweek, November 2010)

Austin is the 7th Smartest Metropolitan Area in U.S. - Oct 2010 (Daily Beast) As reported in the Austin Business Journal. Austin residents have been ranked the 7th brainiest in the U.S., according to a recent Daily Beast report.

Austin is the 2nd Best College Town (as reported by The Austin Business Journal)  - Sep 2010 (American Institute for Economic Research) Ample arts, strong creative class and beating entrepreneurial heart are just a few reasons Austin was ranked one of the best places for college students, among other factors, a recent study reported.
 
Travel and Leisure - America's Best Music Cities - Aug 2010 - By Katrina Brown Hunt (Travel and Leisure)  Ask people which music city rules the nation, and you’ll find plenty of debate—but not a lot of humility. It’s a battle more intense than best barbecue: which city has the best music scene? “Austin, period. No competition,” says Dana Marlowe, a Washington, D.C., consultant who used to live in the Texas capital. “NYC is fantastic, L.A. is great, New Orleans rocks, Nashville kicks it ol’ school country, but Austin has them all beat. You can hear any kind of music, any day, in almost any venue.”

Kiplinger - 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade  - July 2010 - (Kiplinger)  We live in challenging times. Unemployment remains high, and the U.S. lead in technology and science is slipping as many foreign countries gain ground. But some U.S. cities, though slowed by the Great Recession, still thrive by lifting good old American innovation to new levels. And that will help put more Americans back to work and keep our international edge.


Austin is the #1 Most Recession-Proof City (CNN, July 2010) NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The "Keep Austin Weird" campaign must have worked, because the Texas capital is among the country's oddball cities that bucked the downturn.

Austin is in the Top 10 Greenest Cities in the U.S. (The Mother Nature Network, July 2010) Carbon neutral by 2020 — it's an ambitious goal, but Austin Energy is the nation's top seller of renewable energy among 850 utility-sponsored programs,

Austin is the #1 Best Performing City Among Top 50 Metro Areas (Texas Workforce Commission and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2010)

Portfolio - Best Cites for Young Adults - March 15, 2010 By G. Scott Thomas (Portfolio) This may seem like a dumb question: where is it good to be a young adult? The easy answer is everywhere. But some metro areas, starting with Austin, are kinda awesome.The Southwest is the new frontier for young Americans—the region where those in their 20s and 30s have the best chance of establishing themselves in a recessionary economy

Austin is the #1 Best City for Young Professionals (Austin Business Journal, March 2010)  The Southwest has become the new frontier for young Americans — the region where men and women in their 20s and 30s have the best chance of establishing themselves in a recessionary economy.

Austin is the #1 Best City in the U.S. Economic Recovery (Forbes, March 2010) 

Austin is the #1 Best City for Housing Market (Boyce Thompson Builder Magazine, February 2010)  Housing economists have long held that the housing rebound, when it comes, will be uneven. The markets that benefit first will be the ones with the strongest core dynamics; places where house prices never got out of hand, cities where a diverse and progressive employment base drives job creation, towns that continue to draw population despite the economic recession.

Austin is the 9th fastest growing metro in the U.S. between 2000 - 2009 (Census Bureau, 2010)

Sperling's Best Places - Best Cities for Dating The study is based on criteria that includes percentage of singles ages 18-24, population density, and dating venues per capita such as concerts, coffee shops, bars, bowling alleys, etc., and includes 80 metro areas in America. We teamed up with AXE Deodorant Bodyspray, which specializes in the dating game, to find out which city is revered as the D.C. (Dating Capital) of the U.S.

Austin has one of the Best Flea Markets in the World  - 2010 - By Constance Van Flandern (Travel Channel) If the words rummage, swap, bargain, bric-a-brac or collectable excite you, then you might have an itch for a flea market. Nothing quite beats the thrill of coming home with a one-of-a-kind, rare or unusual souvenir retrieved from a bin and bought for a bargain.

Texas is the #1 Best State for Business (CNBC, 2010)

The Daily Beast - 25 Best Cities for College Grads - By Richard Florida The Class of 2010 is heading into the real world but where should they live? Urban guru Richard Florida and his team find the best cities for the young and ambitious.

Forbes - Best U.S. Cities to Earn a Living - Sep 3, 2009 - By Francesca Levy (Forbes) For the exasperated job-seeker to whom employment opportunities seem bleaker than ever, salvation may lie in the Lone Star State. Texas, home to dozens of energy heavyweights and nearly as many innovative small companies, has three of the best cities to earn a living: Dallas, Houston and Austin.

