Demographics

The Central Texas region is more rural than Texas as a whole. In 2008, 23 percent of the region’s population lived in rural areas, compared with just 13 percent of all Texas residents.¹ Due largely to the region’s rural makeup, Central Texas’ population is growing more slowly than that of the state.

From 2003 to 2008, Texas’ population grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent, compared to Central Texas’ 1.1 percent rate. The region has a greater share of young people than the state or nation, however. And the region’s personal income rose by more than 36 percent from 2001 to 2006, outpacing statewide growth.

The 20 counties of the Central Texas region include three metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) – Bryan-College Station (Brazos, Burleson and Robertson counties), Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood (Bell, Coryell and Lampasas counties) and Waco (McLennan County). As defined by the federal government, an MSA contains a core urban area of 50,000 or more residents, accompanied by adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social interaction with that core (as measured by commuting to and from work).² Exhibit 8 illustrates the region’s metro counties and the county seats for each county in the region.

Exhibit 8

Central Texas Metro Counties

Sources: Office of Management and Budget and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

View text for Central Texas Metro Counties.

The region’s personal income rose by more than 36 percent from 2001 to 2006, outpacing statewide growth.

Population Growth

Exhibit 9

Central Texas Actual and Projected Population, 2003-2013

Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.

View Actual and Projected Population Table

The Central Texas region’s population is expected to increase by 10 percent between 2003 and 2013, compared to nearly 17 percent for Texas (Exhibit 9). Population in the region’s metro counties will rise by 11.5 percent over the same period, led by Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood and Bryan-College Station. Waco MSA population growth is expected to lag the regional rate.³

International Festival-Institute at Round Top

World-famous concert pianist James Dick founded the International Festival-Institute at Round Top in 1971. The institute, supported by the James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts, began as a small event but has bloomed into an internationally acclaimed music institute for young musicians and faculty.

The Festival-Institute offers year-round educational and performance programs on a 210-acre campus with performance facilities, historic houses, parks, gardens and nature preserves. The institute is also an important center for research and scholarly study, with rare books, manuscripts, historic recordings, archival material and music.⁴

Round Top attracts music students from conservatories and universities throughout the U.S. and overseas. The Festival Concert Hall, completed in April 2007, is one of the best in the country. Museum lectures are presented at Festival Hill every year, and the beautiful campus attracts visitors from all around the world.⁵

The Summer Institute program at Round Top offers six weeks of training for young musicians pursuing a transition from universities and conservatories to professional careers. Admissions are based on auditions and recommendations; young artists in the program receive full scholarships worth $5,500 for tuition. About 85 people participate in the program each year.⁶

Age

The Central Texas region’s population is younger than that of the state and the nation. In 2008, 40 percent of the region’s residents were under the age of 25. The state and U.S. equivalent was 37.4 and 34 percent, respectively. Much of this young population is in the 20-24 age group, accounting for 10 percent of the region’s total population (Exhibit 10).

Exhibit 10

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Age, 2008
(percent)

Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.

View Population by Age Table

Exhibit 11

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Ethnicity, 2008
(percent)

Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.

View Population by Ethnicity Table

Ethnicity

The region’s ethnic breakdown more closely resembles that of the U.S. than Texas (Exhibit 11). Hispanics represented 19 percent of Central Texas population in 2008, compared to 36 percent for the state; nationally, the Hispanic share was 15 percent.

Whites represent a clear majority in the region, with 61 percent of the population. Blacks make up 15 percent, a higher proportion than in the U.S. The remaining five percent fall in the “other” category, including persons of American Indian, Asian and Native Hawaiian descent and those claiming descent from two or more races.⁷

Educational Attainment

In 2008, 19 percent of all Central Texas region adults had less than a high school diploma. This percentage is higher than the U.S. average, but lower than that for Texas. The Central Texas region, however, had a lower share of residents with an associate, bachelor’s or graduate degree at 28 percent. The state and U.S. share was 31 and 34 percent, respectively (Exhibit 12).¹⁴

Madisonville Mushroom Festival

The Texas Mushroom Festival is held each October in Madisonville, the “Mushroom Capital of Texas.” The festival features a variety of events including wine tasting, cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts, food vendors and a race called the “Shiitake 5K Run and Walk” around scenic Lake Madison Park. A festival highlight is a gala steak and mushroom dinner.¹⁸ In 2008, a number of Texas wineries participated in the festival including Bernhardt, McReynolds and Chisholm Trail.¹⁹

Exhibit 12

Educational Attainment for Population Over the Age of 25, 2008, Central Texas, Texas and U.S. Averages
(percent)

Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.

