AUSTIN, Texas
Population: 885,400
Unemployment: 3.3 percent
Fortune 500 Companies: 2
The home of the University of Texas is America’s “It” city, a progressive and creative hub. At one time that just meant music at its iconic South By Southwest festival; now it means all things imaginative and innovative—music, film, food, tech. Home to Dell and National Instruments, Austin’s number of tech startups is twice the national average, which not only attracts lots of young professionals and college grads but Apple, Google and Facebook, who all have offices there.