Austin Tops List of The 10 Best Cities For Job Seekers

Austin, Texas, emerged as the best city for job seekers, with explosive population growth and a below average unemployment rate. It also features a low cost of living–renting a two-bedroom apartment, for example, averages just $968 a month.

“If a city is growing quickly, there’s an underlying ripple effect of more companies and a greater need for services,” says Stephanie Wei, VP of Financial Literacy at NerdWallet. “Austin is becoming a tech hub. IBM andDell are there, and it’s attracting more biotechnology businesses.”

In fact, five of the top 10 cities are located in Texas. Not only does the state generally feature a low cost of living, but Wei says its cities have done a nice job differentiating themselves. Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and San Antonio are all up-and-coming hubs for niche industries like telecom and bioscience.

No. 1: Austin, TX
Population Growth: 3.8%
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Median Income: $31,170
Median Rent: $968

No. 2: Washington, DC
Population Growth: 2.7%
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%
Median Income: $43,993
Median Rent: $1,823

No. 3: San Francisco, CA
Population Growth: 0.9%
Unemployment Rate: 8.6%
Median Income: $46,777
Median Rent: $2,702

No. 4: Denver, CO
Population Growth: 3.3%
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%
Median Income: $32,051
Median Rent: $931

No. 5: Houston, TX
Population Growth: 2.2%
Unemployment Rate: 8.2%
Median Income: $26,849
Median Rent: $1,311

No. 6: Fort Worth, TX
Population Growth: 2.3%
Unemployment Rate: 8.0%
Median Income: $24,270
Median Rent: $980

No. 7: Dallas, TX
Population Growth: 2.1%
Unemployment Rate: 8.5%
Median Income: $27,251
Median Rent: $792

No. 8: Seattle, WA     
Population Growth: 2.0%
Unemployment Rate: 7.5%
Median Income: $41,695
Median Rent: $1,417

No. 9: San Antonio, TX
Population Growth: 2.4%
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
Median Income: $22,333
Median Rent: $823

No. 10: Charlotte, NC
Population Growth: 2.7%
Unemployment Rate: 9.2%
Median Income: $31,667
Median Rent: $790

Full Forbes Article
NerdWallet Article

Best Cities to Live, Work and Play

These ten great places will only get better.

Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the names that popped up made us do a double take at first. So we hit the road to meet movers, shakers and regular folks, experience the ambience and take in the sights.

We discovered that our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, hadn't steered us wrong. Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity, says: "Our formula highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success." One key to a bright future is a healthy shot of people in the creative class. People in creative fields -- scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers -- are catalysts of vitality and livability in a city.

The cities that made our list also represent larger surrounding areas. And because we understand that city living isn't for everyone, we've highlighted some great suburbs, too.

Pack a bag and join us on a tour of the Best Cities for 2008 and prepare for some surprises.

1. Houston
Population: 5,542,048
Population Growth Since 2000: 14.9%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.3%
Cost-of-Living Index: 88.1 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $50,250
Income Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

2. Raleigh
Population: 995,662
Population Growth Since 2000: 19.9%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 99 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $56,150
Income Growth Since 2000: 10.3%

3. Omaha
Population: 821,356
Population Growth Since 2000: 6.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 30%
Cost-of-Living Index: 89.4 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $51,627
Income Growth Since 2000: 15.1%

4. Boise
Population: 568,086
Population Growth Since 2000: 18.2%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 33.2%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.5 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $49,833
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.6%

5. Colorado Springs
Population: 600,444
Population Growth Since 2000: 10.5%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.3 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income Since 2000: 53,486
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.1%

6. Austin
Population: 1,506,425
Population Growth Since 2000: 17%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.5%
Cost-of-Living Index: 92.8 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $52,882
Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

7. Fayetteville
Population: 419,455
Population Growth Since 2000: 17.3%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.4%
Cost-of-Living Index: 90.4 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $42,267
Income Growth Since 2000: 17.6%

8. Sacramento
Population: 2,067,117
Population Growth Since 2000: 13.1%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34%
Cost-of-Living Index: 121.7 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $56,953
Income Growth Since 2000: 19.1%

9. Des Moines
Population: 532,425
Population Growth Since 2000: 9.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 90.6 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $53,384
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.3%

10. Provo
Population: 474,351
Population Growth Since 2000: 20.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32%
Cost-of-Living Index: 97.7 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $50,583
Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

Wednesday, June 4, 2008, provided by www.kiplinger.com