Austin ranks among top 50 cities in the world. Here's why.

The Austin skyline, seen in this October 2023 file photo.

A global consulting firm has named Austin as the 43rd best city in the world in a ranking of the top 100 urban areas worldwide for 2024.

The list by Resonance, a firm that says they empower cities and communities with "transformative strategies, plans, brands and campaigns," has been hailed as the most comprehensive city ranking by Bloomberg, according to the organization.

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Resonance says the list is the result of an analysis of over 270 metropolitan areas with more than one million residents. The rankings are weighed by examining 24 metrics tied to three overarching categories.

Livability encompassed items like recreation and airport connectivity. Lovability covered things to do and online popularity tied to check-ins, social hashtags, and search results. Lastly, Prosperity included labor force participation, the poverty rate, and the number of registered start-ups.

Why is Austin among the 50 best cities in the world

At No. 43, Austin ranked just ahead of Oslo, Norway and just behind Tapei, Taiwan on the list. The other Texas cities in the top 100 were Houston (No. 66) and Dallas (No. 73).

Under a sub-headline reading, "The American dream has a new hometown," Resonance went on to label Austin "rebellious."

"Forged by can-do persistence cut with a university town’s progressive livability—is now a well-oiled talent-attraction machine," the report says. "Talk to any entrepreneur leaving Silicon Valley, NYC or Seattle and chances are they've considered Austin."

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The attraction of major employers to the area, like Oracle, Tesla, and BAE systems, and plans for skyscrapers are among the accolades that stood out. The University of Texas did, too, with Resonance calling the school a "talent magnet" focused on research and expanding the skills pipeline to the private sector.

And, of course, the music scene got a well-deserved shoutout, too.

Of the 24 metrics weighed, Austin ranked highest on a number of Google Search results (No. 6) under the Lovability category and higher education (No. 23) under Livability. But of the three categories, Austin ranked best under Prosperity (No. 29), followed by Lovability (No. 56) and Livability (No. 60).

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These are the 10 best cities in the world in 2024

At the very top of the list is London, United Kingdom. The English city was at the top of Livability and Lovability categories, coming in third behind Singapore and Abu Dhabi, UAE under Prosperity.

Here's a look at the top cities on the list:

  1. London, UK

  2. Paris, France

  3. New York City

  4. Tokyo, Japan

  5. Singapore

  6. Dubai, UAE

  7. San Francisco

  8. Barcelona, Spain

  9. Amsterdam, Netherlands

  10. Seoul, South Korea

The 10 best cities in the United States

New York City was the top-ranked American city, ranking third overall, just behind Paris, France. The city ranked best under Lovability (No. 2), then Livability (No. 6) and finally, Prosperity (No. 12).

Here's a look at the top ten cities in the United States on the list:

  1. New York City (No. 3 overall)

  2. San Francisco (No. 7 overall)

  3. Los Angeles (No. 15 overall)

  4. Chicago (No. 16 overall)

  5. Washington D.C. (No. 17 overall)

  6. Seattle (No. 34 overall)

  7. San Jose (No. 38 overall)

  8. Austin (No. 43 overall)

  9. San Diego (No. 51 overall)

  10. Orlando (No. 52 overall)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin ranks among top 50 cities in the world. Here's why.

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