DATA

POINTS
By

THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

www.datapoints.org MAY 2012
MOST MUSICAL CITIES IN AMERICA
MUSIC ARTISTS PER 1,000 RESIDENTS

WATCH THE THRONE: AMERICAS MOST MUSICAL CITIES

Hollywood starlets. 90210. Americas most musical city? While Beverly Hills might be known for many things, it isnt typically acknowledged as a hotbed of musical acWvity. According to an analysis of a remarkable new arWst locaWon database soon to be released by The Echo Nest, however, Beverly Hills topped such notable music towns as Nashville, New Orleans and yes, AusWn. The Live Music Capital of the World didnt even break the top ten. Before anyone proclaims that Rodeo Drive is the new 6th Street, however, a closer examinaWon of the numbers is in order. The gravest shortcoming of the analysis lies in its use of ciWes as the geographical basis of measurement. On a day to day basis, many people dont live their lives in a single city. They may work in one city, commute to work in another city, and see live music in another city. Take the Washington, DC, supposedly the 7th most musical city in America. With a populaWon of approximately 600,000, the District of Columbia barely represents 10 percent of the total populaWon of the metropolitan staWsWcal area (which are based on actual commuWng pa^erns). As a result, per capita rankings can be signicantly skewed depending on whether one employs tradiWonal jurisdicWonal boundaries or a broader geographic deniWon that more accurately reects the economic integraWon of todays metropolitan regions. When data from The Echo Nest is adjusted to include metropolitan staWsWcal area populaWon data, the rankings of Americas most musical places change signicantly. Topping the list is Nashville, San Francisco, and Los Angeles (which includes Beverly Hills). The AusWn region jumps ten places from the original list to become Americas forth most musical region. Many of the remaining regions are tradiWonal college towns, including Gainesville, Florida (Limp Bizkit anyone?) and Athens, Georgia (home to REM, the B-52s, and Neutral Milk Hotel). Clearly, the AusWn region hasnt lost its music mojo. Its also worth remembering that as impressive as the data compiled by The Echo Nest may be, it represents a single, imprecise metric. AusWns ability to support world-class events such as AusWn City Limits and SXSW, for example, cant be captured by any database. AddiWonally, the true breadth of a regions music talent isnt readily quanWable. While Nashville may have a higher proporWon of musicians, it lacks much of the diversity that characterizes AusWns music scene. Once one considers less objecWve measures such as these, AusWns status as one of the countrys premier music desWnaWons becomes even more indisputable. Sorry Beverly Hills, but well take our crown back.

Beverly Hills San Francisco Nashville Boston Atlanta Charlo^esville Washington, DC Minneapolis Portland Burlington 0 1 2 3 4

Source: Music Machinery / The Echo Nest

CITY VERSUS METRO POPULATIONS FOR SELECTED REGIONS

CITY METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA

New York City Los Angeles Washington, DC Atlanta Boston San Francisco Minneapolis Portland AusWn Nashville
0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 Source: U.S. Census Bureau

MOST MUSICAL METROPOLITAN AREAS IN AMERICA

MUSIC ARTISTS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS

Nashville, Tennessee San Francisco, California Los Angeles, California AusWn, Texas Bloomington, Indiana Lawrence, Kansas Athens, Georgia Palm Bay, Florida Portland, Oregon Gainesville, Florida 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Source: Music Machinery / The Echo Nest / DataPoints

DATA POINTS
By

THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

www.datapoints.org THE BURGEONING CONSTRUCTION BOOM
Housing is back. Or at least it soon will be in AusWn. Although the region largely escaped the worst excesses of the housing bubble and the subsequent real estate crash, the relaWve stability of home prices in the AusWn region has helped obscure a signicant decline in new home construcWon. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, however, suggests that home construcWon is poised for a signicant rebound. The AusWn regions housing market has remained comparaWvely resilient throughout the recession and subsequent economic recovery. Median home prices throughout Central Texas, for example, are again approaching all-Wme high. In contrast, many major metropolitan areas have struggled to recover from the collapse in real estate prices; in 2011, the median sales price of an exisWng home in the U.S. was at its lowest point in since 2002. Despite relaWvely strong housing prices, residenWal building acWvity in Central Texas has yet to recover from its pre- recessionary highs. In 2006, for example, more than 26,000 home permits were issued in Central Texas. By 2010, this gure had fallen below 9,000. Recently released data for 2011, however, shows that more than 10,000 home permits were issued in the AusWn metropolitan area last yeara 16 percent jump compared to 2010 gures. The scale of AusWns recovering residenWal is all the more impressive when compared to the performance of other regions. Although the Chicago metropolitan area is home to ve Wmes as many residents as AusWn, for example, last year more new home permits were issued in Central Texas. Similarly, more housing permits were issued for the AusWn region than larger metro areas such as Atlanta and Phoenix. The upswing in home permits should help fuel a recovery of the construcWon sector within the AusWn region. Aker peaking in 2007 with more than 47,000 workers, AusWns construcWon employment has declined in every subsequent year. During the past ve years, more than 20 percent of all construcWon jobs in the AusWn region has been eliminated. A resurgence in residenWal building would also help alleviate the rising cost burden suered by renters in the region. AusWns strong populaWon growthcombined with sluggish mulW-family construcWon in recent yearshas helped push vacancy rates to historic lows and resulted in ever higher rental rates. In 2011, nearly two-khs of all residenWal construcWon involved mulW-family units, a signicant jump compared to 2010.
250 200 150 100 50 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 20 06 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

MAY 2012
U.S. MEDIAN SALES PRICE OF EXISTING HOMES
(IN THOUSANDS)

AUSTIN MSA U.S.

Source: Bureau of Labor Sta>s>cs

NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED

(2011)

Houston Dallas New York City Washington, DC Los Angeles Sea^le AusWn Phoenix Atlanta Chicago 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

NEW AUTHORIZED HOUSING UNITS BY TYPE

100% 75% 50% 25% 0% MULTI FAMILY MULTI FAMILY SINGLE FAMILY SINGLE FAMILY

70.6%

60.9%

29.4%
2010

39.1%
2011
Source: U.S. Census Bureau