A diverse group of manufacturers, distribution companies, central and back-office operations represent Amarillo's major employers. From fiberglass production to copper refining, and from food processors to foundries, these larger firms demonstrate the kind of corporate citizenship that would be the envy of any community.
Many of the major employers are companies and institutions that have always been here, like hospitals, banks and educational institutions.
Xcel Energy electric production and distribution 913 employees Union
SBC telephone services 192 employees Union
Texas Tech University of Health Sciences medical education 856 employees Non-union
Leading Edge Aviation aircraft painting 148 employees Non-union
VA Medical Center medical care 840 employees Union
Graham Webb Data Print computer forms 102 employees Non-union
Taxes
Businesses and individuals find the Texas system extremely favorable. There is no personal income tax, state property or unitary tax. Texas is one of only seven states without a personal income tax.
The sales and use tax accounts for over 50% of total state revenue. Other major revenue generators include the motor fuel tax, oil and natural gas severance taxes, and the corporate franchise tax. At the local level, revenues are generated primarily by the ad valorem property tax and local sales tax. Property Taxes Texas has no state property tax. For the local property tax, taxable assets include real estate and improvements, as well as tangible personal property such as production machinery and equipment. Business inventories are taxed at the same rate as other business property.
Amarillo’s “freeport” designation allows exemption from inventory property taxes of goods exported from Texas. The exemption applies to items in your inventory on January 1 that: 1) are or will be forwarded out of Texas within 175 days of the date you acquire them or bring them into Texas; 2) are in Texas for assembling, storing, manufacturing, repair, maintenance, processing or fabricating purposes; and 3) remain under your continuous ownership from the time you bring them into the state or acquire them in the state until they are forwarded out of the state.
Amarillo Property Tax Rate 2008
Per $100 Property Valuation
Within Amarillo City Limits:
Unincorporated Potter Co:
Unincorporated Randall Co:
City of Amarillo 0.310090
Potter County 0.596270
Randall County 0.360620
Amarillo College 0.184130
Highland Park ISD 1.185440
Canyon ISD 1.290000
Amarillo ISD 1.170000
High Plains Water District 0.007940
So. Randall County Hospital 0.085000
Potter County 0.596740
High Plains Water District 0.007940
OR
TOTAL 1.79549
TOTAL 1.75106
Randall County 0.360620
TOTAL (Ama/Potter) 2.26078
TOTAL (Ama/Randall) 2.02466
Sales Tax The state sales tax rate is 6.25%, with Amarillo assessing an additional 2%. This tax is levied on the sale, rental and use of most tangible property, labor and selected services. However, current exemptions in the sales tax statutes include:
•
Machinery and equipment used directly in the manufacturing process or for pollution control; and
•
Items that become a component part of a manufactured item, are consumed in the manufacturing process or delivered out of state
State Income Tax Texas has no personal income tax. The corporate franchise tax includes an income component.
Corporate Franchise Tax Incorporated businesses chartered and authorized to do business in Texas are subject to the franchise tax. Corporations pay either $2.50 per $1,000 in taxable capital, or a 4.5% tax on earned surplus, whichever amount is greater. Taxable capital includes stated capital, surplus, deferred income taxes and non-current employee benefits allocated to Texas on a gross receipts basis. Earned surplus is federal taxable income plus officers’ and directors’ compensation allocated to Texas on a gross receipts basis.
Map of City of Amarillo (highways, major streets, city layout, etc.)
City Government
The City of Amarillo is comprised of two counties, Potter and Randall. Data collection regarding workforce and population encompasses the two counties, but each has a different municipality.
City of Amarillo The City of Amarillo is located in Potter County and has a Commission-Manager form of government. The City Commission reviews policy while the City Manager enforces the policy with the assistance of the City staff. The City Commission appoints positions for 34 different boards and commissions within the city organizational structure. The City Manager oversees eight different divisions.
City of Canyon The City of Canyon is located in Randall County and has a home-rural form of government. Canyon is home to West Texas A&M University and Palo Duro Canyon. The city has just recently passed a 4B economic development sales tax initiative to further their growth.
