Austin one of the Top Ten Best Places for a Business

According to Forbes, the city of Austin is the 8th best place for business as well as for career.  Among the reasons for the city's high placement on the list is the fact that the projected annual job growth rate for the city is currently at 2.3%, making it the fifth fastest growing city in terms of job growth.  The city also ranked highly on the list due to its subprime mortgage exposure, which is relatively low when compared to other markets.

"The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly," said Glenn Cooper, who is the head of real estate at Charles Schwab Corp, in an interview with Austin Biz Journals.  "They have bent over backwards to accommodate us."

Charles Schwab Corp recently expanded its presence in the city after purchasing the 401(k) Co. in 2007.

The 8th place position on the Forbes' list was quite an increase for the city, which had been ranked 47th on last year's list.  In all, the top ten cities to make it on the list included:

•    Raleigh, North Carolina
•    Fort Collins, Colorado
•    Durham, North Carolina
•    Fayetteville, Arkansas
•    Lincoln, Nebraska
•    Asheville, North Carolina
•    Des Moines, Iowa
•    Austin, Texas
•    Boise, Idaho
•    Colorado Springs, Colorado

A number of factors were taken into consideration when developing the list, including the cost of doing business in the city as well as the city's projected employment growth.