The report includes Bell and 19 surrounding counties to the north, west and east.
“Its central location, quality health care and military community have served it well,” states the report. “But to continue its growth, the region must maintain its efforts to sustain and expand its infrastructure, meet the educational demands of its residents and attract new employment opportunities.”
Central Texas is home to 11 institutions of higher education, the largest military installation in the world and premier health-care facilities, the report notes.
The study was one of a dozen that have been or will be released by Comptroller Susan Combs’ office to help local governments and economic developers identify strengths to grow on.
Here’s what some community leaders said about the report:
Temple Area Home Builder’s Troy Glasson: “We don’t have the jobs (right now) to bring our median income in line with the larger metro areas, and that is why it is so important to keep our area cost-of-living in check. It gives our residents spending power they would not have if our cost-of-living went up and our income levels remained the same. That is why the bioscience bond (issue, passed in May by Temple voters) was so significant. It can help increase our area median income. We really need this to happen.”
Temple Chamber’s Ken Higdon: “We have so much going for us in Central Texas to develop in the future. The comptroller clearly understands our assets and our resources and how they will help have security in the long term. We are very fortunate to have the location, the transportation and the human resources we have to draw from.”
Temple Economic Development’s Lee Peterson: “We’ve spent a lot of time considering the kinds of families we want to try to attract to Temple, and we are moving in that direction with higher salaried jobs. We have the bioscience and biotechnology infrastructure under development. The good thing (in Temple) is we are all going the same direction.”