View Educational Attainment Table

Famous People from the Central Texas Region

The Central Texas region has produced many prominent sports legends, entertainers and political figures.

Born in Waco, linebacker Derrick Johnson is a two-time All-American honoree and Butkus Award winner who currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. Local athlete, running back LaDainian Tomlinson from Rosebud, attended Texas Christian University and currently has a successful career with the San Diego Chargers franchise. Finally, Lance Berkman, from Waco, was a first round draft choice in 1997 by the Houston Astros and plays first base and right field.

The area has also produced several well-known entertainers. Blind Lemon Jefferson, best known for hits “Black Snake Moan” and “Matchbox Blues,” was born in the now defunct town of Couchman. Waco’s Hank Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. Abbott is the birthplace of famed country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson, who has written more than 2,500 songs and released almost 300 albums.

Tommy Lee Jones, an eighth-generation Texan from San Saba, is an Academy Award-winning actor with numerous credits in film and television. Comedian Steve Martin was born in Waco as well.

A few high-profile Texas political figures were born in Central Texas. The famous “Pa and Ma” Ferguson, Texas Governors James E. and Miriam A. Ferguson, were both natives of Bell County. Famous for his love of Texas and his saying “God Bless Texas,” former Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock first entered politics as a state representative from his hometown of Hillsboro in 1956. Governor Ann Richards was born in Lacy Lakeview, a suburb of Waco.⁸

Income

The median income for all Texas households in 2007 (most recent data available) was $47,563. In the Central Texas region, Bell County (which contains a large part of Fort Hood) had the highest median household income, at $47,434. Falls County had the lowest, at $30,265. The counties of the Bryan-College Station MSA (Brazos, Burleson and Robertson counties) had median incomes between $35,500 and $41,500. Brazos County, home to Bryan, had the lowest income of the region’s metropolitan areas, at nearly $38,039 (Exhibit 13).¹⁵

Exhibit 13

Median Household Income, Central Texas MSA Counties, 2007 (dollars)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

View Median Household Income Table

Dr Pepper Museum

Founded in 1988, the Dr Pepper Museum is housed in the 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building in Waco’s turn-of-the-century manufacturing district. The Dr Pepper Company donated the historic building to the nonprofit Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute. The museum opened to the public on May 11, 1991. Over the next six years, construction and renovation continued until the entire building was restored in May 1997. The museum has attracted more than a million visitors since its opening.⁹

The museum traces the development of Dr Pepper from its origins in Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco around 1885 through the present day. The museum’s collection of artifacts has grown from 1,600 when it first opened to more than 20,000 items today.

The museum’s first floor traces the early years of Dr Pepper with an exhibit on the Old Corner Drug Store and Dr. Charles Alderton, the inventor of Dr Pepper. Adjacent rooms display early bottling equipment, as well as an artesian spring water well and examples of the earliest Dr Pepper bottles. The second floor features a representation of a 1930s rural general store complete with a 1924 pickup truck. The remainder of the floor houses temporary exhibits and other exhibits highlighting different brands and aspects of the soft drink industry.

