There's yet another affirmation of what most people in Austin already know -- this town is a great place to do business.

Austin ranked 16th among big cities on Inc. magazine's 2007 list of "Business Boomtowns," rising 10 spots from its No. 26 ranking last year. The city hit hard earlier this decade by the dot-com bust now far outranks rival high-tech centers such as Boston and San Jose, in terms of job growth. In addition to tech, business services and wholesale are two of the hottest industries in the Austin-Round Rock market, according to Inc. Contributing to Austin's ranking was the area's overall job growth -- nonfarm employment increased 6.6 percent between 2001 and 2006. In the overall list that includes cities of all sizes, Austin ranks 110th, up from 173rd last year.

This year, Texas boasted the most big movers. Dallas jumped 18 spots on the big-cities list to No. 25 while Houston climbed 14 places to No. 17. Among midsize cities, McAllen, Midland, and Laredo posted similarly strong gains.

The magazine attributes the strong growth in Texas to relatively low business costs and a rebounding tech and thriving energy sector that's attracting a new group of highly paid professionals.

Topping the overall list this year was St. George, Utah, which had an 8.4 percent year-over-year job growth rate and a whopping 41.8 percent five-year growth rate.

The magazine's 2007 ranking of the "Hottest Places to do Business" will be featured in its May issue. The rankings of 393 U.S. metropolitan areas was compiled by Michael Shires, professor of public policy at Pepperdine University. The index puts the focus on job growth, which suggests that a region's economy is expanding resulting in new demand and new opportunities.