Rated in early 2017 as the number one best place to live in the US by Real Estate News, Austin, Texas is a booming city worth checking out. According to a number of sources, you can find some of the best food in the country, great job prospects, and a reasonable cost of living.
This inland city is also the capital of Texas and the 11th most populous city in the US with an estimated population of 947,890 Austinites within its city limits. The Austin–Round Rock Metropolitan area has over 2 million residents. Though the city sits in the middle of Texas, it is surrounded by rivers and lakes that locals take advantage of for outdoor activities.
Read on to find out what it takes to “Keep Austin Weird” while living and working in this city.
Working in Austin
Industry
One major reason why Austin often ranks highly for most desirable places to live is its job market.
The area boasts unemployment rates that continue to stay below the national average at an impressive 3.2% as of May 2017 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This comes as no surprise as Austin added 32,700 net new jobs from the previous March, landing Austin in the 10th spot for fastest growing major metro area in the US.
A hot spot for tech companies due in large part to tax breaks and a pool of talent, Austin is fast becoming top of everybody’s list of boom towns. This has contributed to the cities growing job numbers, along with transportation, warehousing and utilities which were the fastest growing industries in the Austin Metro Area in the past 12 months.
During that time, education and healthcare also added 6,300 jobs, and manufacturing jobs exceeded 57,000, a first since August of 2014. Other key industries in Austin include advanced manufacturing, creative and digital media technology, clean energy and power technology, life sciences, data management, and apace technology.
Some of the largest employers in Austin include Apple, Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, Dell Technologies, the US Federal Government, IBM, St. David’s Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas, the Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. All of these have over 6,000 employees.
Employers to Note
In Austin there are an impressive number of Fortune 500 companies that have their headquarters or regional offices in Austin. Among these are: Amazon.com, Apple Inc., eBay, Facebook, IBM, Oracle Corporation, Texas Instruments, and Whole Foods Market.
Other notables include: Freescale Semiconductor, GoodPop, Temple-Inland, Sweet Leaf Tea Company, Keller Williams Realty, National Western Life, GSD&M, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Golfsmith, Forestar Group, EZCorp, Tito’s Vodka and YETI.
Browse all jobs in Austin, Texas
Did You Know?
Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. There are up to 1.5 million bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas. These bats are essentially harmless and eat 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of insects nightly! The spectacle is a tourist attraction worthy event with shows happening around dusk from April to October.
Living in Austin
Life in this City
A liberal city in a state known for its far left values, Austin is more than just a hipster’s paradise. Austin is full of great food, live music, creeks, parks, stunning vistas, massive hills, wildflowers, and the Colorado River – a unique oasis in many ways in the heart of Texas.
If you have barbeque sauce running through your veins, Austin is the place for you! The culture in this city has also attracted some of the best restaurants in the country, Festivals like SXSW, and is even known as the “Live Music Capital of the World” due to the fact that Austin has more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the nation.
Transportation
Getting around in Austin should be no trouble, as the city boasts several options for public transportation. These include the Capital Metro Bus Line, Austin’s public bus system that is part of a 500 square-mile Central Texas system of more than 3,000 bus stops and 53 routes. The MetroRail connects Austin on a 32-mile line. You can also take a taxi, rent a bike, or take a Pedicab around the city.
House Prices
According to the latest US Census Bureau data from 2016, the median value of homes in Austin were $240,000 with median gross rents coming in at $1,047. According to Zillow, current estimates for Median List price were closer to $400K. There are many factors that determine home values of course, as with any city, especially depending on which zip code you’re in.
Education
Another big draw for relocating to Austin is the public and higher education in the area. The city is often top rated for its major public school systems, making the area attractive to families.
The city is also home to the University of Texas at Austin, which is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System with over 38,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 graduate students.
There are 29 public school districts in the metro Austin, Texas area, as well as more than 100 private schools, 17 charter schools, and 8 top-ranked colleges and universities. Some notables include the aforementioned University of Texas, St. Edward’s University, Huston-Tillotson University, Southwestern University, Texas State University and others, along with numerous trade and specialty schools.
Overall Austin has a lot to offer its residents and is worth considering if you’re looking to relocate. Check out our jobs in Austin and see what’s available!
