COMMUNITY PROFILE www.tedc.org TABLE OF CONTENTS Attractions 3 Climate 8 Cost of Living 9 Demographics 11 Education 13 Finance 17 Government 20 Location 23 Media 24 Medical 27 Office Market 29 Real Estate 30 Retail 32 Retirement 34 Taxes 35 Technology 38 Transportation 40 Utilities 45 Workforce 47 2 ATTRACTIONS ANNUAL EVENTS Annual Event Occurrence Azalea Spring & Flower Trail March Azalea 10K, Fun Run April Cattle Baron's Gala June Downtown Tyler Film Festival October East Texas State Fair September Festival on the Square October Four Winds Renaissance Faire March-April Mistletoe and Magic November Parade of Homes June Taste of Tyler March Texas Rose Festival October Tyler Area Chamber Golf Tournament September Tyler Jaycee's 4th of July Celebration July Tyler's Komen Race for the Cure May PERFORMING ARTS Performing Art Description Phone Caldwell Auditorium Hosts various performances; (903) 262- 300 South College Ave. managed by Tyler ISD 2300 East Texas Symphony Offers concerts and youth (903) 592- Orchestra concerts 3876 107 E. Erwin R. Cowan Fine & Houses Vaughn Auditorium, Performing Arts Center Braithwaite Recital Hall, (903) 566- 3900 University Blvd. Meadows Art Gallery, & White 7424 Lobby Tyler Civic Chorale Provides choral music, fall and (903) 597- 230 W. Rusk spring concerts offered 6317 Ballet Tyler Provides opportunities for dancers and East Texas (903) 596- audiences to experience the 0224 fine art of dance Tyler Civic Theater Center The first theatre in America 400 Rose Park Drive designed for production of (903) 592- theatre-in-the-round 0561 3 ATTRACTIONS HISTORIC SITES Historic Site Description Phone Camp Ford Historical Park Largest Confederate Prisoner (903) 592- Hwy 271 & Loop 323 of War camp west of the 5993 Mississippi Cottonbelt Train Depot Restored depot, built in 1905, (903) 533- 210 Oakwood houses railroad memorabilia 8057 Dewberry Plantation Antebellum home built (903) 825- 14007 FM 346 West between 1852 and 1854 9000 Bullard, TX 75757 McClendon House Victorian home built in 1878 806 W. Houston has many of its original (903) 592- furnishings 3533 MUSEUMS Museum Description Phone American Freedom Museum 15,000 sf of galleries containing over 600 1051 N. Houston St. amazing artifacts and documents from (903) 894-5252 Bullard, TX 75757 our nation’s history Brookshire’s World of Wildlife Museum Featuring 250 mounted examples of WSW Loop 323 & Old Jacksonville Hwy wildlife and a replica 1920's grocery store (903) 534-2169 Carnegie History Center Housed in an old library with exhibits 125 S. College artifiacts of Tyler's history (903) 592-5993 Goodman Museum Texas Historic Landmark from 624 N. Broadway Ave Civil War Era (903) 531-1286 Historic Aviation Memorial Museum Aviation memorabilia 2198 Doxie Drive (903) 526-1945 Smith County Historical Society Museum County artifacts dating from the days of 125 S. College the American Indians to the present (903) 592-5993 Tyler Museum of Art World class exhibits, gift shop, and cafe 1300 S. Mahon Street (903) 595-1001 Tyler Rose Garden & Museum Showcasing memorabilia of the history of 1900 W. Front St. the Tyler rose growing industry and the (903) 597-3130 Rose Festival 4 ATTRACTIONS EDUCATIONAL ATTRACTIONS Educational Attraction Description Phone Tyler Public Library 201 S. College Ave. Features 229,625 volumes (903) 593-7323 Caldwell Zoo 2203 Martin Luther King Jr. 85-acre park, over 2,000 animals (903) 593-0121 Blvd. Discovery Science Place Downtown children's math and 308 N. Broadway (903) 533-8011 science museum Vaughn Conservatory Ranked 5th in the State, cultivation 1400 E. Fifth (903) 510-2200 of exotic and ornamental plants The Center For Earth & Space Educational and entertaining Science Education programs to encourage an interest 1411 E. Lake Street (903) 510-2312 in, and support for, science education. Camp Tyler Offers outdoor educational (903) 262-1269 programs Tiger Missing Link Foundation State Park Highway 14 N A rescue facility for tigers, lions, (903) 858-1008 and cougars DISTRICTS Antique District - located in the heart of downtown Tyler, comprised of antique and specialty shops. Azalea District* - listed in the National Register of Historic Places - in 1960, a group of homeowners decided to open their gardens to visitors each Spring, launching the first Azalea District Brick Streets District* - listed in the National Register of Historic Places - the district is about 1/2 mile south of downtown and encompasses 29 blocks of residential, commercial, and institutional structures. Charnwood Residential Historic District* - listed in the National Register of Historic Places - encompasses 12 blocks of the late 19th and early 20th century residential development. * More information on these historic districts located at www.historictyler.org 5 ATTRACTIONS