[282][283], On April 18, 2021, a shooting occurred at the Arboretum Oaks Apartments near The Arboretum shopping center, in which a former Travis County Sheriff's Office detective killed his ex-wife, his adoptive daughter, and his daughter's boyfriend. [78][79] An uncommon characteristic of Austin's climate is its highly variable humidity, which fluctuates frequently depending on the shifting patterns of air flow and wind direction. [141] Austin was selected as the No. IBM followed in 1967, opening a facility to produce its Selectric typewriters. Many of Austin's soils, especially the clay-rich types, are slightly to moderately alkaline and have free calcium carbonate. [136] Companies such as Hospira, Pharmaceutical Product Development, and ArthroCare Corporation are located there. This equals a murder rate of 8.05 per 100,000 residents. [303] Four of the metro's major public school systems, representing 54% of area enrollment, are included in Expansion Management magazine's latest annual education quality ratings of nearly 2,800 school districts nationwide. [204] Austin has hosted a number of other professional teams, including the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League,[205] the Austin Aztex of the United Soccer League, the Austin Outlaws in WFA football, and the Austin Aces in WTT tennis. [120] The dominant branch of Islam is Sunni Islam. There is only a little crime in this area. Amtrak's Austin station is located in west downtown and is served by the Texas Eagle which runs daily between Chicago and San Antonio, continuing on to Los Angeles several times a week. ", "How many people move to Austin a day? The Monitor is backed by the nonprofit Capital of Texas Media Foundation. In Austin, Texas you have a 1 in 204 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime. Austin / 100k People Texas / 100k People National / 100k People; Total Crimes Per 100K: 40,993: Violent Crime: 4,671: 467.0: 446.5: 387.8: Murder: 44: 4.4: 6.6: Honest, February 2021 Historical Winter Storm Event South-Central Texas, "Amid the misery of Austin's winter storm, kid-like joy", "WMO Climate Normals for Austin/Municipal AP TX 19611990", "Austin, Texas, USA - Monthly weather forecast and Climate data", "Assessing Climate Change in a Drought-Stricken State", "Austin issues city-wide boil water notice; calls for action "to avoid running out of water", "Austin's Lake Travis level decreases for first time this week following recent floods", "Austin water drinkable again, but keep usage low, officials say", "Austin breaks record for consecutive days of snow on the ground", "February 2021 Winter Storms After-Action Report February 11 20", "Austin Water Winter Strom Uri After Action Report", https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/07/austin-ice-storm-power-outages-2023/, https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2023-02-07/with-job-on-the-line-austin-city-manager-Spencer-cronk-offers-heartfelt-apologies-for-winter-storm-response, https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2023/02/15/city-manager-spencer-cronk-austin-fired-ice-storm-power-outages/69903330007/, https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/jesus-garza-interim-austin-city-manager/269-d8fed411-ebe4-4a64-8c06-d044a162c9b0, "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States; Austin city, Texas", "And The U.S. City With The Highest Percentage Of LGBT People Is", "Salt Lake City has higher percentage of LGBT people than NYC", "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race", "Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000", "Austin city, Texas Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010", "Austin city, Texas Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2020", Austin's the Only Fast-Growing City in the Country Losing African-Americans, "Top Ten Demographic Trends in Austin, Texas | Planning and Zoning | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin", "People Keep Moving To Austin, But Where Are They Coming From? [120] The majority of Austinites identified themselves as Christians, about 25.2% of whom claimed affiliation with the Catholic Church. Austin's VC numbers were so strong in 2018 that they accounted for more than 60 percent of Texas' total investments. [313], In 2009, 72.7% of Austin (city) commuters drove alone, with other mode shares being: 10.4% carpool, 6% were remote workers, 5% use transit, 2.3% walk, and 1% bicycle. [180] The Zilker Park Summer Musical is a long-running outdoor musical.[181]. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males. [142][143], South Congress is a shopping district stretching down South Congress Avenue from Downtown. [35] When he was Vice President of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar had visited the area during a buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838. [251] Kirk Watson is the current mayor of Austin, assuming the office for a second non-consecutive term on January 6, 2023. The HOPE Outdoor Gallery is a public, three-story outdoor street art project located on Baylor Street in the Clarksville neighborhood. [305] Another statewide publication based in Austin is The Texas Tribune, an on-line publication focused on Texas politics. Austin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of human habitation since at least 9200 BC. According to the 2020 United States census,[116] the racial composition of Austin was 72.6% White (48.3% non-Hispanic whites), 33.