• Population: 840,000
• New residents: 25,400
• Percentage gain: 3%

Whether its the great barbeque, the Sixth Street music scene or a job at one of its tech firms, people are drawn to the capital of Texas for a variety of reasons.

Austin is home to several big Fortune 500 companies, including Dell and Whole Foods Markets. And the massive University of Texas, with its 50,000-plus enrollment, is one of the largest campuses in the country. The engineering and computer science programs have spawned many local tech businesses and it maintains a number of successful business incubators, according to Lloyd Potter, the Texas state demographer.

Plus, "young people like the lifestyle in Austin," said Potter.

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