The Wallstreet Journal ranked Austin, Texas as the top city for job market growth along with Nashville, Tennessee coming in at second place. Rankings were based on “the unemployment rate, labor-force participation rate, job growth, and labor-force growth and wage growth.” Apple and Amazon have made recent moves to the southern states, creating a growing number of technology jobs. Austin and Nashville are well known for their vibrant nightlife and great food, but now these two cities are luring young professionals away to begin their careers in places other than larger coastal markets.
In 2019, Apple began construction on a $1 billion corporate campus in Austin, Texas, demonstrating its commitment to expanding in the Lone Star State. In an article written by CNN, the campus “is expected to open in 2022, will initially house 5,000 employees, with the capacity to grow to 15,000. It will run on 100% renewable energy, including from solar power generated on-site, according to the company.” Amazon is also building a new campus which will spark more growth in Nashville due to the company’s goal of hiring 5,000 new employees.
According to the job market rankings, the Bay Area still sits among the top ten, but places like Austin and Nashville can be more attractive in some cases. One of the main differences between California and Texas, for example, is the cost of living. As of 2017 in Austin, “the median house price is $289,000 with a 3-year appreciation rate of 25.2%.” When young college graduates are making decisions on where to work, housing costs can play a major role in the decision-making process. In an article written by MarketWatch, other features luring people to the south are noted, such as “well-known universities…and an intangible cool factor.” Nashville has Vanderbilt University in the heart of the city and Austin is the home of the well-known University of Texas.
A lot of companies are moving to the south for many reasons. The San Francisco Business Times wrote an article stating, “the corporate exodus out of California is bad. It could get worse. There’s no plan to stop it – and the Lone Star State hopes there never will be.” Making the move to the country’s large cities like Austin and Nashville can have many more benefits than just escaping high taxes.