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USCity.review

Austin vs Denver vs Seattle

Better values are highlighted where there is a clear better direction. Change cities

Measure Austin, TX Denver, CO Seattle, WA
Overview
Population 993,588 729,019 780,995
Density (people per sq mi) 3,057 4,763 9,295
Land area (sq mi) 325.0 153.1 84.0
Elevation (ft) 489 5,279 131
Rankings
Most Walkable Cities #8 of 22 (score 63.2) #12 of 22 (score 50.2) #1 of 22 (score 93.5)
Greenest Cities #14 of 22 (score 45.7) #3 of 22 (score 88.6) #4 of 22 (score 80.0)
Best Cities for Food Lovers #3 of 22 (score 88.6) #10 of 22 (score 52.4) #1 of 22 (score 95.2)
Best Cities for Nightlife #2 of 22 (score 88.1) #16 of 22 (score 34.1) #1 of 22 (score 94.4)
Best Cities for Arts & Culture #3 of 22 (score 87.1) #13 of 22 (score 41.5) #1 of 22 (score 98.6)
Most Bike-Friendly Cities #4 of 22 (score 85.7) #2 of 22 (score 96.4) #3 of 22 (score 91.7)
Best Cities for Healthcare Access #4 of 22 (score 71.4) #6 of 22 (score 67.3) #1 of 22 (score 98.8)
Most Family-Friendly Cities #11 of 22 (score 47.6) #1 of 22 (score 89.7) #2 of 22 (score 84.9)
Best College Cities #7 of 22 (score 73.8) #5 of 22 (score 77.0) #1 of 22 (score 95.2)
Safest Cities from Natural Disasters #33 of 75 (score 54.8) #7 of 75 (score 80.2) #47 of 75 (score 38.7)
Healthiest Cities #17 of 96 (score 72.7) #8 of 96 (score 83.5) #2 of 96 (score 90.0)
Best Cities for Park Access #41 of 99 (score 55.9) #20 of 99 (score 72.2) #12 of 99 (score 77.8)
Cities with the Cleanest Air #56 of 95 (score 43.2) #54 of 95 (score 46.1) #19 of 95 (score 79.0)
Best-Connected Cities #24 of 100 (score 73.9) #27 of 100 (score 72.3) #10 of 100 (score 90.5)
Best Cities for Car-Free Commuting #39 of 100 (score 58.7) #22 of 100 (score 72.2) #4 of 100 (score 83.8)
Lowest Student-Teacher Ratios #39 of 96 (score 60.0) #29 of 96 (score 69.0) #54 of 96 (score 44.2)
Most Affordable Cities #46 of 100 (score 53.1) #61 of 100 (score 45.0) #33 of 100 (score 58.6)
Best Cities Overall #16 of 100 (score 66.1) #13 of 100 (score 66.9) #1 of 100 (score 82.1)
Local facts
Median household income $91,461 $91,681 $121,984
Median rent $1,655 / mo $1,770 / mo $1,998 / mo
Median home value $512,700 $586,700 $912,100
Median age 34.5 35.2 35.5
Unemployment 4.5% 4.6% 4.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher 58.2% 55.7% 67.5%
Poverty rate 12.3% 11.2% 9.9%
Renter-occupied homes 55.6% 50.9% 55.8%
Public schools
Public schools 266 234 134
Students enrolled 159,428 97,969 59,238
Students per teacher 15.6 : 1 15.3 : 1 16.6 : 1
Free or reduced-price lunch 49.5% 62.8% 40.2%
Charter schools 26.7% 25.2% 3.0%
School districts serving the city 35 11 8
Safety
Violent crime 426 887 715
Property crime 3,123 4,167 4,521
Health & wellbeing
Adults with obesity 30.5% 21.8% 22.5%
No leisure-time physical activity 21.1% 18.1% 12.8%
Adults with diabetes 9.7% 8.0% 6.8%
Adults who smoke 9.5% 10.3% 6.6%
Frequent mental distress 15.8% 14.8% 14.7%
Sleeping under 7 hours 31.7% 28.4% 28.9%
Adults without health insurance 14.5% 13.1% 5.8%
Routine checkup in past year 73.8% 71.0% 70.3%
Parks, air & walkability
Residents within a 10-minute walk of a park 76.1% 96.3% 99.2%
Share of city that is parkland 9.5% 10.3% 12.2%
EPA walkability index (1-20) 14.4 13.6 16.7
Median air quality index (county) 53 50 43
Unhealthy air days (county) 6 6 0
Internet & commuting
Households with broadband 92.6% 92.2% 94.2%
Households with no internet 4.6% 4.3% 3.4%
Average commute 24.0 min 25.4 min 26.6 min
Work from home 27.5% 24.4% 31.3%
Commute by transit 2.1% 4.5% 13.9%
Commute on foot 2.4% 3.9% 8.3%
Commute by bike 0.8% 1.6% 2.5%

Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, FEMA National Risk Index, OpenFEMA, U.S. Census Bureau ACS, CDC PLACES, NCES Common Core of Data, FBI Crime Data Explorer, The Trust for Public Land ParkServe, EPA AirData, EPA Smart Location Database, USCity.review residents, NOAA Climate Normals, Wikimedia Commons, CISA .gov data, U.S. Census Bureau, Wikidata

County-level data (hazards, air quality) is shared by cities in the same county. About the data.