Potent economy

Austin and Round Rock equipped to survive potential recession, says new study

70 Rainey condo downtown Austin skyline view

Austin is labeled "recession-resistant" in a new study.

Photo courtesy of Sackman Austin

Amid continued rumblings about a looming recession, both Austin and Round Rock are well-equipped to weather the economic storm when it hits, a new study shows.

Personal finance website SmartAsset ranks Austin fifth on its new list of the country’s most recession-resistant cities, and Round Rock comes in at No. 11. Austin is the largest city in the top 10.

To identify the most recession-resistant cities in the U.S., SmartAsset examined nine metrics across three categories: employment, housing, and social assistance. The analysis considered recent figures as well as figures from the Great Recession. In all, SmartAsset reviewed data for 264 U.S. cities.

Austin ranks within the top 11 percent across all of the study’s categories: 13th for employment, 26th for social assistance, and 29th for housing. Round Rock lands in the top 15 percent.

Economic analysis company Policom Corp. positions Austin as the third strongest metro economy in the U.S., behind Nashville and Seattle. No other Texas metro makes the top 10.

In December, Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said the Austin economy remains strong but is cooling off, signified by a slowdown in hiring across various industries. However, she added, the housing market continues to be “hot” and the influx of new residents endures.

“Strong population growth is supportive for the region’s longer-term prospects,” House noted in a presentation hosted by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, “but has created some near-term growing pains in terms of affordability.”

Overall, the Lone Star State is poised to respond well to a potential recession. In the top 10 of the SmartAsset ranking, Frisco took the top spot, followed by Plano at No. 3, Denton at No. 4, and Lubbock at No. 7. Elsewhere in Texas, Arlington appears at No. 19 and Killeen at No. 20.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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