County Government
The Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is comprised of four counties as defined by the Federal Register. Carson and Armstrong counties were added to the MSA in 2003 due to 25% or more of the population that commute to Amarillo to work.
Amarillo, Texas is the county seat for Potter County. The county is served by a county judge and four commissioners.
Canyon, Texas, located 19 miles south of Amarillo, is the county seat for Randall County. The county is served by a county judge and four commissioners.
State Government
The State of Texas is actively involved in economic development through various programs that encourage growth within the state. The Economic Development and Tourism division was established in 2003 to provide incentives for communities in Texas that are limited in funding options.
Climate
Amarillo enjoys a mild climate with four distinct seasons. The city averages 26.31 inches of precipitation annually. Average annual wind speed is 13.6 mph. Area soil types and farming practices prevent airborne dust. Mean number of clear, partly cloudy, and cloudy days are 156.2, 104.8 and 104.3 respectively.
Summer temperatures are moderated by our high altitude (3,676 ft.), with nights 25 to 30 degrees cooler than daytime highs. Humidity is wonderfully low and the breeze is constant.
In the winter, our typically sunny skies raise average daily maximum temperatures to about 50 degrees, even in December, January, and February. _______________________________________________________________
Although Amarillo itself is a relatively young city, having been founded in the late 1880s, hunting points and other artifacts that have been scientifically dated indicate human beings have inhabited the High Plains region for more than ten thousand years.
When, in 1541, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led an expedition across this vast grassland, the Native Americans they encountered had never before seen a man of European descent. The arrival of the Spanish explorers would forever change the lives of the native tribes.
As the Texas frontier moved ever westward in the nineteenth century, colonists established trading relationships with the Plains Indians. But the Republic of Texas was never successful in establishing territorial control over the region and there were frequent hostile confrontations between the encroaching Anglo-Americans and native tribes.
Following the end of the Civil War, the U.S. military focused its efforts on controlling and confining the Indian population on the western frontier. By 1875, the Native American population in the Texas Panhandle had been relocated to reservations, making way for an influx of new settlers and huge herds of cattle.
The arrival of the region's first railroad made it possible to transport livestock to eastern markets much more efficiently. In 1888 the town of Amarillo was established next to a huge stockyard where cattle were held before being loaded into railcars. Two years later the town had a population of 482.
Within a few years the burgeoning community began to experience growing pains as demand for municipal services swelled. In 1913 Amarillo became the first city in Texas and only the fifth in the nation to adopt the city council – manager form of government, establishing a model for professional city management.
Natural gas was discovered in the area in 1918 and soon dozens of oil and gas companies were exploring the Panhandle Field, the largest known reserve in the world at that time.
With the advent of mechanized agriculture, farmers began breaking sod and cultivating hundreds of thousands of acres of what had been huge fenced tracts of grassland. The search for wealth and work was already attracting a lot of people to Amarillo by the 1920s, and the city's population swelled by some 27,000 to total more than 43,000 by 1930. Amarillo was well established as the region's hub city.
In 1942 the federal government opened two installations that would have long lasting impacts on Amarillo's future: The military established an Army air field at the Amarillo airport, and the Pantex Army Ordinance Plant was built east of the city. Both were closed after the end of World War II. The air base was reactivated in 1951 and expanded to house a Strategic Air Command wing.
More than 16,000 personnel were stationed at the base when it was closed again in 1967, delivering a severe blow to Amarillo's economy. The Pantex plant reopened in 1950 and produced nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War years. In recent years, the mission at Pantex has been to disassemble weapons and maintain the nation's nuclear stockpile.
While Amarillo's economy was closely tied to agriculture and the energy industry through much of the city's early history, it has continually become more diverse as the city has grown. The arrival of new industry helped shelter Amarillo from the effects of the boom-and-bust cycles endemic to the farming, ranching, and oil and gas businesses.