The W.W. Clements Free Enterprise Institute occupies the third floor. Created in 1997, the institute uses the soft drink industry as a model for teaching students and adults about developing, producing and marketing commercial products. In early 2008, a new exhibit opened honoring W. W. “Foots” Clements, former CEO and President of the Dr Pepper Company.¹⁰

In 2008, Dr Pepper was the fifth best selling soft drink in the U.S., with the Dr Pepper Snapple Group reporting $5.7 billion in net sales.¹¹ The museum’s $900,000 annual operating budget is funded through contributions, memberships, admissions and the sale of merchandise through its for-profit subsidiary, DP Museum Enterprises. It also receives support from Dr Pepper Snapple Group (parent company of Dr Pepper) and its affiliated bottlers but is not owned or operated by them.¹² The museum continues renovating the Kellum-Rotan building, located behind the original building, to create a new collections and archives storage center that will accommodate more than 90,000 objects.¹³

Czech Heritage Festivals

Immigrants from Czechoslovakia and other Central European countries settled in the Central Texas region throughout the latter half of the 19th century, bringing with them recipes for kolaches – bread rolls stuffed with various fillings such as cheese and fruit. Since then, kolache recipes have become a Texas favorite, varying from light, flaky fruit-filled deserts to hearty meat-filled rolls and every variety in between.

The city of West, located just north of Waco on IH-35, celebrates its Czech heritage with an event called Westfest each year. Held over Labor Day weekend, Westfest features polka music and dancing. Visitors can watch costumed dance groups perform and participate in polka dances of their own. In addition, the event features a parade showcasing colorful Czech, Moravian and Slovakian costumes, as well as a kolache baking contest. Nearly 20,000 guests attended Westfest in 2008; vendors sold more than 4,000 kolaches in addition to numerous other treats.²²

Caldwell is another city that commemorates its Czech heritage through kolaches. Located in Burleson County, about 25 miles southwest of Bryan-College Station, Caldwell has become famous for its September Kolache Festival. The one-day festival features various Czech arts and crafts, including stenciling, basket weaving, egg decorating, quilting, wood carving and sculpting. Costumed polka dancers entertain thousands of guests. The primary draw for most guests, of course, is the kolaches, with a number of varieties sold by bakeshop vendors. Each year, Caldwell’s Kolache Festival draws between 20,000 and 30,000 people.²³

Exhibit 14

Central Texas Per Capita Personal Income Percent Increase 2001-2006

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

View Personal Income Table

While the region’s median household incomes are lower than the statewide average, such measures do not take the cost-of-living into account. A cost-of-living adjustment can facilitate a more accurate comparison of income.

For instance, a person earning an annual salary of $35,000 in Waco would have the equivalent purchasing power of a person living in Dallas earning $44,132, or 26 percent more. The purchasing equivalent in Austin would be $45,652.¹⁶

Total personal income in Central Texas rose by 36.1 percent between 2001 and 2006 (most recent data available at the county level), compared with 32.8 percent for the state as a whole. Five counties in the region outpaced the state average during this period.

The region’s per capita personal income averaged nearly $28,800 in 2006, about 82 percent of the state average of $35,166. All counties in the Central Texas region trail the statewide average in per capita income. Many Central Texas counties, however, did outpace the state in per capita income growth between 2001-2006 (Exhibit 14).¹⁷

Public Safety in the Central Texas Region

One of the most important factors in a region’s quality of life is public safety. Although Central Texas crime rates rose faster than statewide rates from 2006 to 2007, total crime rates in the region remained lower than state figures, making the region safer than the state on average. The table below shows the rates of various criminal offenses per 100,000 residents for both the Central Texas region and the state in 2006 and 2007.²⁰

Crime Rates – Central Texas, 2006-2007

Crime	2006 Central Texas Crime Rate	2006 Texas Crime Rate	2007 Central Texas Crime Rate	2007 Texas Crime Rate	Central Texas Change in Crime Rate	Texas Change in Crime Rate
Murder	3.4	5.9	4.1	5.9	22.0	0.5
Rape	45.3	35.8	45.8	35.3	1.0	-1.4
Robbery	85.4	158.5	88.7	162.2	3.9	2.3
Assault	260.3	317.4	308.7	307.8	18.6	-3.0
Violent Crime	394.4	517.6	447.3	511.2	13.4	-1.2
Burglary	988.3	917.8	992.7	955.2	0.4	4.1
Larceny	2,326.7	2,756.9	2,418.3	2,771.4	3.9	0.5
Auto Theft	188.4	407.3	173.4	393.3	-8.0	-3.4
Property Crime	3,503.4	4,082.0	3,584.4	4,119.9	2.3	0.9
Total Crime Rate	3,897.8	4,599.6	4,031.7	4,631.1	3.4	0.7

Note: All crime rates are reported per 100,000 population.
Source: Texas Department of Public Safety.

