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Austin has been recognized as being a great city to live in and to visit for a number reasons and has made its way onto numerous “best of” lists.  When I refer to Austin, I am referring to the great Austin, TX metro area which includes a number of suburbs.  Some of these will be about Texas, but that counts too.  Here are some more recent highlights for:

The most recent cool thing I found was about Texas, but it did highlight Austin.  Site Selection, a magazine calling itself the corporate real estate strategy and area economic development, rated the top business climates in the country and Texas came out number one on the list.  (November, 2011)

Texas No. 1 in U.S. for biggest 5-year job gains  (Forbes, December 2011)

Austin ranks #4 on the Milken Institute's list of best performing metro areas (Milken Institute December, 2011)

Austin is the fourth most social media savvy city (NetProspex April, 2011)

Austin is 2nd Best Place to Find a Job (Ajilon Professional Staffing, March 2011)

Austin is the only large metro in US to have college graduate migration gains of more than 2 percent from 2007-2009 (Brookings Institute, January 12, 2011)

Austin is the #1 Most Popular City for College Graduates (Yahoo Finance, January 2011)

Austin is the #3 Best Job Market in America (Forbes, January 2011)

Best City for Young Adults.  (Forbes December, 2010)

Austin is the #1 Celebrity city in which to live or visit (CNBC, December 2010)

Austin is a top manufacturing city (Manufacturer News, December 2010)

Austin 8th best college town in U.S. (Huffington Post, December 2010)

Austin is the 4th best place to visit in U.S. (Lonely Planet, December 2010)

Austin is the 26th Most Dynamic City in the World (The Atlantic, December 2010)

Austin has the 9th Strongest Job Market in the U.S. (Indeed.com, December 2010)

Austin is the Best College Town (Travel Channel, 2010)

Austin is the 2nd Best College Town (American Institute for Economic Research, September 2010)

Austin is 1st in the US and 26th in the world for jobs and income growth during the current economic recovery (Brookings Institute, December 2010)

Austin ranks third in the country as the best place to retire for military retirees (Brookings Institute, December 2010)

Austin is the 7th Smartest Metropolitan Area in U.S. (Daily Beast, October 2010)

10 Best Cities for the Next Decade has Austin at #1.  (Kiplinger July, 2010)

Best Performing City Among Top 50 Metro Areas - Austin is #1  (Texas Workforce Commission and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2010)

Austin is the 3rd Most Stable City (Brookings Institute, 2010)

Austin is a Top 10 Place in America Poised for Recovery (Newsweek, November 2010)

Austin is the #1 Most Recession-Proof City (CNN, July 2010)

Austin is the #1 Best City for Young Professionals (Austin Business Journal, March 2010)

Austin is the #1 Best City for Housing Market (Builder Magazine, February 2010)

Austin is the #1 Best City in the U.S. Economic Recovery (Forbes, March 2010)

Austin is the 3rd Strongest Metro Economy in the Country. (Brookings Institution, 6/16/09)

Austin ranked Best City for Recession Recovery. Austin’s diverse economy, home to Dell, the University of Texas and the Texas state government, has kept the economy strong. (Forbes, 6/10/09)

Texas Ranked No. 1 for Business. Texas nabbed the No. 1 spot due to its ability to attract Fortune 500 companies, its solid economy, affordable cost of living and its pro-business tax climate. (Directorship, 6/1/09)

Austin ranks #7 in Best Cities for Finding Opportunity (June 2009)

Austin no. 7 Tech Center. Texas' Capital City is home to over 2,660 tech companies. (bizjournals.com, 5/11/09)

Austin Chosen as one of Top 20 Places to Thrive. BestBoomerTowns.com has chosen Austin, Texas as one of its top places in the U.S. to thrive in retirement. (BestBoomerTowns.com, 5/7/09)

Texas ranked 4th of Top 7 Tax-free Havens. No personal income tax, low business gross receipts tax (sole proprietors and general partnerships are exempt). 

Best Places to Live and Launch: Austin suburb of Georgetown @# 2 (CNNMoney.com, 5/09)

Austin Best Bargain City in the U.S. Austin earned high marks across the board. "They have the triple-whammy of being a university town, a state capital and a technology center," (Forbes, 5/09)

Austin is #1 on Relocation.com’s list of top cities for a fresh start. (May 2009)

Austin is a City of the Future. fDi Magazine ’s North American Cities of the Future 2009/10, ranks Austin No. 5. Seven categories were used to determine the winners: economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness and promotion strategy. (fDi Magazine, April/May ‘09)

Texas is Tops in Production of Wind Power. Texas leads in wind capacity and largest wind farms installed (6 of the nation’s top 10). More new wind capacity was added in Texas during the year than in any country except China and the U.S. If Texas were a country, it would rank sixth in the world, behind Germany, the rest of the U.S., Spain, China, and India. (American Wind Energy Association, 4/13/09)

