Austin Real Estate

The formula to intellectual success is being both a capital city and an academic hub, says The Daily Beast, a news and opinion Web site.  The cities of Austin and Denver prove that the formula works. Each ranked high in The Daily Beast’s first-ever “America’s Smartest Cities” list.  Denver ranked No. 5. Austin, which came in as No. 12, far outranked all the other Texas cities.

How did The Daily Beast metro IQ test measure “smartness”? Half of the score was based on the local percentage of college graduates, with 35 percent of the total based on bachelor’s degrees and 15 percent on graduate degrees.

The other 50 percent of the score was based on three factors:

• per-capita nonfiction book sales (25 percent)
• ratio of institutions of higher education to the local population (15 percent)
• percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in the last presidential election (10 percent).

The Daily Beast added these specific comments about the two cities. “Austin only fell short in one ironic measure, political engagement.” Denver residents are “educated. They’re well-read. And [they] have a bit of cowboy swagger as well.”

The website rated 55 U.S. cities with metro-area populations of 1 million or more. Although Raleigh-Durham topped the Smartest Cities list, I’m still partial to Denver and Austin, in no particular order.

Brian Kinkade is a broker and team lead with Cherry Creek Professionals Realty, a full service Denver real estate firm. His team specializes in Denver luxury real estate, homes, condos and equine properties. Brian invites you to visit website for more information about the Denver real estate market.