The Comptroller’s office estimates that public safety and criminal justice accounted for about 11,000 jobs in the Central Texas region and more than $425 million in earnings in 2007.²¹

Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum

Waco’s Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum is the official repository for materials and artifacts relating to the history of the Texas Rangers.²⁴ The museum houses many exhibits featuring the firearms, badges and other equipment used by Texas Rangers from their inception in 1823 to the present day. The Hall of Fame also pays tribute to 30 Rangers that gave their lives in the line of duty or served with great distinction.²⁵

The museum’s Research Center serves as the state-designated library and archives for the Texas Rangers. The Research Center preserves and interprets records, archives and photographs related to the Texas Rangers. It also provides the public with research services on the Rangers, receiving about 3,500 on-site and mail requests for such assistance each year.²⁶

The museum chronicles the early years of the Rangers, starting with Stephen F. Austin’s assembly of two companies of men to protect settlements of the Mexican province of Tejas in 1823. It tells of their role as federal scouts during the 1846 war with Mexico and as a Confederate army regiment during the Civil War. The story continues, covering gunfights with outlaws such as Sam Bass, the capture of John Wesley Hardin and the pursuit of fence-cutters in the 1880s.

Other exhibits highlight the Rangers’ role in the early part of the 20th century, chasing bootleggers and smugglers during Prohibition and keeping the peace in oil boomtowns in the 1920s and 1930s. The museum also traces the modernization of the Rangers, beginning with their restructuring as a division within the Department of Public Safety in 1935.²⁷ Today’s Rangers still wear the boots, white western hats and gun belts of their predecessors, but they are superior law enforcement officers with advanced educations and the latest computer databases, telecommunications and forensic tools available within the global crime fighting field.²⁸

The museum opened in 1968 as the Colonel Homer Garrison Texas Ranger Museum and added the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1976 with funds raised by the Texas Ranger Commemorative Commission, created by the Legislature to honor the Rangers’ 150th anniversary in 1973.²⁹

Funding sources for museum operations include about $1.3 million annually from the city of Waco and private donations. The museum has a $3 million to $4 million annual economic impact on the local economy and generates 60 to 80 percent of its operating costs though museum revenues. Over the past 40 years, the museum has attracted about $70 million in tourism revenues for the city of Waco, against a city investment over that time of about $10 million.

The museum has had more than 3.5 million visitors. In 2006, it received $2.1 million in state funds for the construction of a Public Safety Education Center and Texas Rangers Company “F” Headquarters on the site.³⁰

One-day communitywide job shadowing initiative in Waco.

PHOTO: Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce

Endnotes

All links were valid at the time of publication. Changes to web sites not maintained by the office of the Texas Comptroller may not be reflected in the links below.

