|
APR
|
Austin places in Top 10 of RelocateAmerica’s Best Places to Live.
Austin scored big points on RelocateAmerica's 2010 Top 10 “breakouts.” Austin placed in the top ten in Top 10 Overall, Top 10 Recovery, Top 10 Earth Friendly, and Top 10 Large Cities. Austin is just simply not like the rest of Texas. From the quirky cast of characters that populate Congress Avenue to burnt orange-clad University of Texas students, bats to Longhorns, four-star restaurants to down-home barbecue joints, corporate CEOs to struggling musicians, Texas' capital city stands apart from the rest. Austin became a tech center, home to many large employers, in the 1990s. Today it maintains these identities and also fosters an increased prominence in the film industry. It's hip and trendy, yet in a vintage sort of way. It's high-tech and laid-back. It's politically charged and culturally rich. It's eclectic by nature and creative by design. Most of all, it's a place where people like to have a good time. The city is the cultural and economic center of a metropolitan area with a population of over 1.5 million.
(RelocateAmerica.com, 4/20/10)
|
|
APR
|
Austin in Top 10 of Forbes’ annual Best Places for Business & Careers.
The top of Forbes’ 12th annual list of areas with the most economic opportunity is filled with cities in so-called flyover states, areas with reasonable business costs, strong economic outlooks and a solid quality of life. The ranking looks at the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., which range in size from the New York City metro, with 11.7 million people, to Merced, Calif., home to 245,000. The metros were ranked on 12 metrics including costs (business and living), job growth (past and projected), income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth. Also factored in were quality-of-life issues like crime, cultural and recreational opportunities, net migration patterns. Additional variables included the number of highly ranked four-year colleges in the area and the percentage of subprime mortgages handed out over the last three years. The top 10 in order are: Des Moines, Provo, Raleigh, Fort Collins, Lincoln, Denver, Omaha, Huntsville, Lexington, and Austin.
(Forbes, 4/14/10)
|
|
APR
|
Texas No. 1 among States that are Very Friendly to Small Businesses.
For entrepreneurs looking to save money, moving to a state that offers a better small business climate can be worth the big change. When it comes to measuring a state's business climate, there are several factors to consider: the level of economic growth, the amount of regulations, and the education level of the workforce. Look at all those factors, and you've got a sense of whether or not you're dealing with at a business-friendly state. American Express’ Open Forum named five of the states most friendly to businesses, with Texas as No. 1. Texas if you didn't know it, is a great place to start a global enterprise. The Lone Star State has the most internationally focused manufacturing sector in the country. In fact, the state has the highest export sales per worker than any of the 50 states. The cost of labor in Texas is another enticing charmer: it has the lowest workers' compensation costs of any state. No income or capital gains tax for individuals, either.
(Open Forum, 4/6/10)
|
|
APR
|
Austin a Top 10 Destination in U-Haul’s National Migration Trend Report.
According to moving data reflective of nationwide statistics for calendar year 2009, Houston took the No. 1 spot, followed by Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Antonio. Austin came in at 5 th, with Atlanta, Orlando, Sacramento, Kansas City and Denver rounding out the top 10. The ranking reflects destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles, and considers every city in the country, regardless of size. However, the data is not stated as a percentage of population and is not reflective of overall growth. The 2009 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities Report was compiled from more than 1 million U-Haul truck transactions occurring during a recent 12 month period.
(U-Haul, 4/2/10)
|
|
MAR
|
Austin places 3rd among 20 Cities That Are Having An Awesome Recovery.
BusinessInsider has created a ranking based on the Brookings Institution’s quarterly MetroMonitor report. MetroMonitor has been tracking economic recession and recovery in America’s 100 largest metropolitan areas and sorts metros in performance quartiles, but does not normally rank them. Based on changes in employment, gross metro product, and home prices, BusinessInsider has produced their ranking. San Antonio comes in at no. 1 and Rochester, NY at no. 2.
(BusinessInsider, 3/18/10)
|
|
MAR
|
Austin is the No. 1 Place for Young Adults.
This portfolio.com assessment (of 67 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations above 750,000) looked for regions with qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s and where those workers have the best chance of establishing themselves in a recessionary economy. Two qualities help Austin—the host of the annual South by Southwest music, film, and interactive conference and festival—to stand out among the nation’s largest metros: first, two-thirds of the nation’s major markets have fewer jobs now than 5 years ago, but Austin added 99,200 jobs during that span and its annual employment-growth rate of 2.8% is the fastest in America, and second, Austin has the strongest concentration of young people among the 67 metros—28% of its residents are between the ages of 18 and 34, but the median for the study group is 23.1%. The study’s 10-part formula gave the highest marks to places with strong growth rates, moderate costs of living, and substantial pools of young adults who are college-educated and employed. Austin’s attractiveness to young adults is broadly based, and it ranks among the 10 leading markets in 5 of the categories that were analyzed.
(portfolio.com/bizjournals, 3/15/10)
|
|
MAR
|
University of Texas at Austin included in Fortune’s 5 Schools for Entrepreneurs.