Austin named no. 1 Big City for Jobs. Of the 10 large cities with the best employment prospects, Austin is the leader. Austin also was named the 6 the best city for jobs in the overall ranking. (Forbes, 4/12/09; also New Geography, 4/15/09)

UT's McCombs ranks 18 the among nation's Best Business Schools. According to U.S. News & World Report, 82.4% of McCombs' 2008 graduates were employed full-time as of graduation. (U.S. News & World Report, 4/12/09)

Texas ranks 13 the Happiest State. (Mainstreet.com, 4/6/09)

Texas is the nation's 2 nd Largest Cyberstate. Texas remains the second-largest cyberstate by tech employment, behind California and ahead of New York. (TechAmerica, 3/31/09)

Forbes.com Ranks Austin the 8th Best Place for Business and Careers (Forbes.com, 3/27/09)

Texas voted Best for Business by Chief Executive. Texas was ranked No. 1 on the magazine’s list, based on surveys done by 543 CEOs, for the fourth straight year. (Chief Executive, 3/25/09)

Austin & Raleigh are Fastest-Growing Metro Areas. Raleigh-Cary, N.C., and Austin-Round Rock, Texas, were the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas between 2007 and 2008. The Austin metro saw its population climb 3.8% between July 2007 and July 2008, to 1.7 million. The Austin metro area was the location of the sixth fastest growing county (with over 10,000 population), Williamson, as well as 10th-ranked Hays County. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 3/19/09)

Austin named no. 2 Healthiest Housing Market for 2009. While other markets lost employment, Austin added 17,400 jobs last year, 2.3% growth rate. It helps that Austin is home to both a major university, The University of Texas, and the state capital. (Builderonline.com, 2/17/09)

Austin named one of America’s Top 30 Most Wired Cities. Since 2007, Forbes has measured cities' wired quotient by computing the percentage of Internet users with high-speed connections and the number of companies providing high-speed Internet. Since many urban residents access the Internet by wi-fi, we also measure the number of public wireless Internet hot spots in a particular city. (Forbes.com, 1/22/09)

Austin named one of 15 Coolest North American Cities. Famous for Tex-Mex food and its eclectic music scene, bustling Austin is also the capital of the Lone Star state. Many visitors find its laid-back atmosphere especially appealing. (MSN Travel, 1/22/09)

Austin named one of America’s 25 Strongest Housing Markets. "Texas has the best large-state economy in the country right now," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.(Forbes, 1/7/09)

Texas ranks 4th on a new list of Best States to Start a Business. (U.S. News & World Report, 1/6/09)

More cool stuff about Austin that goes back a bit further:
 

HOUSING AND AFFORDABILITY
 

Forbes magazine named Austin the No. 3 city on a list of "recession-proof" cities due to its strong housing market, low unemployment rates and growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing. (May 2008)

Austin is listed as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S. by Msnbc.com, due to its strong economy and natural beauty. (June 2008)

Forbes used data supplied by Moodyseconomy.com and Global insight to rank Austin #1 among the country's most economically healthy large metros. (Jan, 2008)

Austin ranks 1st in Fastest Growing Metro's in 2008 by Business News and Financial News (Forbes.com, March 2008)
 

Austin is one of the best cities in which to buy a home (Forbes, July 2008)

Austin is on the top of the best bang for the buck list (Forbes, October 2008)

Cedar Park is ranked number 11 among the Top 20 Fastest Growing U.S. Suburbs (Forbes, July 2007)

JOBS AND BUSINESS

Austin ranks 3rd in Best Cities for Jobs in 2008 by Business News and Financial News (Forbes.com, January 2008)

Salary.com survey ranked Austin #13 out of 69 cities as a place to build wealth. (June 2008)

Texas Ranks #1 in the Country for Economic Development (Business Facilities Magazine, December 2007)

The Austin-Round Rock MSA ranked the best place for business in the US (MoodysEconomy.com, August 2007)

Austin is #6 in the list of top ten metropolitan areas for job relocation (Human Relocation, 2007)

Austin ranks 1st among U.S. cities in the 4th annual Mayors Challenge of the Best Cities for Future Businesses (Expansion Mgmt. Magazine, 2007)

Austin is one of the hottest entrepreneurial regions in the country, according to Inc. Magazine 's annual Inc. 500 ranking. (September 2007)

Fast Company magazine lists Austin as a "Startup Hub" with a creative, young population and a high number of wi-fi spots per capita. (July 2007)

Austin is among the top four U.S. cities in which to earn a living, according to Forbes Magazine. (9-03-09)

TECHNOLOGY

Austin ranks 6th in a study by Silicon Valley naming the nation's Top TechHubs. (September 2005)

Austin ranks 3rd in a list of America's Most Innovative Cities (Wall Street Journal)

Austin is the most digital savvy city in the nation (Media Daily News, May 2008)

FAMILIES AND RELOCATION
 

Family Circle named Cedar Park as one of America's Top 10 Cities for Families (August 2007)

