Community Profile
Learn all about Cisco, Texas in the following categories or download a PDF version of this page.
Location
Cisco is a city in Eastland County, centrally located in the State of Texas. The city resides directly on Interstate-20, providing easy access to every major market in the state, as well as the east and west coast of the U.S.
Place Details
Distance to Major Cities
Transportation
Cisco, Texas offers all major forms of transportation including highways, rail, ground distribution, and air, making the city well connected.
Ground
Cisco is located directly on Interstate 20 (I-20) that connects west to El Paso, Texas and east to Dallas/Ft. Worth, moving approximately 27,000 vehicles on an average day. The City also serves as a hub for U.S. Highway 183 and State Highways 6 and 206. Ground transportation services are available from major carriers including FedEx and UPS. Detail traffic counts are available online.
Rail
The Union Pacific Railroad (UP), is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. The east-west line passes through the north side of Cisco on a daily basis.
Air
The Cisco Municipal Airport (3F2) provides the public a runway measuring 3700 ft x 60 ft. / 1128 m x 18 m. The airport was recently resurfaced and remarked, bringing it back up to full service capacity. The airport is just 3 miles north of the city, providing convenient, yet unobstructed access for air travel. Regionally, the Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) is commercially served by Envoy (formerly known as American Eagle) with daily flights to and from DFW International (DFW). United Airlines also provides air services with daily flights to Houston.
Public
City And Rural Rides (CARR) is a rural public transit service operated by Central Texas Rural Transit District. Transportation is available to the general public, including Cisco. Anyone may schedule a ride to any location in the service area and to limited cities out of the area. CARR can be used for various reasons including shopping, work, beauty shop visits, visiting family or friends, and doctor visits. CARR will accept same-day service from 8:00am – 2:30pm Monday through Friday. CARR will also accept trips to be scheduled one business day in advance by 2:30pm up to 60 days prior to the desired trip.
Demographics
Cisco is best represented by the total demographic summary of Eastland County as a whole. While the city population is approximately 3,800, the majority of the population resides outside the city.
Eastland County
POPULATION
18,037
AVERAGE AGE
41.8
BACHELOR'S or HIGHER
22.9%
9-County Region
POPULATION
179,526
AVERAGE AGE
39.7
BACHELOR'S or HIGHER
22.9%
Workforce
Eastland County is part of a 9-county regional labor force comprised of Stephens, Palo Pinto, Erath, Comanche, Brown, Coleman, Callahan and Shackelford.
9-County Workforce Area Map
With Eastland County at the center of this area, an additional 8 counties provide available labor within driving distance for any employer.
Historic Unemployment
Regional Industry Snapshot
Education
Cisco Independent School District provides primary and secondary education to the city on three campuses for elementary, junior high and high school. CISD is part of the Texas Education Agency's Region 14 Service Center.
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Cisco Independent School District
Rating
B
Students
812
Teach Exp
15.4 yrs
Grad Rate
100%
Cisco College
Cisco College is the only community college in the central Texas area with campuses in both Cisco and Abilene enrolling approximately 3,500 students in 30 certificate programs and degrees.
Incentives
The following list identifies many of the economic development incentives potentially available. In addition to the local incentives, the Cisco Development Corporation can assist businesses in gaining the maximum benefit from state, federal, and other government entities incentives programs.
Local Incentives
With low taxes, a predictable regulatory climate and a skilled workforce, Texas leads the nation in economic growth. This growth has largely been influenced by the availability of the economic development sales tax, exclusively available in the State of Texas. The act allows municipalities to create a nonprofit corporation that will promote capital investment and job creation. This money is fully controlled at the local level and is not dependent on state or county approval. The Cisco Development Corporation tailors each incentive package to meet each company’s specific needs using these monies. Learn more
State Incentives
Texas Enterprise Fund
The Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) is the largest "deal-closing" fund of its kind in the nation. The fund is a cash grant used as a financial incentive tool for projects that offer significant projected job creation and capital investment and where a single Texas site is competing with another viable out-of-state option. Since its inception in 2004, the TEF has awarded over 100 grants totaling more than $500 million across a wide variety of industries and projects. Projects that meet the fund criteria may apply for this incentive in addition to local incentives provided by the city.
Texas Enterprise Zone Program
The Texas Enterprise Zone Program is an economic development tool for local communities to partner with the State of Texas to promote job creation and capital investment in economically distressed areas of the state. Designated projects are eligible to apply for state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures. The level and amount of refund is related to the capital investment and jobs created or retained at the qualified business site.
Manufacturing Exemptions
Manufacturing Exemptions provide state sales and use tax exemptions to taxpayers who manufacture, fabricate or process tangible property for sale. The exemption generally applies to tangible personal property that becomes an ingredient or component of an item manufactured for sale, as well as taxable services performed on a manufactured product to make it more marketable.
Data Center Incentives
Texas is ideally positioned for data center operations. The state is centrally located and has access to talented, experienced high tech workers. A data center exemption applies to state sales and use tax on certain items necessary and essential to the operation of a qualified data center. The exemption is for state sales tax only. Local sales taxes are due on purchases of these qualifying items.
