The Rio Grande City Economic Development Corporation is pleased to announce Rio Grande City has landed on a list of top 100 best communities in Texas to start a small business by LendEdu. Securing the 57th spot, Rio Grande City bested other Texas communities including Bandera, Poteet and Wimberly.
Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal credited the city’s entrepreneurial spirit and Rio Grande City EDC’s focus on partners and programs designed to provide technical assistance and small business education, therefore improving the success of small business in the city.
“We know our small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” said Mayor Villarreal. “This is why we do all that we can to help them get a great start.”
“Being a small business owner is an ambitious undertaking, but the City of Rio Grande City makes it easier by encouraging and providing resources to help small businesses succeed,” said Oscar Gonzalez, small business owner and Rio Grande City Main Street Advisory Board Vice- President.
LendEDU analyzed over 1,000 Texas communities based on their conduciveness to small businesses and used a methodology that weighed population, income, expenses, property and sales tax, utility costs and burglary and property crime scores.
“Our mission is straightforward – to provide quality services in partnership with our citizens to build a progressive city and provide a better quality of life for all of our residents,” said Rio Grande City’s City Commissioner and EDC Board President Rey Ramirez. “This ranking is a testament to our efforts.”
In 2017, Rio Grande City issued 115 commercial building permits. The value of the improvements to those buildings amounted to $27,059,110. In addition, sales taxes in Rio
Grande City have steadily climbed, keeping in line with similar-sized Rio Grande Valley communities.
The trajectory for Rio Grande City continues to show improvement in other economic factors including record low unemployment in Starr County.
Meanwhile, in May 2017, Rio Grande City ranked as one of the best places in the United States to make more money and grow income by LendEdu. The study analyzed over 25,000 U.S. communities and judged them on their household income growth from 2000 to 2017. Additionally, these places were also graded on their forecasted income growth over the next five years.
This newest distinction from LendEdu is great news for the city and affirms Rio Grande City is poised for continued and substantial growth.