Copper refining, fiberglass production, meat packing, and many other types of manufacturing have driven much of the city's growth in recent years. In addition, Amarillo has become home to a number of central office and customer service operations employing hundreds of people in white collar jobs. As a regional medical center, Amarillo health care institutions have grown to employ some 8,000 people.
Amarillo is becoming recognized as Rotor City, USA, a center for the very latest in aviation technology, and is home to Bell Helicopter Textron's Assembly Center where the V-22 Osprey, UH-1Y, nd AH-1Z are built or remanufactured.
Amarillo enters the new millennium following a full decade of solid expansion and diversification, and is well positioned to lead the region in continued growth.
Labor Force Demographics
Amarillo's workforce has grown steadily since 1990, keeping pace with the growing labor demand. The metropolitan area civilian labor force totals 126,509, and the 26 county Panhandle region totals 216,971. In the past 15 years, the total wage and salary employment in Amarillo has increased over 30%.
Over the past decade, a steady pattern of people have moved to Amarillo because of the attractive employment opportunities. This trend is expected to continue, as a high percentage of local firms expect to either maintain or increase their staffing levels in the coming year.
Under-Employment Study
The Amarillo area has a household population of approximately 225,400. The civilian labor force numbers approximately 117,100, approximately 6,800 unemployed people who are actively seeking work. Approximately 14,100 workers can be defined as underemployed: those individuals who are currently working but would take a better job if offered by a new or existing employer and who appear to possess the skills, education, and experience to qualify them to do so. Another 800 individuals would consider re-entering the workforce. Together with the unemployed, actively seeking work individuals, the Amarillo area has approximately 21,700 available workers for new or existing employers.
The Pathfinders was retained by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation to quantify the extent to which both unemployment and underemployment exist in the Amarillo area. This report also represents the objective and professional view of The Pathfinders with regard to workforce quality, availability, costs, experience and skills that a new or expanding employer can expect in the Amarillo region.
Amarillo is an inexpensive place to live and operate a business. It's more affordable, in almost every regard, than most U.S. cities, and that has long been the case.
Workers’ Compensation
Companies located in Texas have freedom of choice when it comes to workers’ compensation. Texas is one of only three states in the country that does not require workers’ compensation coverage. Employers in Texas can buy workers’ compensation insurance from among 260 private insurers, or from the Texas Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund (a private fund capitalized by a state bond issue), or an employer can “go bare” and not provide workers’ compensation coverage.
Companies without coverage instead pay for employees’ injuries out of pocket or by purchasing standard health and disability policies, along with an indemnity policy to guard against catastrophic claims. According to a study by Texas A&M University, 44% of businesses in the state don’t provide workers’ compensation insurance. One large Amarillo company (2,000+ employees) stopped subscribing to the state workers’ compensation system and cut its annual cost from $19 million to $1.5 million (a savings of 92%). The company offers higher benefits to injured workers than those provided under the state system and specifies a list of doctors that workers can go to for treatment. A smaller Amarillo company has been a “non-subscriber” for several years. Actual on-the-job injury costs have been 85% to 90% less than their workers’ compensation premiums would have been.
Another option for employers who meet statutory requirements is a state self-insurance program. This program offers all the liability limitations that presently exist for workers’ compensation subscribers while reducing costs.
Texas reformed its Workers’ Compensation Act in 1991. Since then worker-comp premiums paid by businesses have come down by more than half. The average cost of lost-time claims dropped from about $13,000 in 1991 to $4,615 in 1994, and the number of claims paid has been cut almost in half. At the same time, injured workers are being paid faster, benefit levels have increased and reports of workplace injuries have begun to diminish. All of this after the plaintiff lawyers were essentially replaced with an administrative mechanism.
Unemployment Insurance
The unemployment insurance tax rate is based on the type of business, Texas' operating history of the business, employee experience record, and the size of payroll. The Texas Workforce Commission administers and collects this tax levied on the first $9,000 in wages for each employee. For new businesses, the initial rate is 2.7%. An adjustment made eighteen months later is based on layoff experience and resulting rates range from 0.35% to 6.35%.
