New businesses in Austin County, Texas
From Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, the Texas Comptroller issued 191 new sales-tax permits to business locations in Austin County. That ranks #89 of 254 Texas counties and is 0.1% of all new permits statewide. It is part of the Houston metro.
- New permits rose 44% compared with the 12 months before (133 then).
- The busiest month was Mar 2026 (25); the slowest was Nov 2025 (9).
- Wholesale is over-represented: 1.2x its share statewide.
- Food & lodging is under-represented at 0.8x the state share, which can mean less local competition.
- 50% of new permits went to LLCs.
- The single most common new business type in Austin County was Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses (27 permits).
New permits by industry
| Industry | Permits | Share in Austin County | Share in Texas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | 86 | 45% | 42% |
| Food & lodging | 20 | 10% | 14% |
| Other services (repair, personal care) | 17 | 9% | 8% |
| Manufacturing | 13 | 7% | 6% |
| Wholesale | 12 | 6% | 5% |
| Construction | 8 | 4% | 4% |
| Admin & support services | 8 | 4% | 4% |
| Professional services | 8 | 4% | 5% |
Most common new business types
| Business type (NAICS) | Code | New permits |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses | 454110 | 27 |
| Other Direct Selling Establishments | 454390 | 11 |
| General Automotive Repair | 811111 | 7 |
| Sporting Goods Stores | 451110 | 5 |
| Landscaping Services | 561730 | 5 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 722513 | 5 |
| Mobile Food Services | 722330 | 5 |
| Commercial Banking | 522110 | 4 |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 722511 | 4 |
| All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores) | 453998 | 4 |
Cities and towns with the most new permits
| City (mailing address) | New permits |
|---|---|
| Sealy | 84 |
| Bellville | 67 |
| Cat Spring | 12 |
| New Ulm | 10 |
| Wallis | 8 |
| Industry | 4 |
| Chappell Hill | 2 |
| Fayetteville | 1 |
Entity types
| Entity | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| LLC | 96 | 50% |
| Sole proprietor | 69 | 36% |
| Corporation | 17 | 9% |
| Other | 4 | 2% |
| Partnership | 3 | 2% |
| Nonprofit | 2 | 1% |
Monthly new permits
| Month | New permits | |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 13 | |
| Nov 2025 | 9 | |
| Dec 2025 | 13 | |
| Jan 2026 | 20 | |
| Feb 2026 | 17 | |
| Mar 2026 | 25 | |
| Apr 2026 | 10 | |
| May 2026 | 11 | |
| Jun 2026 | 19 | |
| Jul 2026 | 13 | |
| Aug 2026 | 25 | |
| Sep 2026 | 16 |
Household income in Austin County ZIP codes
Average adjusted gross income per tax return from IRS Statistics of Income (tax year 2022), for the ZIP codes where this county's new permits were mailed.
| ZIP | Town | Tax returns | Avg. income per return | New permits (12 mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78660 | Austin | 57,190 | $87,252 | 5 |
| 78745 | Austin | 31,130 | $85,258 | 421 |
| 78748 | Austin | 27,480 | $90,177 | 298 |
| 78704 | Austin | 25,760 | $185,940 | 520 |
| 78681 | Austin | 25,410 | $131,950 | 1 |
| 78744 | Austin | 25,020 | $69,320 | 341 |
| 78753 | Austin | 23,040 | $56,180 | 328 |
| 78758 | Austin | 21,940 | $74,770 | 342 |
Get the names and addresses
The weekly paid list has every new business with its address, industry and entity type, including a Houston tier. Texas New Business Weekly · free sample.
Other Houston counties
- Harris County (25,419)
- Fort Bend County (5,122)
- Montgomery County (4,380)
- Brazoria County (1,772)
- Galveston County (1,726)
- Liberty County (560)
- Waller County (507)
- Chambers County (326)
Counties with similar volume
- Jim Wells County: 199 new permits (#86)
- Marion County: 196 new permits (#87)
- Brown County: 194 new permits (#88)
- Aransas County: 188 new permits (#90)
- Gaines County: 187 new permits (#91)
- Palo Pinto County: 186 new permits (#92)
All Texas counties · Start a business in a Texas city · Texas ZIP code data
Free: Texas New Business Weekly, Free Edition
Every week: the top 25 new businesses in each big metro, counts by industry, and what's trending. Free, by email. Unsubscribe any time.
Get the free weekly email or grab a free Austin sample spreadsheet
Notes on the data
Counts are new outlet sales-tax permits issued by the Texas Comptroller from Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, from the public Active Sales Tax Permit Holders dataset. A permit can be a brand-new business, a new location of an existing one, or a re-permit. Because the source lists only permits that are still active, the prior-year count leaves out businesses that have since closed, so year-over-year growth reads somewhat high. Businesses that don't sell taxable goods or services (many professional firms) don't need a permit and aren't counted. Updated 2026-10-15.
Every new Texas business, every week
Name, address, industry and entity type for every new sales-tax permit, as an Excel file each Sunday. From $29/month.
Free weekly email: new Texas businesses, top 25 per metro, plus new free tools as we publish them. Subscribe free on Gumroad
Data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (public domain). Independent compilation, not affiliated with the State of Texas. Check the original source before relying on it. Not legal advice. Numbers are illustrative; your lender's statements control.