Round Rock, Texas, with a population of 104,000, is located 15 miles north of Austin in the Central Texas hill country. Major employers include Dell, TECO-Westinghouse, Dresser and Hospira. Its combined property tax and utility rates are the lowest in the region. It has an award-winning park system, school district and is the 19th Safest City in the United States.
Round Rock is the second-fastest growing city in the nation, and one of the best-managed cities in Texas. The city has maintained high quality of life while becoming a major center for economic growth in Central Texas, with industry clusters in Clean Energy, Advanced Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Computer/Software Development. The City of Round Rock is known for its award-winning master plan, park system and school district as well as for having some of the lowest crime, property tax and utility rates in Texas.
Planning: As the winner of the prestigious Comprehensive Planning Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association and a 3CMA Savvy Award for Community Visioning, the City prides itself on its long-term planning.
Crime: Round Rock is ranked the 19th Safest City in the United States by a national survey. In a 2008 survey of city residents, 88 percent of respondents said they felt safe walking alone in their neighborhood at night.
Cost of living: The City of Round Rock’s property tax rate is one of the lowest in the region (37.1 cents per $100 of valuation). Also, residents pay the lowest combined average monthly utility and tax costs in Central Texas, while achieving an 82 percent satisfaction rating from its customers. Round Rock has the lowest ACCRA composite cost of living index rating among the three largest cities in the metro area.
Public Utilities: Over the last three quarters, 89 percent of the city’s water customers have rated the city as good or excellent. Sewer customers gave an 87 percent rating (keep in mind the customers that respond to the survey have had a work order on their service recently). Round Rock has not had mandatory water rationing during the past 21 years.
Traffic: The Round Rock City Council approved a Transportation Master Plan in January 1999 that is updated regularly. The City’s Transportation Capital Improvement Plan contains $415 million worth of projects. The City’s half-cent sales tax levy for transportation will pay for $125 million of that total.
Dell Diamond: The City of Round Rock’s stadium and conference center has drawn record crowds since opening in 2000. The ballpark is home to the Round Rock Express, the Triple A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The Dell Diamond is the No. 1 ballpark in the country out of more than 200 parks according to the Fifth Annual Minor League News rankings. It was named top Double A stadium by Baseball America in 2004. (The Express moved to Triple A in the 2005 season.) Construction of the $25 million facility was financed by $8.4 million in revenue bonds backed by the City of Round Rock’s hotel-motel tax revenues and cash from RSR Sports, owner of the Express.
Sales tax rate: 8.25 percent (6.25 percent state, 2.0 percent local)
Sales tax impact: The City of Round Rock ranks 8th among cities in the state of Texas for sales tax collections through September 2009, due in large part to the impact of Dell’s Texas sales. Round Rock is the 27th largest City in Texas, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
