Editor's note: The top Austin news of the week finds Austin atop a national ranking and a Hill Country estate hitting the auction block. Plus, an exciting downtown park project is ready for its grand opening. Read more about our most popular stories below, then check out the best things to do this weekend.

1. Austin excels as one of America's top 3 cities to start a career. Austin is a city full of success stories, from small businesses to restaurants, so it should come as no surprise that the city has emerged as the third-best city for starting a career.

2. Round Rock Donuts owners roll out lavish Hill Country estate at auction. The Hill Country house that Round Rock Donuts built is being auctioned off May 21.

The estate is owned by Round Rock Donuts founders. Photo courtesy of Twist Tours Real Estate Photography

3. $91.5M park project 'The Confluence' to open soon in downtown Austin. Austinites will soon be able to fully engage with the results of a major 13-acre park project downtown. Waterloo Greenway Conservancy will celebrate the unveiling of The Confluence, the second phase in a series of projects within Waterloo Greenway, in a public grand opening on June 6.

4. 6 Austin-area ZIP codes where affordable home sales are rising. Austin-area buyers searching for an affordable first home in 2026 are increasingly finding one thing: They may have to look farther from the city core for a good deal.

5. Austin mahjong event and market brings back game's cultural context. This free community mahjong event will feature more than 50 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) artists, small businesses, and community organizations. The event will combine gameplaying and immersive art.