According to Austin Biz Journals, Austin was ranked the 10th best city for young professionals in the entire country. In order to be included on the list, Forbes only considered those cities with a population of more than 1 million. Factors such as average wage, unemployment rate, public company presence and affordability were all taken into consideration when determining the final ranking, which was meant to represent those places where college graduates are the most likely to launch a strong and high-powered career.
Austin wasn’t the only Texas city to be included on the list. In fact, with Houston taking the number one position and Dallas coming in at number six, the state of Texas dominated the list by having the most cities included in the top ten list. Houston received such a high ranking due to its “business-friendly environment and abundance of oil money,” which is a recognition it earned largely because it is home to 14 of the largest companies in the country. New York, which came in the number four position, is the only city with a larger number of big employers. Austin, on the other hand, received a top ten ranking due to its companies presence as well as because of its low 6.9% unemployment rate.
While Austin certainly has earned its bragging rights when it comes to being a great city for young professionals, the city still has room for improvement in terms of its volunteer rates. In fact, according to a report released by the Corporation for National Community Service, the Austin-Round Rock area ranked number 36 out of 51 metro areas when it came to the volunteer rates of large cities. When it came to Baby Boomer volunteers, Austin ranked number 14 out of 51 cities, but the city came in the number 40 position when it came to the volunteer rates of young adults and teenagers. In all, just 25.3% of the city’s residents volunteered for a total of about $885.5 million worth of volunteer services being provided from 2007 through 2009.
Although researchers aren’t certain why Austin has such low volunteer rates, one theory is that the lower homeowner’s rate may be a contributing factor. With the national homeowner’s rate being 66.6% compared to the 60.6% rate in Austin, this is certainly one possible explanation. On the other hand, Austin has a lower-than-average poverty and unemployment rate as well as a higher-than-average education rate, both of which tend to be associated with higher volunteer rates.
According to the results of the report, Austin appears to be following the dominant trend found throughout the state of Texas. In fact, Austin has the second highest volunteer rate when compared to other metropolitan areas in Texas. Dallas, which took the number 19 spot, has the highest ranking in Texas, while Houston and San Antonio tied for 40th and San Antonio took the 46th position. As a whole, the state of Texas took the number 40 position.