When Your Kid Moves Out West, She Takes the U.S. Economy With Her
The Texas State Capitol building stands beyond construction cranes at the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin, Texas, on April 4, 2015. About 900,000 people live in the city of Austin and that number is expected to reach nearly 1.3 million by 2040, a 40 percent increase, according to city figures. More than 100 people move to the city a day, according to the city's demographer.
Photographer: Matthew Busch/BloombergCranes punctuate Austin’s skyline. Startups skip Boston for Denver’s downtown, where silver boom-era warehouses are transformed into offices. In San Francisco, technology engineers revive long-blighted Market Street.
Cities in the West and Southwest are experiencing economic growth exceeding records set before the financial crisis, with young, educated workers creating housing shortages and traffic jams as they drive up wages.