Currently looking for a job in Austin? Well, it turns out you are looking in the best place possible. According to a new study by NerdWallet, a website that offers financial tools and advice, Austin is the top place to be on the hunt in 2017.
They came to this conclusion by analyzing federal data from the 100 largest U.S. cities to “determine where Americans will find opportunities and also where their paycheck will go further,” NerdWallet said in a blog post.
Factors included the October 2016 unemployment rate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the increase in the working-age population from 2010 to 2015 with U.S. Censu Bureau data. Other metrics included census data for median earning and median monthly rent to gauge the cost of living.
Irving (#9), Dallas (#19), and Fort Worth (#20) were the other Texas towns that made the top 20 — so that gives job seekers other options if they’re looking to settle down in the Lone Star State.
There were a few key takeaways that came from the research that landed Austin in the top spot. First, nine of the 10 best cities had higher-than-average percentages of 20-somethings, so it looks like the millennials are doing something right. Technology also played a big role, as fast-growing tech hubs are among the fastest-growing in terms of output according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014-2024. Of course, Austin has Dell, IBM, and Apple with its new, giant campus as employers here, so that box can certainly be checked.
The health care and social assistance sectors are also on the rise, and we all know how much Austinites like to help out.
The final major factor was that state capitals were very popular on the list. Half of the top 10 were state capitals: Austin, Denver, Nashville, Atlanta and Raleigh. That often means that more opportunities exist to work in government. According to NerdWallet’s research over 6,000 people work in federal or state government jobs in Austin.
