Round Rock Real Estate
Round Rock, Texas is just 15 minutes north and a whole world away from Austin . Known as the Sports Capital of Texas, this city is where baseball great Nolan Ryan chose to base his AAA baseball club-the Round Rock Express. Round Rock is also rich in history the town is named after a famous rock which marked a low water wagon crossing in Brushy Creek. The wagons heading for the west coast passed through the region many generations ago and until about a hundred years ago, the wagon trails of these pioneers were still visible. Today, Round Rock is even more famous as a place of business. The city strongly encourages economic development projects and has attracted Dell, Inc. and Toppan Photomasks, both of which have their corporate headquarters in the city. The city's pro-business stance makes it very advantageous to do business in Round Rock.
Round Rock prides itself on its very educated workforce, its supportive government, its superlative schools and its high standards of life. All these elements combine to make Round Rock a profitable business location that is rapidly growing and expanding in prosperity. It is estimated that by 2009, the city will have 94 973 residents, thanks to an astounding 5.0 percent per year population growth. The city already boasts a population of 80 000. Round Rock is a leader in economic development in Central Texas . Many businesses in the area mean plenty of career opportunities for residents and a high employment rate allows the city to offer excellent healthcare and education as well as wonderful shopping, dining, parks and neighborhoods. The city's schools have won awards for excellence and Round Rock has developed a reputation for progressive government and good business sense.
At the same time, Round Rock does not sacrifice to build business. City planners work hard to maintain small-town warmth and safety with increasing opportunities. The result is a Texas Hill Country city that offers all the opportunity of a big city with the high quality of life associated with suburbia or small town life. Whether you want to raise a family or grow a company, Round Rock is an ideal place to live. It combines excellent business opportunities with exceptional residential living for the best of both worlds.
Round Rock Offers a Highly Educated Workforce
One of the reasons the city is able to attract incredible business and economic opportunities is because of the Round Rock workforce. Nationwide, the Austin-Round Rock MSA is the second most educated workforce. Of the population over 25 years of age, over 35% has at least a Bachelors degree. The Round Rock Economic Development Partnership stresses business expansion and retention for its development strategy, since studies have shown that most job creation as much as 80% of job creation, in fact -- is due to existing industry expansions. To reach this aim, the Partnership visits an average of 8 companies monthly or 96 companies annually and holds quarterly forums to inform businesses and residents about issues that affect businesses in Round Rock.
Round Rock is also able to succeed economically because the city has a diverse economy consisting of high tech, back office operations, light manufacturing, and other types of industry. Round Rock is home to the world headquarters of DuPont Photomasks Inc. (Toppan Printing) as well as other companies. DuPont Photomasks and Photronics are two of the biggest photomask businesses in the world and both have chosen to open for business in Round Rock. Important companies such as Texas Guaranteed Student Loan, Dresser Wayne, Inc., Round Rock ISD, Sears Customer Care, Michael Angelo s Gourmet Foods, Farmers Insurance Group, Cypress Semiconductor and Round Rock Medical Center all do business in the city and offer career opportunities and growth possibilities for the workforce.
Population in Round Rock
Thanks to the opportunities the city provides, Round Rock has become the fastest growing city in the state of Texas . Round Rock has grown, on average, 11.3% annually. As more residents have settled in the area to get more of the opportunities the city provides, Round Rock has grown by 159% since 1990. It is expected that the population will grow 23.3% from 2004 to 2009. The Austin-Round Rock MSA grew to over 1.4 million since 1990, an increase of 67%.
Real Estate in Round Rock
In the Austin area, Round Rock offers some of the best real estate opportunities at some of the best prices. Whether you are looking for a first home, a comfortable home to raise a family in, an executive house to further your career or a showcase home to retire in, a move to Round Rock can help you meet your goals. Many Round Rock homes offer easy access to nearby schools and parks. Round Rock also offers golf course communities. While there is a wealth of options in Round Rock, you might not know it by the price. Housing costs in the area are very respectable, so that a single-family home in the city costs roughly 8% less than the same property would cost in Austin . If you do not find exactly what you are looking for in the city, Round Rock aims to please and its ever growing streets allow you to build the home of your dreams. In 2005, each month an average of 123 new building permits were issued for single-family homes. Each month in the same period, approximately $3.695 million in commercial building permits were issued.
Business, Taxes, and Affordable Living in Round Rock
The State of Texas has no corporate or personal income tax and Round Rock aims to entice both residents and new businesses by avoided high taxes that often burden industrial development. As a result, the city actually offers tax breaks for business interests and even can boast of the lowest property taxes in the region. This means that in addition to attractive property costs, residents and businesses in the city can enjoy tax savings as well.
Round Rock, unlike other communities, does not cut corners in order to offer tax breaks. Businesses and residents consistently give city services a 91% satisfaction rating. In fact, the city has actually expanded the services it offers to businesses and residents while at the same time lowering property taxes. This is done, in part, by dedicating one half-cent of the municipal sales taxes collected to the reduction of property taxes. Round Rock's property tax rate is among the lowest of any medium-sized or big city in the state.
In addition, in all of Central Texas , businesses and residents of Round Rock enjoy the lowest combined average monthly utility costs. The savings that residents enjoy on housing costs, utilities, and taxes mean a high quality of life at low cost. Round Rock's latest ACCRA Cost of Living Index score was 89.5 while the national composite average was 100. Among tech-focused communities, the city had one of the lowest cost of living ratings.
Part of the reason why the City of Round Rock attracts so much prosperity is because the city believes in incentives to encourage good business and healthy community building. The city is able to offer a number of incentives, including tax abatement, freeport tax exemption, training programs, public utility incentives, fast track permit programs, fee waivers and reductions, and foreign trade zones. Round Rock Economic Development
Partnership and the City are always eager to work with businesses to help them feel comfortable about doing business with Round Rock. |