Workforce Development Incentives
Skills Development Fund
The Skills Development Fund is Texas' premier job-training program providing local customized training opportunities for Texas businesses and workers to increase skill levels and wages of the Texas workforce. The Texas Workforce Commission administers funding for the program. Success is achieved through collaboration among businesses, public community and technical colleges, Workforce Development Boards and economic development partners.
Self-Sufficiency Fund
The Self Sufficiency program provides grants to community and technical colleges and community-based organizations to implement customized job training programs in cooperation with employers, to help low-income individuals and those receiving public assistance achieve self-sufficiency and independence.
Taxes
With no corporate income tax and no individual income tax, Texas has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country, ranking as a Top 10 Best State in the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Index. In its recent history, Cisco has seen an increase in business activity and new investment.
Sales Tax
Texas imposes a state sales tax on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods, as well as taxable services. Texas cities, counties, transit authorities and special purpose districts have the option of imposing an additional local sales tax for a combined state and local tax rate of up to 8.25% (the City of Cisco levies the full local rate of 2.0%).
Income Tax
Due to the presence of sales tax, the State of Texas does not levy personal income tax.
Property Tax
Taxes on real estate and real/personal property are levied by the following local government entities on an annual basis. Historical data available from the Eastland County Appraisal District.
Corporate Income Tax
Texas has no corporate income tax at the state level, making it an attractive tax haven for incorporating a business. Texas corporations still, however, have to pay the federal corporate income tax. While Texas does not have a corporate income tax, a gross receipts style tax is applicable to all companies and serves a similar purpose. This tax is called the Texas Franchise Tax (sometimes referred to as the margin tax) that levies a 1% tax on calculated margins for businesses in Texas (retailers pay a 0.5% rate), but exempts sole proprietorships and general partnerships. Businesses can elect to deduct either the cost of goods sold or employment costs. Additional rate information and calculation methods can be found online.
Utilities
The City of Cisco offers its businesses and citizens all major utilities and services provided by a mix of both municipal government and private corporations.
Electricity
Texas power consumers can choose their electricity service from a variety of retail electric providers (REPs), including the incumbent utility. The incumbent utility in the area still owns and maintains the local power lines (and is the company to call in the event of a power outage) and is not subject to deregulation.
The incumbent utility in Cisco is AEP Texas (American Electric Power, www.aep.com). AEP can provide dual parallel circuits to its customers. AEP also operates a looped distribution system which provides the capabilities to serve each site from more than one distribution substation or from multiple distribution circuits. In the event of a power outage, service can be rerouted to the site manually.
For a complete list of available REPs, please visit www.powertochoose.org.
Natural Gas
Atmos Energy Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, is one of the country's largest natural-gas-only distributors, serving approximately 3 million customers in more than 1,400 communities from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West. The company is a full-service natural gas distribution provider and the retail supplier of natural gas in Cisco, Texas. Atmos serves residential, commercial and large volume customers, tailored to their specific needs.
For more information please visit www.atmosenergy.com.
Telecommunications
Cisco is served by three primary telecommunications providers: AT&T, Suddenlink Communications and AireSpring. These providers offer the latest fiber optic network availability throughout Cisco for phone, internet, VoIP, data center, cloud storage, wireless and other network based services.
For more information visit www.att.com, www.optimum.com and www.airespring.com.
Water and Wastewater
The City of Cisco provides all the water and wastewater resources and infrastructure throughout the city. The Water Utilities Department is responsible for storm water pollution abatement, water operations, and wastewater operations in the City, including: providing for adequate, high quality water supply; treating and distributing potable water; collecting all wastewater discharged to sanitary sewer systems; and transporting and treating all wastewater prior to discharging it into the environment.
Water Capacity (in million gallons per day, MGD)
Average Daily Water Supply: 0.6MGD
Daily System Capacity: 2.0MGD
Wastewater Capacity
Average Daily Use: 0.25MGD
Daily System Capacity: 0.44MGD
Life in Cisco, Texas
Cisco's quality of life presents a wide array of benefits for its citizens. Residents can enjoy cultural events, parks, children's activities, hunting, fishing and so much more. These combined with a low cost of living, warm climate and a ten minute commute time ensures those that move to Cisco, stay in Cisco.
Lake Cisco
The steep-sided nature of Lake Cisco provides windy-weather fishing opportunities. Willow trees in the upper end of the north arm and the Sandy Creek arm line the creek channel. The reservoir is also loaded with dead flooded brush, boat docks, and rocky bluffs and points. In 2016, TPWD worked with local partner organizations to install brush piles made of recycled Christmas trees. Anglers may use GPS in conjunction with a fish finder to locate these structures.
Eat, Drink, Shop
From custom brewed beer to distinct wineries and unique shopping opportunities, Cisco offers something a little different than you've experienced before. Patrons enjoy craft brewed beer at Red Gap Brewery and distinct blends at Blue Duck Winery and Broken X Winery.
Climate
Cisco's weather is a typical southern climate with hot summers and relatively mild winters.