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% African American, 7.6% Asian, 0.7% American Indian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 3.4% two or more races. [339] BikeTexas, a state-level advocacy organization, also has its main office in Austin. Additionally, the proximity of San Antonio truncates the potential market area. [98] Initial rolling blackouts were to last for a maximum of 40 minutes, however lack of energy production caused many blackouts to last for much longer, at the peak of the blackouts an estimated 40% of Austin Energy homes were without power. Official records for Austin were kept at downtown from September 1891 to July 1942, Price, Asher; Taboada, Melissa B.; Jankowski, Phillip. McKinney Falls State Park is a state park administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, located at the confluence of Onion Creek and Williamson Creek. There are a total of 2,252 Austin police officers. "Austin" redirects here. The Austin-founded American Swimming Association hosts several swim races around town. In the fall of 2018, Austin and surrounding areas received heavy rainfall and flash flooding following Hurricane Sergio. State Highway 130 is a bypass route designed to relieve traffic congestion, starting from Interstate 35 just north of Georgetown and running along a parallel route to the east, where it bypasses Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos and New Braunfels before ending at Interstate 10 east of Seguin, where drivers could drive 30 miles (48km) west to return to Interstate 35 in San Antonio. YOU SHOULD KNOW Violent [244][245], Austin is administered by an 11-member city council (10 council members elected by geographic district plus a mayor elected at large). Currently under construction is a change to East US 290 from US 183 to the town of Manor. [178] Public art and performances in the parks and on bridges are popular. Please direct However, the ban ended in 2018 due to a court ruling that regarded all bag bans in the state to contravene the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act. [9] It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. Statistics can lead to false impressions. [35] The original site was narrowed to 640 acres (260ha) that fronted the Colorado River between two creeks, Shoal Creek and Waller Creek, which was later named in his honor. [242] It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1969, bearing Marker number 6473,[243] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. Deed restrictions also played an important role in residential segregation. [182] Each year Ballet Austin's 20-member professional company performs ballets from a wide variety of choreographers, including their international award-winning artistic director, Stephen Mills. [328] However, in 2020, voters approved Capital Metro's US$10 billion transit expansion plan, Project Connect, by a comfortable margin. The Texas Early Music Project regularly performs music from the Medieval and Renaissance eras, as well as the Baroque. [267] In 2019, the FBI named Austin the 11th safest city on a list of 22 American cities with a population above 400,000. In 2015, 6.9 percent of Austin households lacked a car, and decreased slightly to 6 percent in 2016. [86] However, severe weather and/or supercell thunderstorms can occur multiple times per year, bringing damaging winds, lightning, heavy rain, and occasional flash flooding to the city. The 2019 crime rate in Austin, TX is 302 (City-Data.com crime index), which is comparable to the U.S. average. It was higher than in 84.4% U.S. cities. The 2019 Austin crime rate fell by 1% compared to 2018. The number of homicides stood at 32. In the last 5 years Austin has seen rise of violent crime and decreasing property crime. [307] The editor is Evan Smith, former editor of Texas Monthly. [43] In 1861, with the outbreak of the American Civil War, voters in Austin and other Central Texas communities voted against secession. [217] The team left after the 2015 season. Crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000. 19.4% hold a graduate or professional degree, compared to the national figure of 12.4%. According to most classifications, Austin lies within the extreme southern periphery of Tornado Alley, although many sources place Austin outside of Tornado Alley altogether. Austin is 146 miles (230km) northwest of Houston,[58] 182 miles (290km) south of Dallas[59] and 74 miles (120km) northeast of San Antonio. Upon threats of Mexican troops in Texas, Houston raided the Land Office to transfer all official documents to Houston for safe keeping in what was later known as the Archive War, but the people of Austin would not allow this unaccompanied decision to be executed. There is more crime than I'd like in this area. Whole Foods Market, an international grocery store chain specializing in fresh and packaged food products, was founded and is headquartered in Austin.