Realtor.com named Austin, Texas the third best large city in the United States for college grads, following a study that rated factors such as percentage of millennial residents, new business growth, percentage of single people, and number of bars and restaurants per capita. Fargo, North Dakota took the top spot, with Lincoln, Nebraska coming in second.
According to the report, Austin now has a millennial population of 523,490, plus, along with the University of Texas, it has a high percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree. Austin also got nods for new business creation. When looking at fast-growing job sectors and careers that are popular with millennials, Austin came in sixth. These include fields such as financial analysis and graphic design.
In the “state’s quirkiest city,” the population has nearly doubled in the last quarter century, said the report. Plus, “Its music, bar, and breakfast taco scene is the envy of almost every city in the U.S.”.
The median home price in Austin is $392,000, according to Realtor.com data, with the median rent for a one bedroom apartment at $1,150, both prices that are considered expensive for Texas but more affordable when compared to big cities around the country.
The country’s 200 largest metros were compared to arrive at the results. Other factors that determined the rating were percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, home price estimates, rental home affordability, percentage of unemployed millennials, and percentage of fast-growing occupations popular with young professionals.
Rounding out the top ten were Madison, Wisconsin; Charlottesville, Virginia; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Boulder, Colorado.