On September 1, 1993, the Texas Water Commission and the Texas Air Control Board merged to form the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) now known as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). For the first time, environmental issues in Texas, whether land, air or water, are addressed by a single comprehensive agency. State environmental activities are now better coordinated and less fragmented. The single state agency has the expertise and authority to integrate and implement state policies on air quality, water quality, water resources and waste management.
A goal of this commission is to promote economic growth by significantly improving and streamlining the State’s environmental permitting programs so that businesses may acquire needed permits within substantially shorter times.
Environmental Economic Development Team The State of Texas is committed to reducing the time required for industrial projects to receive environmental permits. The Environmental Economic Development Team was created to speed up the time in which pollution permits are issued to industries. The team includes representatives of all relevant state departments, including the Governor’s office, Texas Economic Development, and the TCEQ. Team members “shepherd” the applications through the permitting process, eliminating any unnecessary delays.
Solid Waste and Wastewater Disposal Every industrial generator of solid waste is required to make a hazardous waste determination on that waste. Generators of wastewater are required to be permitted by the TCEQ.
The City of Amarillo Utilities Department is experienced in helping companies develop cost-effective solutions to wastewater disposal problems. They have successfully worked with both food processing and manufacturing operations. Contact Emmett Autrey, Utilities Director, at 806-378-3035.
Air Emission Regulations Amarillo is in compliance with all Federal Ambient Air Standards for ozone, particulates and sulfur dioxide. Our area’s constant breeze ensures clean air over the city. Authorization is required from the TCEQ prior to the start of construction of any facility which may emit air contaminants. All permit applications for projects of greater than $2 million must be stamped as having been received by a certified engineer licensed to practice in Texas. Permit applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, TCEQ staffers will discuss the control measures that have been approved in similar situations. Permits are reviewed every 5 years.
ACCRA Cost of Living
Amarillo’s cost of living is ranked among the lowest in the nation, according to survey results from the ACCRA Cost of Living report. The cost of living in Amarillo is 16% below Albuquerque, 16% below Denver, and 35% below San Diego. Housing and utilities are particularly affordable in Amarillo.
Get the Economic Pulse of Amarillo. Compare the trends from the current month and last month, and then compare them to last year's numbers.
Foreign Trade Zone
Foreign Trade Zone No. 252 was established on August 28, 2001. This benefits local companies conducting business internationally and allows import/export activity more expediently and at a reduced expense.
Enterprize Challenge
The Amarillo EDC sponsors a business plan competition titled the Amarillo EnterPrize Challenge. This competition assists entrepreneurs in launching a new small business or expanding an existing small business. The program began in 1995 and continues to produce highly successful small businesses. To date, through the Amarillo EnterPrize Challenge program 40 businesses have received cash grants of as much of $75,000 each, totaling over $2.05 million in grants over the last fourteen years. Altogether, these firms have created 312 new jobs and bring more than $24 million into the Amarillo economy. In addition, these companies have invested over $6.6 million in additional capital since receiving their grants.
The West Texas A&M University Enterprise Network provides workshops for the business plans at no cost to the businesses vying for the prize. This ensures successful business opportunities for those businesses that are not selected as a finalist in the competition.
Companies in Amarillo enjoy electric and natural gas rates that are among the lowest in the nation. Those savings go right to the bottom line, year after year, and help to make Amarillo such an attractive operating environment for businesses.
Electricity The local electric utility is Xcel Energy (formerly Southwestern Public Service Company), which has long enjoyed a reputation as an efficient and reliable energy provider. The trade magazine Electric World wrote that Xcel "... consistently achieves high powerplant availability and customer satisfaction rates, while maintaining low electricity rates ... a low-cost, reliable and service-oriented supplier."
In the Amarillo region, Xcel has peak electrical resources of 4,591 MW and approximately 4,018 in firm obligations. Xcel Energy has actually lowered rates several times in recent years, and few cities can match Xcel's commercial or industrial rates.
