RALEIGH – In a new ranking of state capitals, Raleigh comes out higher than economic rival Austin and, more importantly, cracks the top 10.

Financial information site GOBankingRates rates Raleigh No. 7 among the 50 capitals with Austin coming in at No. 13.

Earlier this month, Raleigh ranked 12th among US state capitals, up from 13th in 2018, on the “best state capitals to live in” from economic news and information site SmartAsset. But Raleigh fell short of Austin, which tied for sixth place.

Not all reports use the same data. But a victory is a victory for Raleigh, which in 2018 lost out to the Texas capital for a new Apple project and a new Army headquarters.

(By the way, in another recent study, GoBankingRates rated Raleigh as the No. 20 most affordable city while Austin came in at No. 11.)

GOBankingRates noted that its state capitals survey found the best “often feature a solid median household income, low poverty and unemployment rates, a low cost of necessities, affordable rent and homes and usually a good grade for school districts.”

Here’s what the survey says about the rivals:

7. Raleigh, North Carolina

“Raleigh enjoys low poverty and unemployment rates, as well as fairly low rates for violent and property crimes. Its median household income is higher than most at $61,505, and its school district received a grade of A-.”

13. Austin, Texas

“Is keeping Austin weird keeping Texas’ capital high in the rankings? No, it’s the great scores in household income along with low poverty and unemployment rates. Furthermore, Austin features low crime rates and a school district grade of A-. Austin isn’t as kind to renters as most of the better capitals in this study, though; expect to pay more than $21,000 annually.”

Hartford, Conn. topped the list followed by Richmond.

Read the full report online.

GOBankingRates says it analyzed the capitals using the following criteria:

  • Violent crime rate and property crime rate per 1,000 residents
  • Median home list price and median rent
  • Annual cost of necessities
  • School district score
  • Unemployment rate of the population between ages 20 and 64, plus the percentage of the population living below the poverty line
  • The median household income, all sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey

Raleigh rises to 12th place on ‘best state capitals’ list but trails Austin – again