This Austin metro area is 2nd best in the U.S. for middle-class

Ryan Maxin, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
Construction to widen and lower Interstate 35 through Central Austin is expected to kick off later this year.

The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metropolitan area is the second-best area in the country for those in the middle class to live in, according to a 2022 report.

The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, an economic and policy research organization, ranked the Austin metro area second among the 50 largest metro locations across the U.S. based on metrics like unemployment rates, average weekly earnings and the total cost of living changes since 2005.

The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area was slightly edged by the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, area, which took the top spot on the list.

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The Ludwig Institute calculated the average total weekly earnings of Austinites to be about $1,126. That's second lowest among the top five metropolitan areas on the list.

Nearly 34% of Austin metro residents don't make enough money to meet their basic needs, according to the institute. However, the average household had more than 25% of its income left after paying for necessities like housing, food and childcare in 2022.

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The Austin metro's rate of unemployment was 42.8% in 2022, and its cost of living increased by 60% since 2005, a smaller change than many of the other metro areas on the list.

The San Antonio-New Braunfels area ranked 13th on the list, followed by the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area at 26th and the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area at 30th.

More: As mortgage rates climbed, home sales, median prices tumbled in Austin metro in 2023

Which metro areas are in the top 10 for the middle class?

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California

  2. Austin, Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas

  3. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California

  4. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland

  5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia

  6. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin

  7. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon-Washington

  8. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin

  9. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado

  10. Salt Lake City, Utah

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin metro area second best in U.S. for middle class, report says