Austin a top place to start a career

​​​​WASHINGTON – Austin has ranked fourth on WalletHub’s list of the best cities to start a career.

The Texas Capital ranked first in quality of life and 22nd in professional opportunities. 

Irving was the only other Texas city to land in the top 30, ranking 28th overall, 31st in professional opportunities, and 44th in quality of life.

Houston (94th) and Fort Worth ​(44th) were first and fourth, respectively, in highest monthly average starting salaries adjusted for the cost of living.

Brownsville, which was the 29th worst place to start a career, was fifth in fastest job growth​.

The rest of the top five cities are No. 1 Salt Lake City; No. 2 Orlando, Fla.;​ No. 3 Atlanta; and No. 5 Columbia, S.C.​

​To compile the rankings, WalletHub compared 182 cities across two key dimensions: professional opportunities and quality of life. The sample considers only city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.​

The Texas Real Estate Research Center has a wealth of economic information online for free.