Austin drops 2 spots in ranking of best places to live in the U.S.

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Austin has slipped a little further on US News & World Report’s closely watched annual list of the best places to live in the United States

The “Best Places to Live” ranking published by US News & World Report 2021 on July 13th ranks Austin 5th among the largest metropolitan areas in the country. That is two places less than number 3 in the region in 2020 and four places below the top in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Boulder, Colorado appears at number 1 on this year’s list, followed by Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina at number 2; Huntsville, Alabama, No. 3; and Fayetteville, Arkansas, No. 4.

Despite Austin’s fall in the rankings, “the area remains an ideal place to live for many with a strong job market and continued long-term population growth due to net migration, even though the cost of living continues to rise,” US News & World report says.

“Housing affordability is always of great concern, but when people solidify their plans to work remotely, struggle to find a house in a hot housing market, or consider moving abroad, the low cost of living is even more important” , Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at US News & World Report, said in a press release.

In May, the average home price in the Austin area hit a record high of $ 465,000, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. In the city of Austin, the average home price also hit a record: $ 566,500.

“As new businesses move to Austin and the city’s popularity draws new residents, the sheer demand for housing has created a critical inventory shortage that underscores that the affordability and accessibility of housing is a real concern in our area and a top priority for locals Executives should be a priority, ”warned Susan Horton, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, in May.

No other metropolitan area of ​​Texas made the top 25 of this year’s US News & World Report Rankings. Dallas-Fort Worth was 37th, Houston 39th, San Antonio 75th, Killeen-Temple 114th, Beaumont-Port Arthur 124th, Corpus Christi 129th, El Paso 131st, McAllen bei No. 139 and Brownsville at No. 140.

For the ranking, US News & World Report analyzed data for the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the country. The data includes affordability, job prospects, attractiveness, quality of life and migration patterns.

“This year we’re looking at how the most populous subway areas in the United States fared in much of the coronavirus pandemic and how far they need to come to recover,” said Thorsby. “It should come as no surprise that many metropolitan areas where unemployment skyrocketed in 2020 fell in the rankings, but those with higher employment stability tended to do well.”

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