Full steam ahead

Austin suburb chugs toward top spot among fastest-growing cities in U.S.

Round Rock remains one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of City of Round Rock

Round Rock just keeps heading down the growth track. A new report puts it at No. 8 among the country’s fastest-growing cities.

The ranking, published October 12 by the WalletHub personal finance website, looked at seven years of growth data for 515 U.S. cities. WalletHub compared the cities across 17 metrics, including population growth, economic growth, and job growth.

In the end, Round Rock ranked:

No. 5 for fastest growth among midsize cities.
No. 13 for sociodemographics.

The Austin suburb, however, ranked a middling 59th for jobs and economy, surprising considering how well the region has fared during the recent recession.

It's no wonder that Round Rock keeps earning spots on national rankings. Earlier this year, it earned a spot among the best cities in the U.S. and the fastest growing cities. In 2019, it was also named the "coolest" suburb in America by a prominent design site.

Frisco, near Dallas, earned the highest rank in Texas at No. 6.

Like Round Rock, Frisco is no stranger to accolades. In 2018, Money named Frisco the best place to live in America. And the city even appeared atop a recent ranking of the country’s best places to be stuck at home during the pandemic. The city recently grabbed the No. 3 spot on WalletHub's list of among the best cities to buy a house.

Six other Texas cities made the top 30:

McKinney, No. 11
Sugar Land, No. 16
Midland, No. 17
College Station, No. 20
Pearland, No. 26
Richardson, No. 30

wallethub lists rankings

keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings

Full steam ahead

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keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says