Round Rock City Profile and Featured Real Estate Agents

Round Rock, Texas is in northern Travis County and is home to more than 100,000 people. The city is about fifteen miles to the north of Austin, and part of the Texas Hill Country, in Central Texas. A bedroom community and a suburb of Austin for a long time, Round Rock is coming into its own, and has seen a lot of development in the recent past. Some of the best features of Round Rock, and the ones that draw people, and businesses, to it, are its affordable rates of housing, excellent system of top-notch schools, the Dell corporate headquarters, an award-winning master plan, a great park system, low crime, and some of the lowest property tax and utility rates in the state.

Among its features, the city can also list a Texas State University campus, a lot of shopping, and even a minor league baseball team. It ranks fourth on the list of safest cities with a population of over 100,000 in the nation, according to FBI statistics. Conscious of the dangers of overdevelopment, Round Rock has made superb efforts to maintain its high quality of life, while going after economic growth. Apparently, it has succeeded in its efforts, because in 2008, Round Rock was declared the 7th best American small city to live in, by Money Magazine.

Historically, the Round Rock area has been home to humankind since around 9,200 BC, and the earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Clovis people. The earliest known Native American occupants of the area were the Tonkawa. The city only grew in much more recent times, comparatively. Originally, the city wasn't named Round Rock, and its original location also differed from its current one. The initial settlement was called Brushy, and was established in 1851, close to Brushy Creek. A round boulder provided a natural fording area for people and cattle. The Brushy Creek Post Office opened, in Thomas C. Oatts' store, in the same year, but when they asked for recognition, it was found that there was already a town called Brushy in existence, and so, in 1854, the name was changed to Round Rock. In 1876, the entire commercial area of Round Rock to accommodate the International and Great Northern Railroad, ever since then, the original settlement has been known as Old Town, which still contains many historical buildings and businesses.

The initial years of the 20th century saw wealth come into the city from cotton, row-crops, and grapes, while ranchers also raised some cattle, sheep and goats. The soil and climate being well suited to cotton and crop agriculture, the area saw a lot of growing, ginning, baling, and shipping of cotton at this time. By the 1990s, however, Round Rock grew into a bedroom community, where most people went off to work in Austin, and lived in Round Rock because land prices were lower. There were almost no major employers in the city, and no scope for employment except in small retail stores or in services. By the late 1990s, the picture began to change a little and the chamber of commerce in Round Rock began focusing on economic development. When Dell moved their headquarters to the city, it not only put Round Rock on the map, it provided a huge upsurge in jobs, and caught the interest of other major employers. Soon, it was possible to live in the city, and work right here too! Since then, there has been major economic growth in sectors like clean energy, life sciences, manufacturing, and software development.

Round Rock offers much to the visitor and the resident by way of entertainment and recreation. There are seven golf courses including the 8,427-foot "Forest Creek Golf Course," there are numerous options for dining, with 150 locations for fine or casual dining offering everything from good old American, to Mexican, Italian, Asian, and Tex-Mex. Shop at the Round Rock Premium Outlets shopping center, and find 120 outlet stores ranging from designer to name-brand. There are historic walking tours of the downtown areas and outdoor history. In short, there is something for everyone. If you still want more, the bustling city of Austin is just a few minutes drive!