Austin ranks 2nd as the Best Place to Live in America for Hispanics - Austin’s seventh year on the list (Hispanic magazine, August 2008)
 

Georgetown, an suburb to the north, ranks 1st Among the Best Places to Retire (US NewsWorld Report, October 2007)

Round Rock, also a northern suburb, was selected as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in the nation (America's Promise, January, 2007)

Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation gave Austin the #5 ranking as the best large city for relocating families (June 2007)

ENVIRONMENT

Austin is listed among the top 10 greenest cities in the U.S. (Popular Science, Feb 2008)

Austin is one of the top four cities to watch as a retirement-friendly community, (AARP The Magazine, July 2007)

MSN.com gives Austin top billing among America's Greenest Cities, citing the city's green energy program and climate protection plan. (June 2007)

Natural Home magazine ranks Austin #2 among America's Top Ten Eco-Friendly Communities.

Austin named #1 of top 27 environmentally friendly cities to live in by U.S. Private Communities. (2007)

TRANSPORTATION

Austin-Bergstrom International among Top Performing Airports. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) ranked 3 rd in North America (the top 2 being Canadian airports). Additionally, ABIA ranked 3 rd for its size (5-15 million passengers) among airports around the globe. (Airports Council International, 3/10/09

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport listed among best spots for airport dining around the U.S. on Conde Nast's Portfolio.com. (September 2007)
 

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was named Best Domestic Airport at the 2006 Airports Council International Airport Service Quality Awards held in Dubai.

EDUCATION

US News ranks The University of Texas at Austin #18 on America's Best Graduate Schools 2008 (out of 100).

Newsweek lauds the University of Texas as "Hottest for Saving America's Schools," for excellence in education reform,(August 2007).

Austin ranks 5th among the most educated cities in the U.S. 45.1% of the population has a college degree, or higher.(The US Census Bureau)

Austin ranks as the 3rd Smartest City in the country (Bizjournals.com, June 2006)

Austin ranks in the Top 5 "Smart Places to Live" (Kiplinger's Personal Finance and the Austin Business Journal, June 2006)

RELATIONSHIPS

Forbes.com cites Austin's nightlife, culture and low cost of living as major reasons it appears on Forbes' list of Best Places for Singles.

Forbes.com ranks Austin as the 5th best city in America for couples. (February 2008)

Best Cities for Dating - Austin, TX take home the grand prize on Sperling's Best Citities for Dating 2007.

TOURISM

Travel & Leisure readers were surveyed to determine America's Favorite City. Boston took the top honors overall, but Austin ranked high in many categories including attractive people, athleticism, intellect, friendliness and, of course, live music. (Sept 2008)

New York Times names the Texas Hill Country and Austin among its Top 31 Places to Visit for a summer vacation. (June 2008)

Esquire Magazine listed Austin's Deep Eddy Cabaret the 2nd Best Bar in the Country. Five other Austin bars made the list. (May 2008)

Austin is listed as the #1 Memorial Day Getaway by ShermansTravel.com. (April 2008)

Trip Advisor's Travelers' Choice lists Austin among its favorite destinations in the United States. (April 2008)

Orbitz.com lists Austin as one of the country's Top Six Movie Landmark Destinations. (March 2008)

Austin is the #1 city in America to live and make movies, due to its industry infrastructure and "film friendly" attitude. (MovieMaker magazine, January 2008)

Austin and the Texas Hill Country rank #2 on Orbitz.com's list of the top Ten Fastest Growing Wine Regions. (September 2007)

National Geographic Adventure names Austin as Texas' #1 Adventure town in their list of "50 Best Places to Live & Play." (September 2007)

Black Meetings & Tourism lists Austin as a premier "Cost Conscious" destination. (June/July 2007)

Sherman's Travel lists Austin at #5 among its Top Ten Easy Spring Getaways. (May 2007)

LIFESTYLES AND RECREATION

Austin is #6 on Next Generation Consulting best large cities for Next Gen workers (June 2009)

Forbes names Austin as its least stressful city to live in on its lists of 40 metro areas.  (August, 2009)

Austin is among the Top 10 Cities to Live, Work and Play due to its strong economy, growing population and natural beauty. (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, 2008)

Austin Ranks in the 10 Best Places to Live and Boat (Boating Life Magazine, July/August 2007)

Men's Journal names Austin as one of the top five places to "embrace urban life." (April 2007)

Austin ranks #2 on Prevention Magazine's list of the Top Ten Cities for Taking a Stroll. (March 2007)

Austin is ranked #17 among Cooking Light's Top 20 Healthiest Cities in America. (January/February 2007)

Austin's perfect weather and great courses helped the city to be named #1 Golf City in America on CNN's golf.com.(November 2007)

Pollstar names Austin City Limits Music Festival the "Festival of the Year" during it's annual Concert Industry Awards. (February 2006)
 

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