Forbes ranked Austin, Texas second on its list of best United States cities for job growth over the next three years, with fellow Texas city McAllen ranking third, Dallas ranking fifth, Houston ninth, and San Antonio tenth. Austin was second to Naples, Florida, which is bouncing back economically after a particularly hard hit from the recession.
Forbes reported job-strong Austin has had the third highest net migration rate in the U.S. over the past five years, with a median household income now at $58,932. “Companies flock to Austin to take advantage of the strong workforce options, which are continuously replenished by the University of Texas at Austin … People are moving to Austin to chase the jobs.”
The report cited numerous tech expansions, including Dropbox, IBM, and Oracle, as well as corporate relocations such as Websense. The office of Texas Governor Rick Perry also recently announced a deal with financial firm Charles Schwab to bring an additional 823 jobs to Austin, at an average wage of almost $80k. Charles Schwab already employs approximately 1,000 people in Austin. Once the planned deal is finalized, it is expected to create $210 million in capital investment over the next 10 years.

The
Austin Business Journal cited Austin’s “projected annual job growth of 4.1 percent” and a 4.1 percent unemployment rate as factors increasing the state capital’s attractiveness for companies wanting to “take advantage of the strong local workforce.”
The strong Austin economy and its resulting influx of new residents have led to an inventory-pinched real estate market, with a consistently rising median home price ($239,900 for the first half of 2014) and indications that the
luxury home market is expanding.