Capital Region

Counties:

Bastrop
Blanco
Burnet
Caldwell
Fayette

Hays
Lee
Llano
Travis
Williamson

Key Industries:

Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
Publishing Industries
State Government
Motion Picture and Sound Recording

Mining
Non-store Retailers
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

Population

Between 2003 and 2013, the Capital Region’s population grew 35%, which is significantly greater than the state growth of 20% and the national growth of 9%.
Nearly 32,000 people move to the Capital Region each year
The Capital Region boasts a population density of 237 people per square mile, which is 2.5 times higher than the Texas average of 101 people per square mile

Economy

From 2003 to 2013, the per capita persona income growth in the region was 41%, which is slightly lower than the Texas average of 46% but greater than the U.S. average of 37%
Personal income grew from $47.1 billion in 2003 to $89.6 billion in 2013, which makes the region’s total personal income greater than those of 15 states across the country.
Job growth in the region was 30.2%, which is significantly greater than the Texas average of 19.6% and the U.S. average of 4.7%
The region added 211,000 jobs from 2003 to 2013

Challenge: Growth Sustainability

The rapid growth of the Capital Region has led to a 13% increase in home prices over the past 2 years. Furthermore, the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area had the highest median gross rent of all MSA’s in Texas between 2009 and 2013.

The region’s growth has also had an impact on transportation, as Austin ranked the 4^th most congested city in a recent traffic study and was the only Texas city to make the top 10.

Fun Facts

For 4 years in a row, the U.S. Census has named San Marcos as the country’s fastest-growing city with a population over 50,000
Capital Region’s 27 colleges and universities have a combined total enrollment of nearly 180,000 students
Southwestern University was the first institute of higher learning in Texas