Natural Gas The Amarillo area is a major natural gas producing region, and the abundant supply keeps rates low. Atmos Energy (formerly Energas) is the natural gas utility that provides gas service within the city. The average monthly gas bill for commercial service in Amarillo is $132.29 (assuming usage of 34.7 MCF). The average monthly gas bill for industrial service is $1,961.01, based on gas usage of 557.4 MCF.
Atmos Energy Commercial Rate Schedule Monthly customer charge: $15.00 plus:
• All consumption $0.09100 per Ccf
Atmos Energy Company Small Industrial Rate Schedule Monthly customer charge: $50.00 plus:
• All consumption $0.09400 per Ccf
Companies located outside Amarillo's city limits can negotiate rates with as many as four gas providers.
Amarillo Water Rates Unlike many cities in the southwestern U.S., Amarillo has an abundant supply of water, both from surface and groundwater sources. There has been no water rationing in Amarillo since 1952. The city recently secured a supply of high quality underground water sufficient to meet the city's needs for at least 200 years.
Monthly Minimum Charge (includes cost of first 2,000 gallons)
Volume of Usage Charge: $1.07per 1,000 gallons of water used, or $1.28 per one thousand gallons of wastewater.
Telecommunications
The Amarillo market is large enough and competitive enough that it offers the latest telecommunications services.
Local telephone service is provided by AT&T, a leader in introducing innovative communication solutions to businesses. Businesses can also expect to have a choice in their local telephone provider soon; AT&T must open its local markets to competition since it seeks to compete in the long distance market over its own network.
AT&T has offices in Amarillo with digital switching equipment, and they are linked by fiber optic cable to provide reliable and instantaneous connections to the rest of the world. An existing fiber optic infrastructure is already in place to serve most of the buildings and sites where a new business would want to locate in Amarillo. In many areas, SONET ring redundancy is available. The services and capabilities available to businesses include:
ISDN
ADSL
T-1 Lines
Frame & cell relay service
Intra-lata long distance
Disaster routing services
Plexar & Centrex systems support
DS3 high speed data transmission
Most major telecom companies have points-of-presence in Amarillo, providing long distance and other services:
AMA TechTel
AT&T
Sprint
MCI
NTS Communications
E.SPIRE
Valu-Line Advanced Communications
Caprock Communications
Internet service providers in Amarillo include ARNet, GTE Internetworking, NTS Communications, Amarillo Online, NetJava communications, and 1Source Technologies. AOL, Prodigy, Cybernet and Flashnet all offer a variety of dial-up, cable, and digital service.
The local cable TV company, SuddenLink Communications, offers cable Internet access using high-speed cable modems. There are local companies that provide a full range of website development services including e-commerce applications, design and graphics, consulting, training, and hosting. State-of-the-art wireless services, both messaging and voice (including digital), are available in Amarillo. In fact, the wireless network infrastructure here is often more reliable than in large cities, where "concrete canyons" and tunnels can disrupt service.
Amarillo Travel
Amarillo is remarkably well-connected for a city our size, and our location in the middle of the South Central region often shortens the distance you need to go when traveling to another U.S. city. There are numerous direct daily flights from Amarillo to major hub airports with direct flights to foreign countries. You can get to Dallas-Ft. Worth Regional Airport in one hour; Houston Intercontinental in about an hour and a half; Denver International in an hour; Las Vegas in two hours; and LAX in four hours. As the largest city between Dallas and Denver, Albuquerque and Oklahoma City, Amarillo naturally has excellent connections to those cities.
There are some foreign destinations that are also easy to get to. You can leave Amarillo in the morning and be on the beach in Cancun shortly after lunch, or in St. Thomas in time for dinner.
The airlines serving Amarillo are American Eagle, Southwest, Continental Express, Great Lakes and United Express.
Amarillo is also a hub for major highways that connect us with the rest of the region: I-40 to Oklahoma City and Albuquerque; I-27 south to Lubbock and south Texas; U.S. 287 to Dallas and Fort Worth; U.S. 87 to northern destinations and Denver; and U.S. 60 to southwestern cities, including El Paso and Tucson.
