:: Austin Ranked 3rd Most Recession-Resistant City ::

In April of 2008, Austin was ranked the third most recession proof city by Forbes because of a lack of a housing bubble, low median home price, low unemployment, and strong job growth segments that would recover more quickly. Plus, Austin was known as “Silicon Hills” for its growing tech sector industries.

Now, over two years later, the Brookings Institute has released their quarterly in-depth analysis which also ranks Austin the third most recession proof city in the U.S.

The top 10 stable cities identified by MetroMonitor are:

1. Albany, N.Y.

2. Augusta, Ga.

3. Austin, Texas

4. Baton Rouge, La.

5. Buffalo, N.Y.
6. Columbia, S.C.
7. Dallas, Texas
8. Des Moines, Iowa
9. El Paso, Texas
10. Honolulu, HI

The Brookings Institute analyzes the health of America’s 100 largest metropolitan economies. It examines trends in metropolitan-level employment, output, and housing conditions to look “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the diverse metropolitan trajectories of recession and recovery across the country. MetroMonitor looks at the particular industries that drive national economic trends, and takes into account metro areas’ unique starting points for eventual recovery.

For more info you can see the Full Report. You can view many interactive reports for employment, REO properties and other economic measurements.

Austin Ranked #4: Social Media Savvy Cities

NetProspex, a sales and marketing database company, has released its "Top 50 Social Media Report" analyzing the social media presence and activity of professionals around the U.S.

Among other findings, the report ranks the top 50 "most social" cities in the country--the "parts of the US are filled with the most social businesspeople."

What metric was used? The company writes in its report that it based its ranking on what it calls the "NetProspex Social Index (NPSI)," a score that takes into account "the number of employees with at least one social media profile," "the average number of connections per employee across major social networks," and "the average number of tweets, number of followers, and number of following." Activity across nine social networks--Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, Flickr, LiveJournal, hi5 and Flixster--was considered.


See the top 17 most social media savvy cities in the U.S. in the slideshow below (Fun fact: four of the cities are in California). Are you surprised by the list? Do you take issue with it?

Austin #2: Best College Town

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.

The American Institute for Economic Research ranked Austin, the Texas state capital, the second best place for students in mid-sized cities, out of more than 222 considered in the index. Rather than focusing on a specific school's performance, the study analyzes indicators related to the city including:

• The number of college students per 1,000 residents (85.2 in Austin)
• Student diversity (4.5 percent Austin students hold foreign passports)
• Research capacity ($306 academic research and development expenditures per capita in Austin)
• Degree attainment (37.3 percent of the 25-34 year old population with college degrees in Austin)
• Cost of living ($954 rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Austin)
• Arts and leisure venues (34.5 cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 residents)
• Commuting options (7.7 percent percentage of workers older than 16 commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle in Austin)
• Creative class, or the percent working in arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields (38.5 percent in Austin)
• Income per capita ($39,602 in Austin)
• Entrepreneurial activity (112.9 net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 residents in Austin)
• Year-over-year ratio of college-educated population in the area
• Unemployment rate (7.3 percent in Austin)

The Barrington, Mass.-based nonprofit pulled data from the Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Science Foundation.

“The amenities that create great college communities also make these destinations great places to visit, live, retire or locate a business,” AIER President Charles Murray said.

The top 10 college towns for major metros were in order: San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Seattle, Wash; Baltimore; Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Miami, Phoenix and Atlanta.

For medium sized cities, the top 10 in order were: San Jose, Calif.; Austin, Raleigh, N. Car.; Hartford, Conn.; Portland, Ore.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Salt Lake City; Rochester, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Nashville, Tenn.


Read more: Austin second best college town, study says - Austin Business Journal

Austin #4: Least Stressed Cities in the US

Good health and relatively-low unemployment has placed Austin the fourth least stressed city in the U.S., a Portfolio.com study reported Tuesday.

The national news site for small- and mid-sized business executives analyzed the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas and found Detroit residents the most tense. The publication used various indicators to calculate the ranking, including local unemployment, personal financial data, environmental factors, health risks, crime rates and living standards. Detroit topped the list largely due to steep unemployment, about 14.3 percent of its population, combined with a high 9.9 percent living in poverty. The Michigan metro also reported a high murder and robbery rate and low levels of sunshine.

Stars' town Los Angeles came in second most stressed; a combination of expensive housing and high pollution and unemployment. Cleveland, Ohio came in third followed by Riverside, Calif. (No. 4); St. Louis (No. 5); New York City (No. 6); New Orleans (No. 7); Chicago (No. 8); Birmingham, Ala. (No. 9); and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (No. 10).

Among the most relaxed, Salt Lake City topped the list followed by Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Va; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Raleigh, N.C.; Austin; Oklahoma City; Denver; San Antonio; Kansas City, Mo.; and Phoenix. Portfolio attributed Salt Lake City's high standing to low crime levels, easy commutes, high employment and good health.

Portfolio.com is an American City Business Journals Inc. unit, the same company that owns the Austin Business Journal.

 

Top 10 Cities for Young Adults

Free from ties to kids or a mortgage, young adults can settle virtually anywhere they choose. So which place is best for you when the world is your oyster?

Here are 10 cities in the U.S. that offer exceptional opportunities for those starting out in life. We began our search using the criteria we used to select our overall list of Best Cities for the Next Decade: healthy economies fueling new job growth. We fine-tuned our search using other youth-friendly factors such as large percentages of people under 35, cost of living and rental costs, culture, nightlife, and the time you're likely to spend in traffic.

1) Austin, TX
2) Charlotte, NC
3) Chicago, IL
4) Houston, TX
5) Kansas City, MO
6) Lansing, MI
7) New York, NY
8) Portland, OR
9) Salt Lake City, UT
10) Washington, D.C.

By Caitlin Dewey
Kiplinger.com