Lara Robertson gets a predictable response when she tells friends who live in bigger cities where she resides.

“Why would you want to live in Waco?” they ask the Midway Middle School seventh-grade teacher.

Her answer: She’s happy here.

Robertson, 30, is one of a growing number of workers between ages 25 and 34 in the Waco area.

Midway Middle School teacher Lara Robertson laughs as she listens to her students discuss their upcoming TAKS test.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

The number of those young professionals jumped 7 percent over a three-year period, more than all other age groups during that time, according to a study for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.

Young professionals often have more disposable income, aid innovation and help grow the population by having children, said Scott Connell, the chamber’s senior vice president of strategic development.

Hanging onto those recent college graduates and younger skilled workers has been a concern of Waco’s economic development community, Connell said.

It’s a challenge with the economic opportunity and bright lights of Dallas and Austin beckoning from the north and south.

A report conducted by Market Street Services for the chamber said people in the 25-34 age group are generally termed young professionals regardless of their work.

No breakdowns exist about how many are actually in the professional ranks in the age group.

But the growth is a sign that more younger workers with college degrees or advanced training are choosing Waco as home, Connell said.

Most people of the age group are active in the workforce, and about 28 percent of them have at least an associate’s degree, said the report received by the chamber last December.

Waco wants to attract all age groups, but stable growth among younger workers is a sign of a strong economic development strategy, Assistant City Manager George Johnson said.

Waco’s latest population numbers show about 125,000 people live in the city. Numbers from the U.S. Bureau of the Census show the county’s population at about 227,000 in 2008, up from 224,668 in 2005.

According to the Market Street report, in 2008, 31,653 people ages 24-35 lived in or near Waco. That was an increase of 2,062 — about 7 percent — from 2005.

The numbers are a far cry from Albuquerque, N.M, which drew 14.6 percent more young professionals in the same period. But Waco’s numbers are about the same as Eugene Ore., and much better than Greenville, S.C., which saw a slight decline.

Big-city allure

Texas has strong population growth, with the number of Texans going from 20.8 million in 2000 to 24.5 million in 2009. Many younger people are heading to Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is the fastest-growing metro region in the country, and Waco has a strong economic attachment to the larger area, Lloyd Potter, director of the Texas State Data Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said.

As Dallas-Fort Worth builds in population, factors including higher real estate costs and traffic congestion will build, Potter said. Waco can expect an increasing number of refugees from Dallas-Fort Worth and other large metro areas, including young professionals seeking things such as less traffic and cheaper housing, he said.

Waco’s growth in the younger worker population growth could be linked to immigration to Texas from other states, said Richard Froeschle, deputy director of the Labor Market and Career Information Department of the Texas Work Force Commission.

People on the move are often younger people who are less tied down by financial obligations such as mortgages, he said. The state has a younger population, with a median age of 33.2 years, compared to 36.7 years for the nation, he said.

Connell said Waco is adding amenities — from outdoor activities to revitalizing downtown — that will attract those workers. But there also is business to attend to, he said.

“We need great jobs and a ladder of professional development to keep them in this market,” Connell said.

One professional outlet is the chamber-supported Waco Young Professionals group, open to all but targeting professionals in their 20s and 30s. They meet twice a month for professional and social networking.

Waco does have things to do, but the Young Professionals group helps with the social part along with providing business networking opportunities, said Erik Hill, 26, president of the Young Professionals.

Once from Arlington, he’s lived in Waco since coming here for college at Baylor in 2002.

“You really need to have a group of people you can go bowling with or go to a bar with, it kind of fills that gap,” said Hill, a commercial broker with Coldwell Banker Jim Stewart Realtors.

Erik Hill is among a group of younger workers who think Waco offers strong business and social opportunities.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

From his work as a commercial broker, Hill knows what young professionals mean to the economy. With money to spend on themselves, they are a strong demographic for retail and restaurants, he said.

Waco has suffered from an image problem, partially from the Branch Davidian incident of 1993 and the killing of a Baylor basketball player by a fellow team member in 2003, Hill said, though that seems to be fading.

Some younger workers leave Waco after college and, after a few years in Houston or Dallas, decide a smaller city has its advantages, including better housing prices and a lower cost of living, he said.

‘Off the beaten path’

Robertson grew up in Robinson, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a public relations emphasis from Texas A&M University and returned to the Waco area after her 2002 graduation. She decided to get into teaching.

Robertson likes Waco and said those who snub the city don’t know much about it.

“There’s so much of Waco that’s off the beaten path,” she said.

Outside the classroom, Robertson tries to stay active in her community and that includes taking part in Young Professionals.

For her, participation in the group is mostly about social connections.

For Rusty Betts, 28, who works as sales director for Insurance Network of Texas, his involvement in Young Professionals is about building a business network.

The Texas Tech University graduate came to Waco 2 1/2 years ago.

What does Waco need to add to keep young professionals happy?

Robertson said locally owned restaurants and venues for the performing arts.

Betts said career opportunities are vital, but recreational opportunities are just as critical.

“Is this going to be a fun place to live?” is a question on young professionals’ minds, he said.

“Business is important, but you have to have that release and the chance to be social with people your own age.”

Community connections like those fostered by Betts and Robertson are often the deciding factor in whether a younger worker stays in Waco, said Rick Mendoza, a human resource manager at L-3 Communications in Waco.

“We’ve found the ones that do get dialed into the community through volunteering or churches or community activities tend to stay,” he said of the company’s experience with younger employees.

Although Betts has found Waco to supply sufficient social life for younger adults, some Baylor students in their early 20s don’t expect to be around after college.

Erin McQueen, a sophomore English major from Dallas, said she’d stay in Waco only “if I had a job that I couldn’t get somewhere else. Otherwise, I’d go somewhere else.”

Alyssa Wolbers, of Chicago, is majoring in psychology and business and was less open to the idea of staying around after college under any circumstances. She said the area lacked in youthful culture and neighborhoods with populations of young, educated unmarrieds.

“I want an area where I can go out and meet people, ” she said.

Caitlyn Bordeaux, a senior in international studies, said she would give Waco a chance after college, but there’s a catch.

The kind of government work she’s interested in is not available here.

“It’s got a small-town feel without being too small,” she said. “It offers things you would have in a big city but gives you a strong community feeling.”

bteeter@wacotrib.com

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