San Antonio Emerges as a Top Growth Metro and Leading Industry Hub for Cybersecurity, Advanced Manufacturing and Life Sciences & Health Industries

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Sep 04, 2024, 13:23 ET

Greater San Antonio Region Drives Industry Innovation, Creates Global University Powerhouse, Lures New Global Businesses, Air Service, Residents and Sets National Standards for
City Services in Recent Resident Poll

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- San Antonio is an industry hub for cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and life sciences & health, and is among the fastest-growing metros in the U.S. today. As a burgeoning city, luring new businesses and air service, creating a world-class university, and adding more than 22,000 residents last year alone, it is doing a top-notch job setting the pace, especially in the quality and customer satisfaction of city services like public works, waste management, parks and recreation, and more.

San Antonio recently surveyed its residents and scored well above the national average for two key metrics: the "overall quality of city services" and "customer service," registering 87% and 88% satisfaction rates, respectively. This compares to the national average for these metrics of 41% and 32% – a 112-175% improvement over the national norms. Learn more here.

"The results of this survey are really profound and showcase how ready San Antonio is to scale and support the transformational growth of our region," said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, president and CEO of greater:SATX.

Additional recent San Antonio news includes:

San Antonio was named the top office real estate market to watch by CoStar, a commercial real estate data firm. In 2024, more than half of greater:SATX projects won have been office projects across cybersecurity, financial services, and life sciences industries.
In higher education news, the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) and UT Health San Antonio (UTHSA) announced their merger plans -- and approval by the UT System board of regents -- to form a world-class university for San Antonio, elevating the metro to the forefront of excellence in education, discovery, biomedical science, healthcare, and digital technology. The new unified institution, expected to be in place by 2025, will be led by now UTSA President Taylor Eighmy and will boast about 40,000 students, nearly 16,000 employees, six campuses, a $2.2 billion budget, a $1.1 billion endowment, and more than $6 billion in direct annual economic impact, according to officials.
Driving innovation forward in life sciences & health, San Antonio also features the nation's first dual degree for MD and MS in artificial intelligence, a program spearheaded by UTSA and UTHSA. The program will reside under the new unified organization beginning next year.
In cybersecurity, San Antonio is the #2 city in the nation for cyber professionals, who are employed across 100-plus firms in the region. The only other metropolitan area with more cyber experts is Washington DC. In a nod to this fact, in 2025 the European-based InCyber Forum, an annual event convening the world's top cybersecurity experts, will host its inaugural forum in the U.S. in San Antonio. As well, NukuDo, an innovative cybersecurity school that pays students while they attend, also selected San Antonio for its U.S. headquarters.
In air service success, Condor Airlines began San Antonio's first direct transatlantic service with flights to Frankfurt, and the San Antonio International Airport is poised to get more nonstop flights to the nation's capital after the House voted to pass this year's Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act this past May. Air service is important to support local businesses across core industries with direct flights to Washington, D.C. especially important to the cybersecurity and defense industries rooted here.
Toyota Texas also announced in June a $541 million investment, expanding its manufacturing presence and adding more than 400 new jobs in the San Antonio region, where it exclusively manufactures the Tundra truck and all-hybrid Sequoia SUV.
Global agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer leader, JCB, chose San Antonio for its second North American manufacturing facility and broke ground in June for a $500 million, 720,000 sq. ft. advanced manufacturing facility that will bring more than 1,500 jobs to San Antonio over the first five years. This is the biggest investment for JCB in the company's history and the largest single jobs investment for the region since Toyota Texas made San Antonio home in 2003.
San Antonio has strong fiscal stewardship and in Aug. 2023 the city's "AAA" general obligation bond ratings were reaffirmed by Standard & Poor's and Moody's Ratings with a stable outlook. San Antonio has among the highest bond ratings of any major city in the U.S. Bond ratings are important as they show financial stability and investor and economic confidence.

"So far in 2024, San Antonio's momentum is rapid, strategic, and thriving," said Saucedo-Herrera. "With our partners across the region, we are tremendously proud of these recent successes, and we look forward to achieving even more toward our ambitious transformational growth goals for the region, its businesses and citizens. The momentum is real in San Antonio!"

To learn more details on San Antonio's preparedness and momentum, review this white paper from greater:SATX, which highlights a recent study that found San Antonio ranked 3^rd among 41 cities across the U.S. and Canada for "Metro Positivity" -- a new metric measuring job satisfaction of associates working for the same company in different metropolitan areas.

About greater:SATX
greater:SATX is the economic development partnership leading the San Antonio region's transformative growth through global corporate recruitment, local business advancement, and workforce development. The San Antonio region, or SATX, is the eight-county San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA, which is the 24^th largest MSA in the nation (2023). At the core of greater:SATX's mission is attracting, retaining, and growing quality jobs for all San Antonians that provide pathways to economic mobility. This work is guided by greater:SATX, supported by regional businesses, regional economic development partners, and by the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, CPS Energy, and SAWS. The organization is responsible for assisting over 500 companies to relocate or expand in the region, which collectively employ more than 120,000 San Antonians. For more information on San Antonio's industry growth and economic opportunity, visit greatersatx.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @greater_SATX, LinkedIn, and Facebook.