Austin Still Ranks Among Top Cities To Live!
No. 2: Austin, Texas
(Austin-Round Rock metro area)
2008 Population:
1,652,602
2007-2008 Change: 3.77%
With one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country--6.4% in January
2009--Austin's popularity streak continues. This has quite a bit to do with the
metro area's thriving music, film and fine arts scenes, but it's also about the
employers, which include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell.
For one, according to an October 2008 survey conducted by Pew Research
Center, Denver is the most popular city in America. People like it for its
skiing, culture and vibrant nightlife, as well as its business opportunities. As
of January 2009, the metro area's unemployment
rate was 6.5%. That's high, but still two percentage points below the
national average of 8.5% for the same month.
Despite the overall economic slowdown, some parts of the country keep on
moving ahead, attracting more and more newcomers--even if it's at a slower pace
than in more sound economic times. These places still offer a semblance of
stability, as well as great weather, cultural life and, in many cases,
affordability.
Behind the Numbers
To determine the fastest-growing
metro areas in the country, we used 2008 population estimates for metropolitan statistical areas with a population over 1
million, released March 19, 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau. MSAs are geographic
entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal
agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.
We then compared the 2008 population estimates to the previous year's data to
see which areas had grown the most, percentage-wise.
Real Estate
Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating
Lauren Sherman, 03.30.09, 04:00 PM EDT
U.S. migration may be down overall, but these vibrant metro
areas are still attracting newcomers.
Unemployment is on the rise, credit is tight, and consumers aren't
spending--which means they aren't picking up and moving much either. Very few
places in America saw significant population growth in 2008.
But the buzzing metropolitan area of Denver bucked that trend. Its population increased by
2.17% in 2008. In 2007, it increased by 2.09%. In 2008, Denver was the
10th-fastest growing metro area in the U.S.
Nine places fared even better than Denver, though they share similar
qualities: more business opportunities, better weather and more affordable
housing. The top three areas according to the data are Raleigh, N.C., ranking first, which jumped 4.29% to
nearly 1.9 million; Austin, Texas, which came in second, with a 3.77%
increase to almost 1.7 million; and Charlotte, N.C., which moved up 3.36% to 1.7 million.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating_slide_10.html?thisspeed=25000