The city of Victoria is the county seat of Victoria County and presently has a population of roughly 60,603. The Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, that is comprised of three separate counties, has a population of about 111,163.
Situated 30 miles outside Victoria is the Gulf of Mexico. The thriving city of Victoria is a regional economic center for a total of seven counties called the "Golden Crescent." More than 250,000 depend on the area for retail trade. The city is situated two hours away from the cities of Corpus Christi, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, that is the reason why it is called "The Crossroads."
The name Victoria originates from General Guadalupe Victoria, the very first president of independent Mexico. The city boasts two large schools: the University of Houston-Victoria and Victoria College. Victoria is also the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria.
In the city of Victoria, there are many arts dedicated places, such as Theatre Victoria, that hosts six production each and every year during the season from the month of July to the month of May. The Leo J. Welder Center has just been renovated and is provides some live performances downtown. Several performances per year are likewise held by the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and Victoria Ballet.
Victoria is a city rich with historical information. Numerous museums are hosted in the city limits, including the Nave, the McNamara House, the Museum of the Coastal Bend and the Children's Discovery Museum. The Museum of the Coastal Bend has numerous exhibits devoted to featuring several prominent artifacts from the La Salle's colony during the 17th century.
The Mission Espiritu Santo and Presidio La Bahia are literally just 30 minutes from the city of Victoria. La Bahia is considered to be the best preserved Spanish Presidio within the country. A terrific example of an early Spanish colonial church is Espiritu Santo.
The main cogs of the economy in Victoria are based around gas, petrochemical and oil production. Ranching and chemical plants take up secondary roles within the economy. There are numerous areas of employment within Victoria, like healthcare, educational services, construction, manufacturing, mining and chemicals. Around 29 percent of the workforce is involved with management, professional and related jobs whereas 26 percent of the labor force is involved with sales and office occupations.
The largest businesses within the Victoria region are Formosa Plastic, Citizen's Medical Center, The Inteplast Group, Detar Healthcare System, Dow-Seadrift Operations, Calhoun ISD, Invista, Alcoa, H.E.B., University of Houston-Victoria, Kasper Wireworks Metalworks/plating, Berry Plastics, Walmart Supercenter, Victoria College, Spherion, King Fisher Marine, First Victoria National Park and TX Dept. of Criminal Justice.
The majority of the workforce in Victoria are really educated as the most popular jobs need a college degree. These comprise registered nurses, teachers, financial managers, chemical engineers, industrial engineers, social workers, and clinical and medical laboratory technicians.
In the year 2008, the cost of living index of the city ranked as 78.0, while the national average is around 100.