Even as it grows and becomes more financially powerful, Austin's residents tend to look out for each other. Texas' capital city was deemed one of the 50 most caring cities in America in a new WalletHub study.

Austin was ranked among 100 of the most populated U.S. cities across 38 metrics in three main categories: caring for the local community, caring for the vulnerable, and caring in the workforce. Overall, Austin landed at No. 46 in the report.

Factors that determined Austin's top-50 rank include the share of residents' income donated to charity; the number of volunteering hours per capita; the share of sheltered homeless people; the number of residents who work in community and social services per capita; and more.

Austin performed best in the category of caring for the vulnerable (No. 26), and ranked No. 48 for caring in the workforce. It has some work to do when it comes to "caring for the community" (No. 70). The latter is surprising, given the public-facing focus on local music and restaurants.

However, this isn't necessarily based on what residents say they care about. Even if Austinites are spending their weekends at charity dinners, they live in a big city where the uncaring actions tip the scale. Some of the metrics that may have hurt Austin (an itemized breakdown was not provided) include crime rates and driving accidents, or perhaps it was a lack of volunteering or civic engagement.

Strong spots in Austin's more successful category may have included a lower poverty rate, stronger-than-average shelter for unhoused people and animals, and a strong presence of disability-friendly employers (some of the heaviest-weighted metrics for the category).

The discrepancy between categories may also come from the prevalence of "transplants" who have moved in from other cities and states — it takes some time to get to know a city, and individual community members (more the community category's focus) will take some time to catch up to Austin's well-established helping institutions (more the vulnerable category's focus).

Austin was not in the top or bottom five cities in any major category.

The key to being a caring city, according to WalletHub analyst Cassandra Hype, is to develop a partnership between the city's government and its residents.

"The government can implement high-level measures like sheltering the homeless, reducing crime and protecting workers," Happe said. "Residents show that they care for their neighbors by donating time and money, being environmentally friendly and taking jobs that help others."

A few ways Austinites can show their kind side no matter the time of year include volunteering at food pantries, schools, or local libraries; donating to food pantries and charitable organizations; and doing favors for neighbors.

Plano was the highest ranked Texas city at No. 16; It could teach Austin something, since its top category was caring for the community (No. 7). Irving (No. 48) joined Austin in barely skirting into the top 50. Other North Texas cities that earned spots in the report include Garland (No. 54), Fort Worth (No. 63), Arlington (No. 69), and Dallas (No. 83).

The top 10 most caring U.S. cities, according to WalletHub, are:

• No. 1 – Madison, Wisconsin
• No. 2 – Boston, Massachusetts
• No. 3 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
• No. 4 – New York, New York
• No. 5 – San Diego, California
• No. 6 – Chesapeake, Virginia
• No. 7 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
• No. 8 – Fremont, California
• No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
• No. 10 – Scottsdale, Arizona