Despite receiving an “A” in a recent study’s evaluation of best cities for millennials, Austin ranked 17th overall in its findings—putting it behind both San Antonio and Houston.
As Curbed reported Thursday, a report by analysts on Apartment List “Rentonomics” blog ranked 75 U.S. cities by which offer thee greatest economic potential for millennials.
When Apartment List surveyed 24,000 renters, 64 reported that they intended to move to a new city. Millennials (for this study’s purposes, people aged 18 to 34), according to the blog, “move more frequently than older adults, relocating to metros that offer better jobs, more affordable housing and livelier social scenes”
With an index based on jobs, affordability, and livability, Apartment List created an index to grade 75 top metro areas in the country in terms of their suitability for millennials.
With a millennial unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, Austin was ranked 11th in the job market category; however, the city came in at 60th out of 75 when it came to affordability. (Apartment List stats put median monthly rent in the city at $1,386/month and assert that 59% of the population can afford the median home price.)
FInally, Austin ranked in fourth place for livability—not surprising—with its highest scores for access to parks, community activities, and nightlife.
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Clearly, affordability was Austin’s Waterloo, heh (you’re probably well-versed in Austinalia if you get that one), as it fell well below the top 10 in overall rankings.
What cities did the study determine would work out best for millennials? Pittsburgh, Pa.; Provo, Utah; and Madison, Wisc. nabbed the top three places, while two Texas cities—San Antonio, at #4 ,and Houston, at #9—outranked Austin.
Apartment List 10 Best Metros for Millennials
At the bottom of the rankings were traditionally popular spots in the Northeast, California, and Florida spots, with livability, affordability, and job markets being, respectively, being the main reasons for those regions’ low scores.
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