There was a piece in this morning's New York Times about how Austin's now the top destination for the young American, all right. So notes Brookings Institution demographer William Frey, who adds Dallas to the list of Top Five destinations for the highly coveted 25-to-34-year-old. Only a few years ago, we weren't even among the Final Five, which included, in order, Riverside, California; Phoenix, Atlanta; Houston and Charlotte, N.C. Back in '07, Dallas-Fort Worth came in at No. 7.

Houston keeps its No. 4 position, based on 2007-'09 Census Bureau info, but according to data provided to Unfair Park by Brookings, Dallas now ranks No. 2 -- behind Austin and just ahead of Denver, Houston and Seattle. Says Frey, who called Unfair Park this afternoon for a quick chat before boarding a flight, the answer to why Dallas has become a top destination for the recent college grad and young adult is simple: "The economy's doing well compared to other cities."

He continues: "When we look at other Census estimates, Dallas as a metro and Dallas as a city has done better than other places -- and better than itself a few years ago. Austin's a three-fer: a college town, a tech center and a cool city. Dallas maybe gets a B-plus in some of those, but it's the economy that's driving migration patterns."

John Fairbanks at Brookings was kind enough to forward some spreadsheets and the entirety of Frey's paper, "Migration Declines Further: Stalling Brain Gains and Ambitions," published yesterday. It follows.