No. 8 Austin, Texas
By Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009
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DEFYING THE ODDS |
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Population: 1,533,263
Income Growth: 7%
Cost of Living Index: 94
Median Household Income: $54,827
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 37%
Leave it to Austin to ruin the curve. While most cities around the country posted job layoffs in the past year, Austin added 3,300 jobs, the biggest bump in the country. The increase covered a broad swath, from professional services, education and hospitality to health care and government. Gains in those sectors more than offset losses in manufacturing and information technology -- though the unemployment rate in the area has crept up.
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Why the solid showing amid general economic gloom? Give most of the credit to government and higher education. State government employs 170,000, a fifth of the city's workforce; the University of Texas at Austin alone employs more than 6,000 people. As for the private sector, tech companies remain a driving force.
Austin's economy isn't all wonk and no play: Its thriving music scene culminates in South by Southwest, a music festival in March that enriches the local economy by more than $100 million per year.
Reader Comments (7)
Posted by: blixco at 05/28/2009 08:32:57 AM
Austin used to be a small city, centered around music. Today it is California Part 2, thanks primarily to jerks like myself who moved here and screwed it all up. Now you get hours of traffic (worst traffic for a city this size in the US), no mass transit (how long does it take to get a train from Cedar Park to Downtown? Eleven years and counting) poor air quality (we're not as bad as Houston, but Houston ain't far away), ridiculous house prices (housing crash? Where?) and all the cool is drained out of the city, replaced by plastic hipster yuppie garbage ill-suited to the natives. To that end, Austin is now a small city centered around itself, the image it projects, and the dwindling last gasps of what it was. But hey, the weather sucks.
Posted by: wolfen69 at 06/01/2009 11:50:22 AM
I have been in Austin 5 years now. Moved from West Texas and I have to say even though traffic is bad and the music scene has changed a lot(reason I moved here) I still would not leave Austin for any place else or the state of Texas! There are still alot of places to go and things to do such as hiking camping swimming name it you can just about find it here in Austin as for the weather IT IS Texas after all! Anyways LUV IT OR LEAVE IT!
Posted by: Knarf at 06/23/2009 02:48:17 PM
I've lived in Austin for over 10 years, and it's a great plac...but overall it's very difficult to get a high paying job here. And, unemployment and the housing crisis is just starting to hit really hard here. Cost of living is high, but it's worth it. There are plenty of cool things to do here and it's nice, but it's very hot right now in the summer. Fall, Winter, and Spring are great! Although, people with allergy problems, beware!!!
Posted by: Christine at 06/23/2009 03:43:40 PM
Austin is an amazing city to live in. The people are friendly and the atmosphere is even better. You can always find something to do and you don't have to break the bank doing it. I grew up outside of Austin then left for a few years and have now returned. I count my blessings every day that I can live in such a wonderful city. I never plan to move away again. Sure traffic is bad, but thats just something that comes with living in a city. I would rather be stuck in traffic for hours every day than have to live somewhere else. (And the reality is it only takes 35 minutes to get across town in rush hour.... hardly no time at all compared to other cities.)
Posted by: bluesdog at 06/23/2009 06:31:31 PM
The claim that Austin is Hiring, and has a low cost of living, is a big fat lie. Is that why we have homeless folks on every corner? It is very expensive to live in Austin. Houses start at 250k and go into multi-millions. Dell and most other companies here have laid off large numbers of their workforce. People are out of work all over town. I personally put an application in at a local company and was told they had over 350 applications already. Don't come here looking for paradise, it's over a hundred degrees in the shade, and the story is a MYTH.
Posted by: Lkatebay at 09/08/2009 02:58:22 PM
This information was posted in the Statesman on Sept. 9th...here is a short excerpt, since I can't post a link:...As the nation celebrates Labor Day today, America's long-term unemployment level dwarfs anything seen in modern history. Not since the Great Depression have so many workers been out of work for so long.
Posted by: s at 11/09/2009 11:56:20 AM
It's a nice place to live if you don't mind 100 degree summers and no rain and bad allergies. I don't see any employment opportunity. I have been out of work of 8 months without unemployment benefits and can't even get a temp. job or a job working holidays at a store. I have a degree but it seems worthless. I really don't see why Austin keeps getting on these lists of Best Places to Live????