There is one thing we don't have - traffic jams. You can travel to any location in the city in 15 to 20 minutes, any time of day. This engenders a greater sense of personal freedom.
Getting Around the Area The Texas High Plains is primarily prairie land. The speed limit is 70 mph where posted and traffic isn't heavy.
People here are accustomed to driving to most of the places they typically go. Within town, it only takes a few minutes to get where you're going. But sometimes, you need to drive to Lubbock (1 hr., 45 minutes), want to go fishing at Lake Meredith (45 minutes), or plan to picnic at Palo Duro Canyon (20 minutes). Everything within the local area is easily accessible by motor vehicle, and that's most people's primary mode of transportation.
Amarillo's streets, thoroughfares and freeways are laid out well and can accommodate many vehicles. Even so, there are far fewer exhaust emissions than in a large city, and Amarillo's air is continually cleansed by a steady breeze.
Public Transportation Amarillo's Transit Department provides public bus transportation throughout the city. Amarillo City Transit (ACT) operates eight routes, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. Service is provided to locations at the Medical Center, area shopping centers, and in most of the city's residential neighborhoods. Routes are designed to offer convenient service to the areas of greatest demand. The Department's goal is to provide bus service to within a quarter mile of all residences.
ACT also operates a specialized transportation service for elderly and handicapped passengers who can't physically ride regular transit buses. Door-to-door service is provided to those qualified passengers.
At present, ACT reports about 350,000 passengers per year, and the number is declining as fewer and fewer residents make use of public transportation; the vast majority of people have access to, and prefer to use, private transportation. A recent survey of residents by the Amarillo Metropolitan Planning Organization found that 95% never use public transit, 3% use it one or two times a week, and 2% use it more than three times a week. Despite the declining ridership, ACT has no plans to curtail its services.
Close-By Places To Go Some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas is in Amarillo's backyard. Palo Duro Canyon stuns visitors who have never experienced it. The canyon is 1,200 feet deep, ten miles wide at places, and is a dramatic contrast to the perfectly flat horizon that surrounds it.
Highways
Amarillo is easily accessible from California all the way to North Carolina, as Interstate 40 runs east and west. Interstate 27 is the thoroughfare to the north and south and with the vision of the Ports-To-Plains initiative, a direct route from Mexico to Canada will be built through Amarillo. Loop 335 encompasses the city and allows for hazardous cargo to go around the city rather than through it. Highway 287 is a well-traveled route to Dallas, Texas.
City Arterial
Rush hour in Amarillo is really only about fifteen minutes long (and only in the Central Business District). That's not due to an absence of vehicular activity, it's because Amarillo's streets, thoroughfares and expressways are laid out so well that traffic flows smoothly, the result of careful planning. It's simply easier for people here to get around.
You'll find motorists in Amarillo to be very courteous in comparison with those in large cities. The city's streets and freeways are well designed and can accommodate lots of vehicles, so drivers don't have to try to be so aggressive. Even during heavy commute periods, there's nothing to impede you from driving the speed limit.
No matter where you live in Amarillo, you're close to the services and amenities you expect: restaurants, familiar banks, multiplex theaters, drugstores, supermarkets. And if you're short of cash when you stop to pick up your clothes at the cleaners, they'll probably tell you to just pay the next time you come in.
There are no natural obstacles to avert traffic, so Amarillo's streets are mostly perpendicular, making it easy to get around. Major arteries provide easy access through and across the city. Interstate 40 and Interstate 27 each bisect the city just south of downtown, dividing the city into equally sized quadrants. Loop 335 encircles the city, providing another way to easily cross from one side of the city to the other.
Ports-to-Plains
The Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor is a planned, multimodal transportation corridor including a multi-lane divided highway that will facilitate the efficient transportation of goods and services from Mexico, through West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma, and ultimately on into Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
Cultural Amenities
Quality of life means different things to different people at different times in their lives. Amarillo, Texas boasts a variety of opportunities for every age group and a cultural atmosphere for anyone.
