Why We Like Austin
Why Austin, Texas is the Place to Build a Business
In 2017, The U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper asked of Austin – “Is this Americas coolest city?”
Located in the heart of the Texas Triangle, an area formed by drawing a line between Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Austin is well-known for its eclectic, friendly and vibrant atmosphere. People in Austin pride themselves on doing things their own way, and Austin is liberal as well as wealthy. The amazing arts scene and high focus on music has Austin dubbed The Live Music Capital of the World.
Austin’s unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird” and it’s built a reputation for being offbeat, lively, creative and the place to be for a whole host of arts, food, and entertainment. As the beating heart of Texas, the streets are bustling with activity and people ‘making things happen.’
It’s no wonder Austin draws a huge range of people relocating – from students to businesspeople, and those coming from other areas of America looking for a better quality of life. And, many of the people who move to Austin do so because of the amazing business opportunities it offers.
In just the last decade, Austin has grown from an oversized college town to one of Americas largest and fastest growing cities. Business is booming here – and Austin has distinct characteristics that make it ideal for international entrepreneurs to settle.
So, nightlife, culture and an incredible music scene aside – here’s five reasons why you should consider becoming an Austinite…
1 Be a Part of an Incredible Boom
Austin is the fastest growing city in the U.S. Each day 150 people move to Austin from other parts of America. Between 2010 and 2014 population increased 13.2%, driven in large part by domestic migration which was 16.4% per 1,000 residents. That placed it first out of Americas 53 largest metropolitan areas over the same time frame.
The amount of international migration to Austin is also strong with over 6,000 people settling in Austin from abroad in 2014 alone.
One of the reasons Austin is so popular is because of the draw of higher educational institutions such as the University of Texas, which is 32nd in the Best Global Universities rankings. 10.1% of the students at The University of Texas are international students, and people from over 124 countries are represented.
Education generally is top notch with 40.6% of Austin residents holding a bachelors degree, and 87.9% holding a high school degree.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Austin was recently crowned No.1 in Americas Biggest Boomtowns. From three metrics – business growth, population and housing, and workforce and earnings, Austin came No.1 out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.
#2 Take Advantage of a Thriving Economy
Since 2000, Austin has seen a rise of 22% in GDP growth. In the latter part of 2018, business activity has seen a 7.5% rise, which is above its average of 6%. The Dallas Fed’s measure of local economic expansion was 4.3%.
Austin is known for being a tech hub, but rapid job growth – 39% since 2006, is actually diversified. Professional and business services had a 37.1% increase in employment since 2006. Industries such as retail sales, construction, financial services, and trade have also enjoyed strong growth in the last decade.
One of the reasons people love working and living in Austin is that it has zero income tax and no corporate tax. Instead, there is a corporate franchise tax, which only begins to be levied when a business reaches $1,130,000, and then is charged at a rate of 0.375%-0.75%.
#3 Want the Best Employees and Employment Opportunities? Austin Is No.1 for Job Seekers
Unemployment in Austin has plummeted in the last few years. While the national average is 5.8%, in Austin it currently stands at 3.8%. Austin was ranked alongside Dallas for jobs in 2018 by Forbes – calling the pair the leaders in the “Surging South”.
Because of the huge range of industries and tech companies in Austin, it’s sometimes referred to as the “Silicon Hills”. Dell has their headquarters in Austin and is a leading employer in the area. However, plenty of other tech companies have a presence in Austin, such as – Apple, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, Google, Samsung Group, Hostgator and Cisco Systems. IBM Corp is also a large employer in the area.
Because Austin has such a great reputation, graduates love coming to the area. This means that you can find a wealth of skilled and enthusiastic millennials to help you as you grow your business in the U.S.
#4 Enjoy the Amazing Start-up Scene
In 2016, Fortune Magazine called Austin the “Rockstar of Small Business” – and it’s not hard to see why! One of the reasons Austin does so well at encouraging small businesses is because of its unique business ecosystem. According to Kevin Jones, the Director of the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, Austin has a brilliant mix of entrepreneurs, incubators, and investors. It also has a wealth of opportunities and support networks – from business school involvement and community-building events.
CNBC voted Austin the best city to start a business, because of this combination of support and a range of other benefits such as great quality of life, the speed of population growth and the net company creation rate. Texas, in general, is considered to be a very business-friendly state, and the cost of living combined with the attractive tax rules means that there’s extra money for entrepreneurs to spend on building their business.
The creative talent pool is huge as well, with the culture of liberal, artistic and tech-friendly scenes. Austin is considered to be very innovative in general – and this energy transfers to the start-up world very well. Because of this, residents of Austin tend to be friendly and supportive. “People really get what it means to support each other and be connected to each other – and how much that’s helpful” (Shelley Delayne, founder of Orange Co-working, a workspace for entrepreneurs)
#5 Give Your Business a Quality of Life Boost
There’s no getting around it – quality of life makes a huge difference to long-term business success. One of the reasons that so many entrepreneurs and business-owners thrive in Austin is because of the amazing quality of life it offers.
Austin was voted the greenest city in Texas and is the 6th most energy-efficient city in the U.S. It has the 3rd lowest violent crime rate in America. Austin was also ranked the best city for Millenial Home Buyers by CNN, due to its average house price of $245,000 (compared to the national average of $280,000).
Wages are high in Austin, compared to elsewhere in America. The average annual salary is $50,830, compared to a national average of around $44,000. Rents are also cheaper – at around $1,000 per month, far cheaper than many other metropolitan centers in the U.S.
One of the reasons Austin is such a great place to live is down to its location. As it sits in the “Texas Triangle”, it means that it has good links to other major metropolitan centers in Texas, and it also lays close enough to beaches to mean that its possible to enjoy time away to relax at weekends and vacation time. The weather can be a challenge in the very hot summer months, but overall, Austin enjoys a great climate and plenty of sunny days.
Why We Love Austin
Of course we are slightly biased: Mount Bonnell Advisors are based in Austin and our firm is named after a famous Austin landmark. We think the world of Texas and Austin and have a strong sense of local identity. We are proud to be truly Texan!
And, more importantly, there is a strong personal connection to the area: Sebastian, our CEO, lived in Central Texas from 2011 to 2017 on/off. His family owned a ranch close to Austin and Sebastian has felt very much at home there ever since (and secretly hopes to live on a Texas ranch again some day!) Texas was where he found his American Dream (or maybe it found him!)
For Sebastian and all of us Mount Bonnell Advisors, Central Texas is the best place in the U.S. to start up a business. We deeply care about the people, the country, and the heritage of Central Texas and Austin.
To read more about Sebastian’s Texas adventure, check out this page.
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