[137]. When comparing 2021 homicides [120] In addition to those religious groups, Austin is also home to an active secular humanist community, hosting nationwide television shows and charity work. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills. Covert Park, located on the top of Mount Bonnell, is a popular tourist destination overlooking Lake Austin and the Colorado River. However, it is most common during the spring. Sam Houston fought bitterly against Lamar's decision to establish the capital in such a remote wilderness. ", "What Draws People to Austin (And What Drives Them Away)", "What's The Story Behind Herman The Singing Plumber? Daily violent crimes in Austin are 1.10 times more than than Texas and 1.27 times more than the national mean. [201] Baseball games are played at UFCU DischFalk Field. The University of Texas System and Texas State University System are headquartered in downtown Austin. In the mid-1980s, construction was completed on Loop 360, a scenic highway that curves through the hill country from near the 71/Mopac interchange in the south to near the 183/Mopac interchange in the north. Are the homes and yards well-maintained? The city's official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the city's many musicians and live music venues, as well as the long-running PBS TV concert series Austin City Limits. Many of the municipal improvement programs initiated during this periodsuch as the construction of new roads, schools, and hospitalswere deliberately designed to institutionalize this system of segregation. Summing up the numbers, Austin has decreased by 7% with regards to total crimes year over year. [202] Minor-league professional sports came to Austin in 1996, when the Austin Ice Bats began playing at the Travis County Expo Center;[203] they were later replaced by the AHL Texas Stars. [65], Austin is located at the intersection of four major ecological regions, and is consequently a temperate-to-hot green oasis with a highly variable climate having some characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and a wetter climate. The Austin Monitor is an online outlet that specializes in insider reporting on City Hall, Travis County Commissioners Court, AISD, and other related local civics beats. The 183A Toll Road opened in March 2007, providing a tolled alternative to U.S. 183 through the cities of Leander and Cedar Park. Commercial radio stations include KASE-FM (country), KVET (sports), KVET-FM (country), KKMJ-FM (adult contemporary), KLBJ (talk), KLBJ-FM (classic rock), KJFK (variety hits), KFMK (contemporary Christian), KOKE-FM (progressive country) and KPEZ (rhythmic contemporary). Austin has a long history of vocal citizen resistance to development projects perceived to degrade the environment, or to threaten the natural and cultural landscapes. Here's the official number", "East Austin restaurant El Azteca likely closing after 53 years", "Dale Watson On Leaving Austin: 'The City Has Sold Itself', "The Best American Travel Destinations for Meat Lovers", How Austin Became the Home of the Crucial Breakfast Taco, "Kolaches are a Breakfast Staple Worth a Trip to the Lone Star State", "Fire ravages Austin's Oasis restaurant - Houston Chronicle", "Austin is a food truck heaven, says census data", "From hog tacos to smelly cheese: Downtown Austin food hall Fareground opens with something new for culinary scene", "The World's Top 10 Beer Destinations for 2019", "City Data Top 101 ZIP Codes with most drinking places 2005", "New Austin City Limits home taking shape", "New downtown hotel and residential tower", "Torches at Fantastic Fest: Sorting Through the Ashes of a Film Festival", "Fear the Walking Dead filmed at these Austin-area locations", "Austin History Center: Nightclub on the Chitlin Circuit", "Milwood Pocket Library Closing, Bookmobile Opening to Take its Place", "Seaholm redevelopment ready to break ground at last", "Austin Central Library's Cookbook Cafe Will Patch Together Recipes", "With Demolition Pending, Castle Hill's Graffiti Gallery Isn't Long for This World", "Austin's Iconic Graffiti Park Closes As A New Canvas Is Prepped Near The Airport", "Exclusive: Graffiti park's move to Carson Creek Ranch moved to 2019", "Texas Wins Sixth College World Series. (The US average is 22.7) Austin property crime is 55.0. He advised the commissioners to consider the area on the north bank of the Colorado River (near the present-day Congress Avenue Bridge), noting the area's hills, waterways, and pleasant surroundings. Don't rely on statistics alone. The Barton Creek Greenbelt is a 7.25-mile (11.67km) public green belt managed by the City of Austin's Park and Recreation Department.