Austin Area Information
Local Area Information
Location
Austin is located in Central Texas along the Colorado River. Highways serving Austin include Interstate 35, U.S. Highway 183, Loop 1 (Mopac), Capital of Texas Highway (360) and Texas Highway 71/290 with the addition of two new Highways coming soon, SH45 and SH130. Altitude ranges from 425 feet at lakeside to 1,000 feet in the northwest hills.
Area
The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bastrop and Caldwell counties. Land area: City of Austin, 253 square miles; Austin MSA, 4,249 square miles.
Climate
Austin has a temperate climate, with 300 days of sunshine annually. Average temperatures range from 42° – 62° in the winter and 75° – 97° in the summer. Average annual rainfall is 32.1 inches.
Population
Austin is the 11th largest U.S. city based on the latest Census Bureau estimate. Its estimated population is 885,248 (2014 estimate). Austin is the cultural and economic center of the five-county Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 1,834,303 (2012 U.S. Census).
History
Founded in 1839, Austin was chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas because of its central location, fresh water, natural beauty and the proximity of limestone and timber. Austin was named for Stephen F. Austin, a colonizer of the area. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th U.S. President, was born in Texas Hill Country and represented the 10th Congressional District in Congress. Austin has seven historic districts and 210 Historic structures, including the Capital and the Governor’s Mansion.
Austin Rankings
Arts, Music, Entertainment and Recreation
Austin ranks first in Texas and sixth in the U.S. in the number of artists and musicians per capital. Recognized as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin has spawned a multitude of Grammy winning performers. PBS’s “Austin City Limits” is viewed by as many as five million people weekly worldwide. Among Austin’s cultural offerings:
- Art Galleries (35) / Lyndon B. Johnson Library
- Austin Children’s Museum / Manor Downs
- Austin Lyric Opera / Austin Symphony Orchestra
- Austin Museum of Art / Mount Bonnell
- Austin Zoo / National Wildflower Research Center
- Ballet Austin / Natural Science Center Austin
- Botanical Gardens / Neill Cochran House
- Discovery Hall / O’Henry Home
- Elisabet Ney Sculpture Museum / Paramount Theatre
- French Legation Private Theatre (10)
- George Washington Carver Museum / Texas Memorial Museum
- Hamilton Pool / UT Preforming Arts Complex
- Harry Ransom Center / Umlauf Sculpture Garden
- Hill County Flyer / Veloway
- Historic Sixth Street / Westcave Preserve
- Huntington Art Gallery / Zachary Scott Theatre
- Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm / Zilker Park
Recreational Highlights
- 150 miles of Highland Lakes, winding through the Texas Hill Country into Austin
- Town Lake in downtown Austin
- 351 acres in Zilker Downtown Park
- 174 parks and playgrounds, including a state park
- 16,000 acres of dedicated park land
- 18 golf courses, six municipal and 12 private
- 156 public tennis courts
- 28 miles of hike-n-bike trails
Education
Austin is the most highly educated U.S. city with a population of more than 850,000, with 35 percent of adults having 10 or more years of schooling. One in nine adults is currently enrolled in an Austin area college or university.
Public Schools in and around the Austin area include:
- Austin ISD 512.414.1700 www.austin.isd.tenet.edu
- Earnes ISD 512.329.3626 www.eanes.k12.tx.us
- Georgetown ISD 512.863-6595 Georgetown ISD
- Hays ISD 512.268.2141 www.hayscisd.net
- Round ROck ISD 512.464.5000 www.roundrockisd.org
- Lake Travis ISD 512.533.6000 www.laketravis.txed.net
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin is a leading institution of research and higher education, and the third largest state university in the U.S.
Top 10 Employers
- State of Texas 67,600 employees
- University of Texas at Austin 21,000 employees
- Dell Computers 16,500 employees
- Austin Independent School District 10,714 employees
- U.S. Government 10,200 employees
- Freescale Semiconductor 6,600 employees
- Seton Healthcare 6,393 employees
- IBM Corporation 6,200 employees
- Texas State University 5,103 employees
Taxes
Texas has no corporate or personal income tax, state or local. Retail sales tax in Austin is 8.25 percent. Property tax rates fluctuate yearly and vary according to residence location. For more information call the Tax Assessor-Collector in Travis County 512.473.9473, Williamson County 512.943.1603, Hays County 512.393.5545, Bastrop County 512.581.7161