Forbes ranks Austin as America’s fastest-growing city

AUSTIN – The Capital City took the top spot for the third year in a row on Forbes’ list of “America’s 20 Fastest Growing Cities.”

According to the magazine, Austin is an economic powerhouse thanks to the 51,000-student University of Texas at Austin, a bevy of Silicon Hills startups and the presence of mega corporations like Whole Foods Market Inc. and Dell Inc.

Forbes’ analysis of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas was based on six metrics: 2012 population growth rate, 2013 population estimated growth rate, job growth rate, unemployment, gross metro product, and median salary for local college-educated workers.

Houston and Dallas took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.

Here’s how Austin measured up:

• 2012 population growth rate: 2.8 percent
• 2013 population estimated growth rate: 2.7 percent
• job growth rate: 3.1 percent
• unemployment: 4.9 percent
• Gross Metro Product: 6.3 percent
• median salary for local college-educated workers: $63,200

Read more at the Austin Business Journal.