New businesses in Caldwell County, Texas
From Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, the Texas Comptroller issued 290 new sales-tax permits to business locations in Caldwell County. That ranks #66 of 254 Texas counties and is 0.2% of all new permits statewide. It is part of the Austin metro.
- New permits rose 99% compared with the 12 months before (146 then).
- The busiest month was Sep 2026 (37); the slowest was Jan 2026 (14).
- Real estate & rental is over-represented: 1.9x its share statewide.
- Construction is under-represented at 0.7x the state share, which can mean less local competition.
- 54% of new permits went to LLCs.
- The single most common new business type in Caldwell County was Mobile Food Services (29 permits).
New permits by industry
| Industry | Permits | Share in Caldwell County | Share in Texas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | 100 | 34% | 42% |
| Food & lodging | 61 | 21% | 14% |
| Other services (repair, personal care) | 22 | 8% | 8% |
| Admin & support services | 20 | 7% | 4% |
| Manufacturing | 16 | 6% | 6% |
| Professional services | 12 | 4% | 5% |
| Real estate & rental | 12 | 4% | 2% |
| Construction | 9 | 3% | 4% |
Most common new business types
| Business type (NAICS) | Code | New permits |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile Food Services | 722330 | 29 |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses | 454110 | 23 |
| Other Direct Selling Establishments | 454390 | 11 |
| Landscaping Services | 561730 | 10 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars | 722515 | 8 |
| Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores | 447110 | 8 |
| General Automotive Repair | 811111 | 7 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 722513 | 7 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) | 722410 | 6 |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 722511 | 6 |
Cities and towns with the most new permits
| City (mailing address) | New permits |
|---|---|
| Lockhart | 137 |
| Dale | 49 |
| Luling | 36 |
| Maxwell | 19 |
| Martindale | 17 |
| Kyle | 10 |
| Niederwald | 8 |
| San Marcos | 4 |
Entity types
| Entity | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| LLC | 157 | 54% |
| Sole proprietor | 109 | 38% |
| Corporation | 13 | 4% |
| Partnership | 8 | 3% |
| Nonprofit | 2 | 1% |
| Other | 1 | 0% |
Monthly new permits
| Month | New permits | |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 26 | |
| Nov 2025 | 16 | |
| Dec 2025 | 18 | |
| Jan 2026 | 14 | |
| Feb 2026 | 17 | |
| Mar 2026 | 14 | |
| Apr 2026 | 36 | |
| May 2026 | 30 | |
| Jun 2026 | 31 | |
| Jul 2026 | 26 | |
| Aug 2026 | 25 | |
| Sep 2026 | 37 |
Household income in Caldwell 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78666 | San Marcos | 36,290 | $65,196 | 498 |
| 78640 | Niederwald | 35,970 | $67,103 | 14 |
| 78610 | Buda | 23,020 | $94,658 | 320 |
| 78644 | Lockhart | 9,540 | $66,851 | 139 |
| 78616 | Dale | 5,100 | $48,838 | 68 |
| 78648 | Luling | 3,690 | $66,543 | 39 |
| 78656 | Maxwell | 1,890 | $57,528 | 32 |
| 78655 | Martindale | 1,350 | $69,299 | 18 |
Get the names and addresses
The weekly paid list has every new business with its address, industry and entity type, including a Austin tier. Texas New Business Weekly · free sample.
Other Austin counties
- Travis County (9,114)
- Williamson County (4,741)
- Hays County (1,789)
- Bastrop County (641)
Counties with similar volume
- Wilson County: 305 new permits (#63)
- Walker County: 304 new permits (#64)
- Lamar County: 294 new permits (#65)
- Cooke County: 281 new permits (#67)
- Erath County: 276 new permits (#68)
- Hardin County: 272 new permits (#69)
All Texas counties · Start a business in a Texas city · Texas ZIP code data
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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.
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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.