So you’re thinking about moving to Austin? You and a whole bunch of other people! Many people do substantial research before making a major move, but they ignore a significant resource: The American Community Survey data compiled by the Census Bureau. You already know you need Austin, TX Renters Insurance when you get there, but what don’t you know about Austin?
There’s a treasure trove of data to be found in the ACS about your new home. Unfortunately, the data mostly consists of statistics you’ll need to wade through to find the useful stuff. So without further ado, here are the 41 fast facts you need to know before you move to Austin, courtesy of the ACS.
Moving To Austin – Social Fast Facts
1. Austin is home to 337,791 households. Of those, 178,018 are families. 121,967 of the families are married couples. 95,509 of those households have children under 18.
2. 236,821 children are enrolled in school in Austin. Fortunately, the city is known for having excellent schools.
3. Of the 541,237 people 25 and over in Austin, 90,036 have a graduate or professional degree. 156,925 have a bachelors degree, and 99,799 have a high school education.
4. Of 824,896 Austinites, 609,258 of them lived in the same home a year ago. However, 137,177 of the total have moved to Austin from another county. 26,591 have moved to Austin from another state.
Moving To Austin – Housing Fast Facts
5. Austin has a total of 366,459 housing units. 337,791 of them are occupied, leaving 28,668 vacant.
6. 171,810 of those are single-family homes. The remainder are primarily attached homes or apartments.
7. 175,031 of those have two or more units.
8. 71,332 of those have twenty or more units. Note that this is per structure. Many apartment communities have fewer than twenty units per building.
9. Of those structures, 124,022 were built before 1980. This is something to be careful of when moving to Austin, because you want to select an apartment of reasonably new construction. The newer the construction, the fewer risks to you and your family.
10. 9,450 of the total housing units have only one room. The median is 4.7 rooms per housing unit.
11. 10,166 of the units have no bedroom at all.
12. Of 337,791 occupied housing units, 152,054 of them are owner occupied.
13. This means that over half the population of Austin rents. Some of this has to do with the price and availability of real estate and the state of the market. If you’re moving to Austin, it can be very difficult to purchase a home before you arrive.
14. Owner occupied units have an average household size of 2.59, just slightly larger than the average for renters of 2.28.
15. Of occupied housing units, 337,791 are occupied by the same people who occupied them in 2010 or earlier.
16. Sometimes, much earlier. 14,362 housing units are occupied by people who first lived there in 1979 or earlier.
17. Among occupied housing units, 22,879 have no vehicle available.
18. 860 occupied housing units claim to use no heating fuel at all. Moving to Austin is hardly the same as moving to Alaska, but there are at least a few days one would generally expect to burn some heating fuel.
19. Only 1,434 housing units lack indoor plumbing. Generally, this is due to a temporary problem at the time someone responds to the ACS.
20. 9,230 occupied housing units have no telephone service available. This may be a function of the move towards not having a landline, combined with the transient nature of prepaid cell phone communications.
21. Among owner occupied units, 2,921 are worth $1,000,000 or more. Only 5,062 are worth less than $50,000.
22. 109,516 owner occupied units have a mortgage. 42,538 own their homes free and clear. No distinction is made among people who paid off their homes and then took out a mortgage or HELOC against it. No distinction is made for reverse mortgages and similar financial products used by older Austinites to make use of the equity in their home.
23. Mortgage and other costs amount to more than $2,000 for just 40,858 owner occupied units. The takeaway from this is that Austin is not quite as expensive as people make it out to be.
24. Alternatively, 25,648 owner occupied housing units cost more than 35% of their owner’s household income.
25. The largest shares of monthly rent were found in the $1,000 to $1,499 range (62,196) and the $750 to $999 range ($59,287).
Moving To Austin – Economy Fast Facts
Are there enough jobs to support the influx of people? Can those people afford Austin, TX Renters Insurance? Are there enough good jobs for those people?
26. Of the 671.199 people over 16, 494,807 are in the labor force.
27. 457,773 are employed, leaving 36,457 people who want a job continuing to look.
28. If you’re moving to Austin, don’t underestimate its reputation as a city where a car is necessary, 327,566 people drive to work alone.
29. Fortunately,the mean travel time to work is only 22.9 minutes – drastically better than in many other cities of similar size!
30. 206.989 people are employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations.
31. 81,898 people are employed in service occupations, which often pay far less.
32. 26,966 households had income of less than $10,000
33. On the other side of the spectrum, 19,727 households had incomes of more than $200,000. The median household income is $53,946.
34. Mean retirement income is just $27,351. Moving to Austin in retirement is less popular than moving to, say, Florida or Phoenix, which may account for that rather low number.
35. 658,994 people have health insurance coverage. Only 178,827 of those are on public health insurance coverage.
36. Just 13.5% of all families fell below the poverty level.
37. But 21.1% of households with children under 18 fell below the poverty level.
38. Only 6.8% of married couple families fell below the poverty level, but it’s wise not to attempt to extrapolate social assumptions from this data.
39. Of all people in Austin, 19.1% are below the poverty level.
40. 8.8% of the population 65 and over fell below the poverty level.
41. 25.7% of all people with related children under 5 in the household fell below the poverty level.
While closing with poverty level statistics may seem a negative, those numbers are substantially better than can be found in major cities across the country of at least similar size. Austin is, overall, a strong city economically. If you have a job lined up, moving to Austin is a fantastic idea. Overall, the city doesn’t tend to attract people who intend to find work when they arrive the way west coast cities often do.
Moving to Austin is becoming more common. The city has both economic attractions and the attraction of its unique and creative culture. Continuing investment makes it a great place to live.
If you’re moving to Austin and need renters insurance, just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need Austin, TX renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!
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