Austin tops career/cost of living survey

Austin, Texas has topped a survey designed to find America’s best city to live and work.

CareerCast’s Best Places to Live and Work report identifies which American city offers the highest paying careers alongside a low Cost of living.

Texas fared well in the survey, with no fewer than four cities being named in the top ten. Throughout the Lone Star State, there are attractive destinations both in terms of pay, diversity of career options, and living expense.

Austin and Midland have cost-of-living averages 6 per cent and 3 per cent below the national average respectively. The Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area is right at the national average, and ranks in the top 10 of average salary for three of the Jobs Rated report’s 35 highest-paying jobs: psychiatrist, actuary and veterinarian.

“The income a candidate can command is contingent on availability of jobs in a specific region,” explained Kyle Kensing, Online Content Editor at CareerCast. “For example, the San Francisco Bay Area – which ranks behind only New York City for average cost of living – might be your best value if you work in computer science.”

Certain regions are best for specific industries. Houston ranks in the top 10 nationally for average mean income for jobs spanning different sectors, like business (senior-level corporate executive); energy (petroleum engineer); and transportation (airline pilot). Meanwhile, the city’s average cost of living is 1 per cent below the national average.

Cities with major universities are also great places to live and work. Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska-Lincoln); Tucson, Arizona (University of Arizona); Columbus, Ohio (The Ohio State University); and Durham, North Carolina (Duke University and North Carolina Central University) all appear in the Top 10, as well as Austin, home to the University of Texas. All have below-average cost-of-living expenses, and each ranks in highly-paid Jobs Rated careers.

CareerCast’s 10 Best Cities to Live and Work

  1. Austin, Texas
  2. Columbus, Ohio
  3. Durham, North Carolina
  4. Fort Worth, Texas
  5. Houston, Texas
  6. Lincoln, Nebraska
  7. Midland, Texas
  8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  9. Tucson, Arizona
  10. Wausau, Wisconsin

Atrticle published 26th July 2016