Austin
Austin used to be the big surprise awaiting prospective students. Today, the secret is pretty much out, but even long-time residents are surprised by the scope of the city's economic transformation—from laid-back university town to the technopolis Forbes now ranks as the #1 city in the U.S. for businesses and careers.
Demographers call Austin a "City of Ideas," one of a handful of American regions where a new creative class of entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists and visionaries are reshaping the model for American prosperity. Through its economic changes, Austin remains a city of lakes, hills, live music, and cosmopolitan culture. "On earth as it is in Austin" is a favorite local bumper sticker. Live here a while and you will understand why.
"As a Rhode Island native, my first time in Austin was when I visited McCombs. I immediately fell in love with the city and knew it would be a great place to spend two years. It offers all of the advantages of a big city: culture, nightlife, museums, great food, and, of course, live music—with the beauty of a small town: lakes, state parks, and hiking and biking trails."
- Mandy Forry, MBA '05
Austin Is:
#1 Best City for Singles, Forbes (2003)
#2 Best City for Job Growth, Forbes (2003)
#2 Best People in "America's Favorite Cities," Travel & Leisure (2004)
#2 Educational Attainment, University of Wisconsin (2003)
#3 Best Place for Businesses and Careers, Forbes (2004)
#3 City for Hispanics, Hispanic Magazine (2003)
#3 Best City for Mountain Bikers, MountainBike.com (2002)
#3 Best Looking People in "America's Favorite Cities," Travel+Leisure (2004)
#4 Best City for Women, Ladies Home Journal (2002)
#4 Safest Big City, Morgan Quitno's 10th Annual Safest/Most Dangerous City Awards (2003)
#4 Friendliest People in "America's Favorite Cities," Travel+Leisure (2002)
#4 Hottest Job Market, Business 2.0 (2004)
#5 Cleanliness "America's Favorite Cities," Travel+Leisure (2004)
Top 5 Best Bets Entrepreneurial Activity, Entrepreneur (2002)
Named American Capital of Culture, American Capital of Culture (2004)
Austin Has:
Business
Dell, Motorola, IBM, AMD, National Instruments, Tivoli, Samsung, Applied Materials, 3M
3.1% Job Growth Forbes (2003)
5.8% Income Growth Forbes (2003)
#3 city for patenting activity Forbes (2003)
$10 billion of gross metro product Forbes (2003)
People
680,000 residents
1,300,000 metro area
Ranks third in the country for net migration, at 2.7% per year Forbes (2003)
#5 most educated metro area in the U.S.
Outdoors
172 city parks
30 miles of urban hike-and-bike trails along scenic Town Lake and Barton Springs
9 wilderness areas
26 golf courses
150-mile long chain of lakes
11,800 acres of greenbelt for recreation
300 annual days of sunshine
Mild winter climate and year-round outdoor recreation
North America's largest urban bat population—1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats
Arts & Culture
Professional symphony, ballet, and opera company
More than 35 art galleries and museums
1,200 musical acts annually
120 live music venues
South by Southwest annual music, film and interactive festival