¹ Data provided by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., (EMSI).
² U.S. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Bulletin No. 08-01: Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses (Washington, D.C., November 20, 2007), pp. 2-3, 29, 37, 52, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2008/b08-01.pdf. (Last visited March 9, 2009.)
³ Data provided by EMSI.
⁴ The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, “About Us,” p. 1, http://www.festivalhill.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=6&MMN_position=6:6. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
⁵ The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, “History,” p. 2, http://www.festivalhill.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=7&MMN_position=9:6. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
⁶ The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, “Program Overview,” p. 1, http://www.festivalhill.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=52. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
⁷ Data provided by EMSI.
⁸ Derrick Johnson Official Website, “Derrick Johnson #56,” p. 1, http://derrickjohnson.fsmgsports.com/; and Fox Sports, “Derrick Johnson 56: Linebacker: Kansas City Chiefs,” p. 1, http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/player?statsID=7191; and The Official Website of LaDainian Tomlinson, “Bio: Stats and Records from My College and Pro Career,” p. 1, http://www.ladainiantomlinson.com/#bio.; and Yahoo Sports; “Lance Berkman,” http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6279; and Biography.com,” “Blind Lemon Jefferson Biography (1897-1929),” p. 1, http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=41017&page; and Country Music Hall of Fame, “The Hank Thompson Story,” http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=189; and Biography.com, “Willie (Hugh) Nelson Biography (1933-),” p. 1, http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9421488&page; and Biography.com, “Tommy Lee Jones Biography (1946-),” pp. 1-2, http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542352&page; and The Internet Movie Database, “Biography for Steve Martin,” p. 1, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/bio; (Last visited March 10, 2009.); and Texas State Library and Archives Commission, “Portraits of Texas Governors: The Politics of Personality, Part 1, 1915-1927,” pp. 1, 6, http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/personality/index.html; and Texas State Cemetery, “Bob Bullock,” pp. 1-2, http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=6643; and Texas State Library and Archives Commission, “Portraits of Texas Governors: Modern Texas, Part 3, 1991-Present,” p. 1, http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/modern/page3.html. (Last visited March 11, 2009.)
⁹ Dr Pepper Museum, “History of Dr Pepper Museum,” p. 1, http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/About-Us/History-Of-Dr-Pepper-Museum.aspx. (Last visited March 11, 2009.)
¹⁰ Dr Pepper Museum, “ Current Exhibits: Online Exhibit Only – Dr. Pepper Franchises ,” p. 1, http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/Learn/Exhibits/Temporary/Online-Exhibitaspx.; and Dr Pepper Museum, “Current Exhibits: 1st Floor (Permanent),” p. 1, http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/Learn/Exhibits/Permanent/1st-Floor.aspx; and Dr Pepper Museum, “Current Exhibits: 2nd Floor (Permanent),” p. 1, http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/Learn/Exhibits/Permanent/2nd-Floor.aspx; and Dr Pepper Museum, “Current Exhibits: 3rd Floor (Permanent),” p. 1, http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/Learn/Exhibits/Permanent/3rd-Floor.aspx. (Last visited March 11, 2009.)
¹¹ “Special Issue: Top-10 CSD Results for 2008,” Beverage Digest (March 30, 2009), p. 2, http://www.beverage-digest.com/pdf/top-10_2009.pdf; and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, “Dr Pepper Snapple Group Reports Fourth Quarter 2008 Results,” Plano, Texas, March 26, 2009, pp. 8, 13, 17, http://drpeppersnapple.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=93. (Last Visited April 7, 2009). (Press release.)
¹² Dr Pepper Museum, “History of Dr Pepper Museum.”
¹³ Dr Pepper Museum, “History of Dr Pepper Museum.”; and Larry Groth, “Waco Experiencing Historic Growth Period,” Waco Tribune-Herald (May 13, 2008), http://www.wacotrib.com/search/content/special_sections/TIW08/stories/05182008_wac_tiw_econ_growth.html. (Last visited March 23, 2009.)
¹⁴ Data provided by EMSI.
¹⁵ U.S. Census Bureau, “Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates: State and County Estimates Interactive Tables,” http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/county.html. (Last visited March 9, 2009.) A custom query was created for Central Texas counties.
¹⁶ Sperling’s Best Places, “Cost of Living Calculator,” http://www.bestplaces.net/col/. (Last visited March 2, 2009.) Custom queries created comparing Waco, Texas to Austin and Dallas, Texas.
