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 Austin by the numbers.
The city of Austin has been one of the fastest growing cities in the country for a number of years. As such, Austin is comprised of a lot of nomads and transplants. Whether relocated here for a job at Dell, Samsung or AMD, or if they found their way to Austin via the University of Texas, residents here are always eager to open up and tell you what they love about their new home. It seems that when people are originally from somewhere else, they kick into friend-making mode. As such, with so many people in Austin and the surrounding suburbs from other places, you end up with a really open and welcoming city.
In addition to the warm and fuzzy reasons to make your way to film in Austin, continue on for the hard facts and figures useful for a production. Let's preface this by listing out selected words from all of the official lists where Austin has been ranked in the top five: Best, Cool, Growth, Relocating Families, Most Connected (wi-fi), Smartest Places to Live, Make Movies, Interesting Neighborhoods, Most Educated, Fastest Growing, Most Fit
Not too shabby, eh? But you were looking for some numbers.
Stats and Facts
Within the Austin city limits (small c and l), there is just under 270 square miles
Proximity to other major cities
192 miles to Dallas
162 miles to Houston
80 miles from San Antonio
The weather is varied depending upon the time of year. The best way to describe it is to say that from May through September, it's gonna be hot. Between October and April we have both our spring and fall rolled into one. Occasionally, winter finds its way in there for a few days in January and February.
Needing to plan that perfect dawn or dusk shot, refer to this monthly sunrise and sunset chart for Austin.
Location summary
Austin can be described as the antithesis of a many expectations for Texas. We have a lot of rolling hills meandering into very cool rivers and lakes. There are drier areas not far outside of the city with some more customary rugged, sun-torched Texas landscape. The city is relatively small; the central areas can be considered a walking city. Even as more buildings rise each week, the area of the city itself is still maintaining itself from too much sprawl. Soon, even more things will be accessible by foot.
Parking can still be had in many lots for $5-$7 during the week and $8 on the weekends. Locals miss the times in the very recent past when many of these lots were free, but compared to many growing cities, this really isn't so bad.
The airport is quite simply one of the easiest to get in and out of compared to just about any of the capital cities in the country. With the new 130 and 45 toll roads, you can be in Round Rock in 30 minutes.
The hard numbers are courtesy of the city’s demographer, Ryan Robinson.
Selected demographics
Population: 750,525
Age Breakdown:
Under 5 — 50,457
5 to 17 — 114,469
18 to 24 — 108,445
25 to 64 — 421,729
65-plus — 57,988
Production contacts
Austin Film Office
301 Congress Avenue, Ste. 200
Austin, TX 78701
Gary Bond, Director of Film Marketing
512.583.7229
Marian Augustine, Heritage Marketing & Film Manager
512.583.7227
Texas Film Commission
Office of the Governor
PO Box 13246
Austin, TX 78711
512.463.7799 (general)
Bob Hudgins, Director, Texas Film Commission
512.463.9200
General city contacts
Police
Art Acevedo, Chief of Police
512.974.5000
Street Closures
Nan Brown
512.974.7143
IATSE Local #484
1514 Ed Bluestein Blvd, Ste. 106
Austin, TX 78721
Ken E. Rector, Business Representative
512.385.3466
800.470.3030 Steve Muccini is president of SpotEdge Media, a video production company that produces TV commercials and films. He is a film editor, cameraman, actor, and writer in Austin, Texas. You can view his profile and contact Steve here. |