AUSTIN BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
software), AT&T Labs, Cirrus Logic,
eBay/PayPal, Evernote, HostGator,
Informatica, Rackspace Managed
Hosting, and Office Depot, among other
organizations.
Besides the city’s beautiful and scenic
surroundings, Austin’s cost of living is
much less than many major cities – and
that’s yet another reason companies –
and relocating families – are attracted
to the area. According to the most
recent numbers from the ACCRA Cost of
Living Index (third quarter 2012), Austin
has a composite index of 94. 4 – on par
with Atlanta ( 95.0), Dallas ( 96. 4),
Charlotte ( 93. 7) and Raleigh ( 90. 9),
but far below Boston ( 142. 8), Los
Angeles ( 131. 3), and New York
( 229. 5) in terms of the cost of grocery,
housing, utilities, transportation and
healthcare. (See chart in this section for
a full picture of Austin’s ACCRA Cost of
Living Index ranking in comparison to
other metro areas.)
According to the most recent information
from the Austin Board of Realtors, the
median home value in Austin was
$220,000 as of March 2013, while the
national median was $184, 300. Texas
doesn’t have either a personal or
corporate income tax, adding to its
relocation appeal. In fact, according to
the nonprofit TaxFoundation.org, Texas
has one of the lowest state and local tax
burdens in the nation at 7. 9 percent of
income (ranking 45th of 50 states
nationally) and below the national
average of 9. 8 percent.
Because we’ve remained an affordable
place to live and work, growth in the
Austin MSA has skyrocketed – increasing
by 17 percent since 2000 and expected
to double in the next 25 years – to
2,780,504 by 2030. In particular,
Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties
have been consistently ranked among the
top 100 fastest-growing counties in the
country since 2000 – and all expect
double-digit growth for the next 20 years.
AUSTIN & INDUSTRY: HIGH
TECH THRIVING
The rise, fall and rise again of Austin’s
technology industry has proved that the
city is resilient when it comes to starting,
growing and nurturing successful
businesses – even in a down economy.
Consider that, back in 2008 – even as
the recession gathered steam – Texas saw
the second largest high-tech employment
gains in the nation. The addition of
14,600 high-tech jobs brought the
32 AUSTIN RELOCATION GUIDE – SUMMER | FALL 2013