¹⁷ U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Regional Economic Accounts: Table CA1-3-Personal Income, Population, Per Capita Personal Income,” http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/. (Last visited March 9, 2009.) Custom queries created for Texas population (number of persons), Texas personal income (thousands of dollars), and Texas per capita personal income (dollars).
¹⁸ Texas Mushroom Festival, “Texas Mushroom Festival – 2009,” p. 1, http://www.texasmushroomfestival.com/; and Texas Mushroom Festival, “Gala Steak and Mushroom Dinner-Texas Mushroom Festival-2009,” pp. 1-2, http://www.texasmushroomfestival.com/dinner.php. (Last visited March 11, 2009.)
¹⁹ Texas Mushroom Festival, “Texas Wines at the Texas Mushroom Festival - 2009,” p. 1, http://www.texasmushroomfestival.com/wineries.php. (Last visited March 11, 2009.)
²⁰ Data provided by Texas Department of Public Safety, Uniform Crime Reporting Bureau, “2006 and 2007 Statewide and Central Texas Index of Crimes.” (Excel file.)
²¹ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages,” http://www.bls.gov/cew/. (Last visited January 21, 2009.) Custom queries.
²² Westfest Polka Festival, “Westfest Polka Festival,” p. 1, http://westfest.com/.; and Westfest Polka Festival, “Polka Music & Dancing,” p. 1, http://westfest.com/music-polka.asp; and Westfest Polka Festival, “Cultural Dance Theater,” p. 1, http://westfest.com/music-cultural.asp; and Westfest Polka Festival, “Parade of Costumes,” p. 1, http://westfest.com/music-costumes.asp; and Westfest Polka Festival, “Baking Contest,” p. 1, http://westfest.com/events-baking.asp. (Last visited March 12, 2009.)
²³ Burleson County Chamber of Commerce, “Kolache Festival,” p. 1, http://www.burlesoncountytx.com/Kolache%20Pages/Kolache%20Festival.html; and Burleson County Chamber of Commerce, “Kolache Bake Shop,” pp. 1-2, http://www.burlesoncountytx.com/Kolache%20Pages/Kolache%20Bake%20Show.htm. (Last visited March 12, 2009.)
²⁴ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Visitor Information,” p. 1, http://www.texasranger.org/visitor/MissionGoals.htm. (Last visited March 9, 2009.)
²⁵ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Texas Ranger Hall of Fame,” p. 1, http://www.texasranger.org/halloffame/HOF.htm. (Last visited March 9, 2009.)
²⁶ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Texas Ranger Research Center,” pp. 1-2, http://www.texasranger.org/ReCenter/RCenter.htm; and Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Texas Ranger Research Center: Frequently Asked Questions,” p. 1, http://www.texasranger.org/ReCenter/FAQ.htm. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
²⁷ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “A Brief History of the Texas Rangers,” by Mike Cox, pp. 2, 5-7, 10-11, http://www.texasranger.org/history/BriefHistory1.htm; and Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “A Brief History of the Texas Rangers: Part II,” by Mike Cox, pp. 2-4, http://www.texasranger.org/history/BriefHistory2.htm. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
²⁸ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Texas Rangers Today,” p. 1, http://www.texasranger.org/today/rangerstoday.htm. (Last visited March10, 2009.)
²⁹ Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, “Texas Ranger History: Texas Ranger Timeline.” pp. 4-5, http://www.texasranger.org/history/Timespecial.htm. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)
³⁰ City of Waco, Adopted Annual Operating Budget and Capital Improvements Program: Fiscal Year October 1, 2008 – September 30, 2009. (Waco, Texas, October 1, 2008), p. 206, http://www.waco-texas.com/city_depts/budget_finance/fullbudget.pdf. (Last visited March 10, 2009.)

Demographics

Central Texas Metro Counties

Population Growth

Central Texas Actual and Projected Population, 2003-2013

International Festival-Institute at Round Top

Age

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Age, 2008 (percent)

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Ethnicity, 2008 (percent)

Ethnicity

Educational Attainment

Madisonville Mushroom Festival

Educational Attainment for Population Over the Age of 25, 2008, Central Texas, Texas and U.S. Averages (percent)

Famous People from the Central Texas Region

Income

Median Household Income, Central Texas MSA Counties, 2007 (dollars)

Dr Pepper Museum

Czech Heritage Festivals

Central Texas Per Capita Personal Income Percent Increase 2001-2006

Public Safety in the Central Texas Region

Crime Rates – Central Texas, 2006-2007

Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum

Endnotes

Required Plug-ins

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Age, 2008
(percent)

Central Texas Region, Texas and U.S. Population by Ethnicity, 2008
(percent)

Educational Attainment for Population Over the Age of 25, 2008, Central Texas, Texas and U.S. Averages
(percent)