AMUSEMENTS Phone 31 West Shooting Range (903) 597-0258 Camp Ford Historic Park (903) 592-5993 Cherokee Trace Drive Thru Safari (903) 683-3322 Fire Mountain Amusement Park (903) 561-2670 Green Acres Bowl (903) 561-2911 Kids Depot 2000 Plus (903) 509-4386 Lock N Load (903) 939-1500 New York, Texas Zip Line (903) 681-3791 Noble E. Young Skateboard Park (903) 531-1370 Rose City Flying Clays (903) 597-3345 Sky Vue Drive-In Theater (903) 535-9993 The Villages Marina (903) 561-1413 Waterpark at the Villages (903) 534-8400 RECREATION Recreation Activity Available Baseball Fields 30 Soccer Fields 15 Swimming Pools (Public) 2 Swimming Pools (Private) 2 Movie Theater Screens 33 City Parks/with Playgrounds 25/19 Resorts & Campgrounds 15 6 ATTRACTIONS GOLF Course Type H Phone Arrowhead Golf Course 18 public (903) 509-3555 The Cascades 18 private (903) 592-2551 Cross Creek Golf Club 18 public (903) 597-7871 Embassy Hills Golf Course 9 public (903) 636-9890 Eagle's Bluff 18 private (903) 825-7278 Emerald Bay Club 18 private (903) 825-3388 Garden Valley Golf Resort 18 public (903) 882-6107 Hideaway Lake Golf Course 18 private (903) 882-8511 Hilltop Country Club 9 public (903) 842-3516 Hollytree Country Club 18 private (903) 581-7723 Oak Hurst/Peach Tree 36 public (903) 894-7079 Overton Community 9 public (903) 834-6414 Pine Dunes Resort 18 public (903) 876-4336 Pine Springs Golf Course 18 public (903) 526-4653 Twin Lakes Golf Course 18 public (903) 567-1112 Willow Brook Country Club 18 private (903) 592-8229 The Woods at Jacksonville 18 private (903) 589-1759 CAMPING/LAKES Camping/Lake Bellwood Lake Lake Palestine Lake Tyler Lake Tyler East Tyler State Park CHURCHES Tyler has over 300 churches, synagogues, and mosques representing all major denominations. LODGING Ample lodging is available with 34 Hotels/Motels (2,675 rooms) and 10 Bed & Breakfasts (48 rooms) in the Tyler area. 7 CLIMATE One of the most attractive features of the Tyler Month High Low area is the climate. Because of the consistently mild weather, Tyler is a gardener's paradise. January 57° 36° Perennials, bulbs, fruits and vegetables all grow as April 78° 55° abundantly as our pine trees. Spring flowers begin blooming in early March and continue throughout July 94° 71° the Summer. October 80° 56° TEMPERATURES RAINFALL Tyler's average annual rainfall is 43.1 inches and the area averages over 245 days of sunny weather annually. 8 COST OF LIVING Tyler's cost of living index at the first quarter of 2013 was 94.8 TYLER MSA COMPOSITE of 100, and has consistently been 90-96% of the national 2013 First Quarter average for the past five years. Cost of living indexes measure Category Index the relative price levels for consumer goods and services compared against the national average. The national average is Groceries 93.9 always 100. Indexes below 100 indicate lower prices (less Housing 90.4 expensive) than the national average. Utilities 86.5 Transportation 96.9 For example, Tyler's grocery index is 93.9. If during the first quarter of 2013 you bought a $100 basket of groceries in a city Health Care 94.0 with a grocery index of 100, you would pay $100, the national Miscellaneous 100.8 average, for those groceries. However, in Tyler, you would only Total 94.8 pay $93.9 for that same basket of groceries - a savings of $6.10, or 6.1%. In other words, your hard-earned dollars can buy more goods in Tyler than anywhere in the nation on average. The Council for Community and Economic Research (ACCRA) conducts a nationwide survey and calculates the cost of living index each quarter. Since the number of respondents to the survey change each quarter, it is impossible to compare a quarter with any other quarter. A decline in the composite score or any category score does not necessarily mean prices have dropped, though this is possible. A drop in an index could also be caused if prices are rising locally and on the national average, but the local prices are rising at a smaller pace than the national average. The cost of living index is not a measure of inflation! COST OF LIVING CITY COMPARISONS The following table compares the cost of The following table compares the cost of living index for cities the size of Tyler in living index for other U.S. cities, regardless the first quarter of 2013: of size, in the first quarter of 2013: Location Index Location Index Tyler, TX 94.8 Tyler, TX 94.8 Burlington, VT 122.5 Chicago, IL 114.8 Fargo, ND 93.5 Denver, CO 103.2 Joplin, MO 88.7 Fort Lauderdale, FL 110.8 Lafayette, IN 92.6 Reno, NV 89.7 Myrtle Beach, SC 95.0 New York (Manhattan), NY 227.1 Norman, OK 85.0 San Francisco, CA 168.6 St. George, UT 91.5 Washington, DC 141.7 9 COST OF LIVING SALARY COMPARISONS The following 2012 salary rates in the table below were provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.