Unlike larger airports, Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport has convenient parking and spacious facilities without all the crowds of people at the larger airports. Air service is provided by American Eagle, Southwest, Continental Express, and Great Lakes Aviation. Over 60 flights arrive or depart daily.
Air travelers usually have a choice of carriers and there are numerous daily direct flights to Dallas-Ft. Worth Regional Airport and Dallas Love Field (both 1 hour), Phoenix (1 1/2 hours), San Antonio (2 1/2hours), Austin (2 hours), Houston Intercontinental (1 1/2 hours), Denver (1 hour), Albuquerque (1 hour), Las Vegas (2 hours), and Los Angeles (3 hours, 20 minutes). Travelers to foreign destinations can catch direct international flights from any of those hub airports.
Rail Travel
The arrival of the railroad led to Amarillo's establishment, and the city is still a major rail crossroad. Two mainlines of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway intersect at Amarillo, and provide direct service to Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Kansas City, Dallas, Seattle, Vancouver, Memphis, St. Louis and Pensacola. The mainlines also terminate at the ports of Houston, San Diego and Galveston.
The rail line operates a large intermodal facility in Amarillo that handles about 30,000 containers and trailers each year.The Union Pacific-Southern Pacific railroad also has rights to use BNSF tracks in the Amarillo area.
Education / Training
People in Amarillo are intelligent, skilled, and most importantly, ready to go to work.
Public schools and institutions have taught Amarillo people well, and continue to stay dedicated to quality education for students of all ages and walks of life. Local businesses benefit directly from the community's strong emphasis on learning.
In 2000, 79% of people age 18 and over in Amarillo had graduated from high school, and 20% had college degrees. Students in Amarillo's public schools consistently score higher than both the state and national averages on the SAT. Approximately 2,300 students graduate from Amarillo metro area high schools each year, and about 5,000 graduate each year from schools throughout the Amarillo region.
Approximately 1,230 people receive degrees each year from West Texas A&M University, and more than 260 of those are master's degrees.
Amarillo College (AC) enrolls more than 10,000 in credit programs annually, and graduates more than 900 each academic year. Some 700 students enroll in technical programs at AC every year.
EDUCATION ATTAINMENT OF POPULATION
Education
%
High School Graduate
79%
Some College
27%
Associates Degree
8%
Bachelor’s Degree
18%
Graduate or Professional
9%
* Source - Census 2000 data
TRAINING
The Texas Skills Development Fund assists businesses by financing customized job training through local colleges or technical schools for new or existing jobs. The funds are granted directly to the college and used for the companies’ specific training program needs. The funds aren’t used for equipment or for paying trainees' wages, just for the actual instruction. Twenty-five million dollars have been appropriated to the fund for the current two-year operating cycle.
A local employer seeking Skills Development Fund assistance can work with Amarillo College to develop a joint proposal requesting funding, which is then presented to the Texas Workforce Commission. The TWC reviews the budget request and determines the amount of funding to be granted to AC for the training. The grant simply allows the college to recover its costs. The company doesn't pay anything so long as trainees who complete the program are paid the prevailing wage for their occupation in the local labor market.
Amarillo College is the region's primary provider of workforce training, and it serves area business and industry well by developing programs to meet their specific needs. For example, when several companies recently established new customer service call center operations in Amarillo, AC moved quickly to implement a customer service curriculum to train people in the skills needed for that burgeoning field. When Bell Helicopter Textron chose to locate their Aircraft Assembly Center in Amarillo, Amarillo College took a lead role in forming the Bell Employee Training Alliance (BETA), a consortium of organizations brought together to provide Bell with a ready supply of fully trained workers for years to come.
The Panhandle Regional Planning Commission is a voluntary association of cities, counties, and special districts in the Texas Panhandle which consists of the top 26 counties in the state of Texas. The PRPC has 11 programs to improve the quality of life for individuals or organizations in the Panhandle region.
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