Austin Has Among Nation's Strongest Sense Of Community: Report

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin is the 10th best city in the nation among those with a great sense of community, according to a new study.

Moving to a new city with no familiar faces can be challenging. With that in mind, Greenhouse Treatment recently put together a study that ranks the 50 largest cities in the country on their sense of community. Greenhouse Treatment is a residential treatment facility by American Addiction Centers that offers comprehensive research-based individualized treatment for men and women struggling with addiction and mental health disorders.

The capital city was ranked among the top ten in the reckoning. Greenhouse Treatment analysts examined various factors in compiling its list, including the number of community events, walk score, amount of crime, community happiness and other metrics. Researchers weighted each factor to calculate an overall “sense of community” score ranging from 0-100, with Austin's sussing out at 56.80.

The city's dynamics closely mirror the results. While no big city is immune to crime, Austin boasts a rate that is less than its bigger counterparts elsewhere in the state. According to NeighborhoodScout, the chance that a person will become a victim of a violent crime in Austin (such as armed robbery, aggravated assault, rape or murder) is 1 in 234. This equates to a rate of 4 per one thousand inhabitants. NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that Austin's rate for property crime is 33 per one thousand population.

Compare that to Houston, with a crime rate of 54 per 1,000 residents that yields one of the highest crime rates in the nation. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Houston is one in 19, according to NeighborhoodScout analysts. In Dallas, the chance of becoming a crime victim is one in 25, the same researchers found.

Yet Dallas' average is lower than cities of its size nationally, helping the city earn the 11th spot on the Greenhouse Treatment analysis. Despite its high crime rate, Houston offers counter-balancing amenities that helped it land not too shabbily on the list, in the 17th ranking. San Antonio also fared highly on the list, cracking the top 20 in the 19th slot among communities with a strong sense of community.

As for community events, the capital city known as the "live music capital of Texas" surely doesn't disappoint. There's a little festival called SXSW you might've heard of that ended on Sunday yielding a dizzying array of entertainment offerings March. Parks abound in Austin, with Zilker park serving as the centerpiece of the park system that city officials dub the "crown jewel" of the recreational patchwork. The network of trails in Austin is labyrinthine and expansive.

Other than Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, not other Texas city made the top 50 list of cities with the strongest sense of community. To see the full rankings, click here. Spoiler alert: The top city on the list is Los Angeles (really?!?!). Rounding out the top 5 were: San Francisco, New York City, San Diego (CA) and Boston.

Go figure, right? But, hey, number ten ain't so bad. We'll take it. To read the full study, click here.

Graphic courtesy of Greenhouse Treatment

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