STRENGTHS

Diversified regional economy
Strong local economies in rural counties that strengthen region (i.e. Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, Kerrville, etc.) –
micro-cluster economies
Region is home to crossroads of IH-35, IH-10, and IH-37
Strong military presence
San Antonio Medical Center (SAMC), home of military medicine
Strong corporate headquarter presence (USAA, HEB, Rackspace, Whataburger, Valero, Tesoro, SWBC, etc.)
Port SA intermodal port and Hondo intermodal port are transportation and logistics assets
Strong airport capacity region wide anchored by San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Airfield
Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas reserves (concentrated in rural AACOG region counties)
Positioning of San Antonio as regional headquarters for Eagle Ford Shale production companies
Growing local manufacturing cluster led by Toyota and Caterpillar plants
Strong local healthcare cluster
Growing Bioscience cluster, championed by BioMed SA
Regional competency in biomedical research, including Southwest Research Institute and UT Health Science Center
Availability of developable land (rural counties)
Strong Collaboration / Communities, EDCs, Workforce Solutions, Education, etc.
Post-Secondary Education Infrastructure (Alamo Colleges, UTSA, Texas A&M San Antonio, and numerous private
universities)
Public transportation capacity

WEAKNESSES

Low unemployment, limited talent pool for growth
Low educational attainment levels relative to state and nation
Eagle Ford Shale production has deleterious impact on local and county roadways
Limited skilled IT workforce to support emerging cluster
Highway capacity taxed in keeping up with economic and population growth
Competing economic development interests regionally between municipalities and economic development groups

Leverage economic potential of San Antonio to Austin corridor
Increased economic coordination with Austin to build complementary industry clusters
Continued development of competencies in emerging clusters, i.e. IT, manufacturing, and biosciences
Improved economic develop coordination region-wide
Enhance Business Retention and Expansion Initiatives
Improve secondary/post-secondary collaboration to promote educational attainment and credentialing (i.e. dual
credit, articulation, stackable credentials, etc.)
Invest in R&D and venture capital assets in the region
Strengthening of entrepreneurship assets (low barriers to global competition)
Continue to build “Quality of Life” assets region-wide