Outside Magazine - America's Best Cities - Aug 2009 - By Caitlin Meredith (Outside Magazine)  Yes, the originator of the KEEP [your city's name here] WEIRD bumper sticker is still plenty kooky, but it's also young and remarkably active. With Barton Greenbelt—800 acres of wilderness—in the heart of downtown, a lunchtime bike, kayak, or swim is standard practice for the techies, hippies, cowboys, and students (the University of Texas is here) who call Austin home.

Yahoo Finance - Best Bargain Cities  - May 14, 2009 - By Zack O'Malley Greenburg  Nearly a decade ago, after making a donation to a volunteer-run radio station in Austin, Texas, local librarian Red Wassenich was asked why he chose to support a broadcaster with a penchant for playing strange crooner music. "Because it keeps Austin weird," he said.

 Austin is the #1 Best City for a Career (WomenCo., May 2009) Now more than ever, it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. And there’s no question about it — when it comes to value, not every U.S. city is created equally.

Austin is a Top Retail City in U.S. (Pitney Bowes Business Insight, May 2009)  This market shows consistent healthy growth in gross metropolitan product, personal disposable income and consumer expenditures, coupled with a decline in personal bankruptcies.
 
Austin is the #1 Best City for a Fresh Start (Relocation.com, May 2009)

Austin is in top ten fittest cities in America (Shape Magazine for American College of Sports Medicine 2009) The fittest cities in the U.S. don't all have balmy weather year-round; state-of-the-art, celeb-packed gyms; or legions of super buff locals strutting around in size 4 jeans. What they do have is a commitment to public parks and bike lanes, and active citizens with low rates of obesity, smoking, and chronic illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.

Forbes - Best Cities for Jobs - Apr 14, 2009 (Forbes) Over the past five years, Michael Shires, associate professor in public policy at Pepperdine University, and I have been compiling a list of the best places to do business. The list, based on job growth in regions across the U.S. over the long, middle and short term, has changed over the years--but the employment landscape has never looked like this.
 
Austin is the #14 Best Art Destination in U.S. (AmericanStyle Magazine, April 2009)

Austin Hosts a Top 25 Best Film Festival Worth Its Application Fee (MovieMaker Magazine, April 2009)

Austin has the #2 Fastest Growth Rate in 2008 (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2009) Raleigh-Cary, N.C., and Austin-Round Rock, Texas, were the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas between 2007 and 2008, according to July 1, 2008, population estimates for the nation’s metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas and counties released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Austin is the #8 Best Place for Business and Careers (Forbes.com, March 2009)

Austin is #3 Best Performing Airport in U.S.: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (Airports Council International, March 2009)

Austin is a Top Best City for the Outdoors (Forbes.com, February 2009)

Austin is in the Top 10 Budget Travel Destinations in 2009 (Budget Travel Magazine, January 2009)

Austin is #4 Best Economic Performers in U.S. (The Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, January 2009)
Austin is featured in “15 Coolest North American Cities” (MSN Travel, January 2009)

Austin Ranks high on list of cities with high tech jobs  - (By Albert Sun Business Week) Tech geeks, take note: Silicon Valley is still the center of the technology universe, but if you're thinking about a career in computing and want to avoid the Bay Area's sky-high cost of living, consider another locale—say, Durham, N.C., or even Huntsville, Ala.

The Advocate - Gayest Cities - By Mike Albo Long ago, gay people settled in our nation’s largest cities. There they spruced up all the property, created every art and fashion movement, and taught entire populations how to dance. They created gayborhoods like WeHo, Chelsea, South Beach—and pretty much queered all of San Francisco until even Laundromats had rainbow flag decals in their windows. About 10 years ago everyone else moved back into these nicely gentrified metropolises, and the lavender diaspora began. Now a slew of secondary cities are becoming gay epicenters.

CNN - 25 Best Place to Retire  Your post-work years are a time to improve your golf game, take up a new hobby, or just enjoy a well-deserved break. In these great college towns, you can expand your intellectual horizons too.

Bicycling.com - Top 50 Cities for Bicycling Remember when a striped bike lane was a big deal?
There are many unspectacular but important things a city can do to gain our consideration for this list. Maybe you've heard of them, or maybe—given the pace of change these days—you've already begun to enjoy them: segregated bike lanes, municipal bike racks and bike boulevards, to name a few.

More information on the Austin Texaplex can be found here.