Forbes Magazine’s Fastest-Growing Cities, 2016
Austin regains the No. 1 spot after being toppled by Houston last year. Thanks to its booming technology, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, low cost of living, and cachet, the Austin economy remains on fire. Hordes of people are moving in (Austin’s projected 3.15% population growth rate in 2016 is the highest among the 100 metro areas we examined) to take advantage of Austin’s job opportunities (employment expanded 3.28% last year). The city has topped our list of Fastest-Growing Cities for five of the past six years (last year it slipped to second place).
Texas Growth Fund has 4 EB-5 opportunities in this booming market – and one in Houston, Texas, which topped the Forbes list last year, the only year in the last 6 when Austin was not #1.
The Economic Intelligence Unit singled out Austin in 2015 as a forward-looking “Future City” driving growth through the creative economy. Employment in creative industries has boomed, combining with the city’s technology base to produce the South by Southwest Festival (SXSW). According to a study by the consultancy Greyhill Advisors, in 2014 SXSW attracted more than 370,000 attendees and generated more than $315 million for Austin’s economy. The event also strengthens the city’s status as a trendsetter at the intersection of art, music and digital technology. U.S. News identified Austin as America’s number one “hot city for jobs and culture.”
Austin offers an increasingly-attractive alternative for EB-5 investors to the saturated markets of “gateway cities” in New York and California. Click to see Texas Growth Fund’s portfolio of EB-5 investment opportunities in Austin and Houston Texas.