Fortune notes that while many schools sponsor business-plan contests—UT has the Moot Corp competition—but it has a competitive edge in a separate idea-to-product competition for students who can commercialize campus technologies. The other schools recognized are Babson College, Belmont University, Indiana University, and Saint Louis University.
(Fortune, 3/10/10)
|
|
MAR
|
Austin selected as one of 21 Top Time-Saving Cities.
To assess which places help you make the most of your precious hours, RealSimple sorted through reams of data on dozens of large American cities, ranked each on various criteria in five categories on a scale of 1 to 5, and added up those categories to get an overall score. The criteria contributing to easy living included indicators related to getting around, health and safety, information technology, green time-savers, and lifestyle. According to the findings, in addition to a short commute time, Austin residents enjoy some of the best wireless Internet coverage in the nation. And Austin’s new light-rail line boasts Wi-Fi access as well as fold-out work tables and room for bicycles.
(RealSimple, 3/8/10)
|
|
MAR
|
Austin ties for No. 1 in Forbes’ list of Cities Where the Recession is Easing.
Austin ties Washington for No. 1 on Forbes’ list of 10 metros best surviving the recession. Austin, D.C., and 8 other metros (among them: Boston, Los Angeles and a host of other metros in Texas) are best surviving the downturn in part because they specialize in industries that are relatively insulated from economic volatility. Cities where the recession's effects are lessening either never felt the full brunt of the housing crisis, or have proven resilient enough that demand is returning sooner than elsewhere in the country. These strong housing markets further enrich the local economy by feeding a host of secondary industries, like construction, lending and household services. Jobs have been lost nearly everywhere in the last three years, but between December 2007 and December 2009 the number of jobs in Austin rose by 0.98%; more than any of the other major cities Forbes looked at. And by three years from now, jobs are expected to grow by 8.09%, the second-best job outlook on the list. Forbes ranked the 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas based on unemployment rates, the rate of job growth (historical and projected), change in median sale price for single-family homes, and gross metropolitan product.
(Forbes, 3/2/10)
|
|
FEB
|
Austin is the Healthiest Housing Market for 2010.
Builder ’s Builder Market Health Index, compiled by Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, is a ranking of the wellbeing of the major U.S. housing markets, based on 2009 data and 2010 projections for household formations, resale values, and job and income growth. These drivers are weighted to obtain a ranking by health the top 100 housing markets (determined by permits pulled in 2009). A state capital that is home to the University of Texas and Dell Inc., Austin managed to avoid the brunt of the national recession. It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, 7.5%. Moreover, nearly all its major housing metrics will be positive in 2010. The region of 1.72 million is forecast to have rising employment, household formations, and incomes. Only two markets on this list, Huntsville and Raleigh, will have higher rates of household formation this year. Austin was the second fastest growing metro area in the nation in 2008, according to Census Bureau estimates, and business relocations continued rising through the recession, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
(Builder, 2/25/10)
|
|
FEB
|
Austin’s Williamson, Travis, & Hays Counties listed as the Texas’ Healthiest.
The report ranks each county within the 50 states according to its health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county’s health. Each county receives a summary rank for its health outcomes and health factors and also for the four different types of health factors: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. Williamson, Travis, and Hays counties each ranked in the top 10 on both the Health Outcomes and Health Factors rankings.
(Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, 2/17/10)
|
|
FEB
|
Austin’s is the Best Airport in North America & the 2 nd Best in the World in its Size Class.
Airports Council International identified the top performing airports in the annual ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey. Over 275,000 questionnaires were completed by passengers at 118 airports worldwide to capture passengers’ perception of the quality of more than 30 aspects of service. A reliable monitor of airport service, ASQ is used by many airports as one of the key performance indicators of the airport’s service. Ten factors identified as essential for high customer service ratings are, by order of importance: the ambience of the airport, cleanliness of the terminal, comfort of the waiting areas, availability of washrooms, cleanliness of washrooms, courtesy and helpfulness of the airport staff, business lounges, ease of making connections, passport / ID inspection experience and good shopping facilities.
(Airports Council International, 2/16/10)
|
|
FEB
|
National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2010 Distinctive Destinations includes Bastrop, TX.
This annual program recognizes cities and towns that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation, sustainability and revitalization. In each community, residents have joined together and taken action to protect their town’s character. Situated on the banks of the Colorado River, Bastrop features a history that dates back over 175 years when it was established as one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonies in 1832. The town offers a dynamic downtown filled with 19th and early 20th century homes and buildings, unique restaurants and shops in a Main Street community, and access to two state parks. Bastrop is lauded as one of the most historic towns in Texas and still possesses that small-town charm despite its 30-mile proximity to the thriving capital city of Austin
(National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2/3/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin ranks low for Rate of Home Foreclosures.
Austin metropolitan area properties with foreclosure filings represent only 1.25% of area housing units, according RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report . Nationally, the rate is 2.21%. No. 1 ranked Las Vegas has a foreclosure rate of 12.04%. Burlington, VT and Utica, NY report the lowest rate, 0.05%, in the ranking of metros with 200,000 or more population.
