The Texas Round Rock City has an estimated population of 105,000 residents. The city sits within two different counties, Travis County and Williamson County and is included in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area.
Money Magazine in the year 2008, listed the city as the 7th best small US city to reside in. There was no other Texas city to be eligible. CNN also named the city of Round Rock, as the 2nd fastest growing city within the United States, with an 8.2% growth rate from 2008 to 2009. This rapid growth has caused extreme congestion in the city of Round Rock.
There are two distinct sections of Round Rock City that is split by the fault line Balcones Escarpment. To the east of IH-35, the land is relatively flat and is covered with very fertile, black soil that has been called the Blackland Prairie. To the west the terrain is covered with several hills and rises with higher elevations and little topsoil. The city of Round Rock shares a common border with Austin City at SH 45, that could be located approximately 20 miles south of downtown.
The city of Round Rock was originally established in 1851 alongside the banks of Brushy Creek. The city was named after a large, round rock which was situated in the middle of the creek. This particular rock indicated a low-water crossing area which was used by wagons and cattle. The famous Chisholm Trail, which was used by Jesse Chisholm as a cattle trail, included Bush Creek. Downtown is important in history as the scene of the final gunfight that resulted in the capture of the popular train rubber, Sam Bass.
The wealth of the county was mainly produced by the cotton fields, during the first half of the 20th century. The soils of the "blackland prairie" were fertile and abundant allowing cotton to be the biggest economic driver at the time. The main cotton hub was situated in the neighboring Taylor City, that lies just to the east. The crop was delivered there and compressed, shipped and ginned. Austin likewise established a cotton hub shortly after the railroad arrived in the year 1870. East of the Interstate 35, the primary sources of income came from row-crops, cotton, truck farming and grapes. Sheep, goats and cattle were raised to the west of the Balcones divide. Even though agriculture and cattle raising still play a role within the economy of the city of Round Rock, it is to a much lesser extent then it was 25 years ago and has been limited to the east of Round Rock City.
These days, the economy is concentrated on advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, life sciences, and computer/software development. There are over 20 major businesses in Round Rock City, with the most famous being Toppan Photomasks, Sears Customer Care, Round Rock Premium Outlets, Ikea, Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corp, KoMiCo Technology Inc., Dresser, Cintas, Hospira, and TECO-Westinghouse, Dell and Cerilliant Corporation. Although Round Rock City has become a main hub for economic growth, it has maintained its high quality of life.