(RealtyTrac, 1/28/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Texas Installed the Most Wind Power in 2009.
Texas installed more wind power, 2,292 megawatts, than any other state last year, according to the year-end market report from the American Wind Energy Association . Indiana came in second with 905 megawatts added. Last year, the nation as a whole installed more wind-creating facilities than any other year, erecting nearly 10,000 megawatts of new generating capacity, or enough to serve more than 2.4 million homes. Texas total installed capacity now totals 9,410 megawatts and the next largest state is Iowa with 3,670.
(American Wind Power Association, 1/26/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Texas ranks among Lowest for Debt Burden.
Forbes places Texas 4 th best among the 50 states on the magazine’s “Debt Weight Scorecard.” The analysis employed a dozen or so factors, including unfunded pension liabilities, changes in tax revenue, debt as a percentage of GDP, debt per capita, growth expectations for employment and the state economy, net migrations and a ratio that compares government employees, pension burdens and Medicaid enrollees to private-sector employment.
(Forbes, 1/21/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin metro rated the Most Conducive to Creation & Development of Small Businesses.
The nation’s top score for small-business vitality, according to a new Portfolio.com/bizjournals study, belongs to Austin , the state's capital and the center of a thriving metro with 1.7 million residents. The highest scores, based on a six-part formula used to analyze the 100 largest metros, went to areas that have prosperous economies, are expanding rapidly, and are densely packed with small businesses. Austin emerged as the clear winner, based on its outstanding performances in statistical categories of critical importance to entrepreneurs: Austin saw population growth four times faster than the national rate of increase, impressive long term job growth, and faster small business growth than any other market.
(Portfolio.com, 1/18/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin is 5th Best City to Live, Work & Make Movies.
Trade publication MovieMaker’s new ranking moved Austin to the No. 5 slot from its 10th place ranking last year. The city has appeared somewhere on this top 10 list for 10 consecutive years. Others at the top of the 2010 list include: Albuquerque, No. 1; Los Angeles, No. 2; Shreveport, No. 3; New York, No. 4.
(MovieMaker, 1/18/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Texas ranks low for Rate of Foreclosure Filings.
Though 4 percent more foreclosed in 2009 than 2008, Texas came in 29 th among U.S. states for the share of housing with foreclosure filings. Slightly more than 1 percent of homes foreclosed in Texas, or about 100,045. The rate equates to about one in 94 houses. Nationally, foreclosures represent 2.21% of housing units. State foreclosure rates in 2009 ranged from 0.5% (Vermont) to 10.17% (Nevada).
(RealtyTrac, 1/13/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin No. 2 among Best Places to Retire & Row in the U.S.
This is a huge honor which demonstrates the exceptional live-ability and row-ability of Austin and a survey/article will be published in the 2010-2011Rower's Almanac.
(RowingandSculling.com, 1/11/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin ranked Best City to Invest in Commercial Real Estate.
Austin has the best prospects for commercial real estate investment this year, a Grubb & Ellis Co. forecast reported. Each year, the firm ranks the top 10 local markets in terms of long-term investment potential. In the office sector, Austin, Texas, took the top spot on Grubb & Ellis’ Investment Opportunity Monitor, a proprietary market ranking in which Grubb & Ellis annually measures 59 office markets against criteria important to the performance of real estate investments. Austin is anchored by a top-notch university and state government, and offers an advanced business base and the ability to attract young, educated workers.
(Grubb & Ellis, 1/4/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin is home to the No. 3 Cleantech University.
Where will the cutting edge companies that transform the industries of cleantech going to come from? Venture capital firms now keep tabs on chemical and engineering labs at some of the best U.S. universities as potential sources of new cleantech companies. This ranking from The Cleantech Group identifies the 10 U.S. academic institutions best suited take part in the pipeline of collaboration of businesses, universities, state initiatives, investors and research dollars leading to commercially viable product. The University of Texas at Austin is a historical leader in energy innovation, R&D and teaching. UT is using its leadership of the conventional energy industry as a launching pad for continued leadership in the cleantech revolution. The inventor of the lithium-ion battery, John Goodenough, is a professor of mechanical engineering at UT. The university also is a leader in algae based biofuels. UT is a part of a multimillion dollar DARPA-sponsored project to produce jet fuels from algae. UT Austin was also awarded $35 million in research on carbon sequestration by the Department of Energy. Notable cleantech spinouts include: ActaCell, Advanced Hydro, Graphene Energy, Organic Fuels, and Inspired Solar.
(The Cleantech Group, 1/4/10)
|
|
JAN
|
Austin is 9th Easiest City to Find a Job.
Job search engine Juju.com’s Job Search Difficulty Indexranks 50 major cities based on the number of unemployed in a metro area vs. the number of jobs available. According to the index, Austin has 4 unemployed individuals per advertized job. No. 1 ranked Washington has 2 unemployed per job.
(Juju.com, 1/10)
*Source: Austin Chamber of Commerce
|
