Amarillo Real Estate
In terms of history, Amarillo is a relatively young city, having been founded in the late 1880s. But, its age doesn’t mean it hasn’t had a significant impact on Texas’ economic, social and cultural development from the very beginning.
As the Texas frontier moved westward during the nineteenth century and frontiersman established trading routes through the area, life after the Civil War brought a huge influx of new settlers and, of course, cattle to the Pan Handle of Texas including Amarillo.
When the region’s first railroad was planted, transporting livestock, it marked the beginning of a population explosion that can still be seen today. And if cattle weren’t enough of an enterprise, natural gas was discovered in 1918 and the oil companies came clamoring to the area to get their hands on a piece of the newly discovered reserve, which was the largest known in the world at the time.
Next came the farmers, and Amarillo’s agricultural industry spiked, followed by the establishment of an Army airfield in 1942, which had a major impact on the city’s development, but when it was closed in 1967, the local economy truly suffered when 16,000 people lost their jobs.
Other than that economic slide, the city has become diverse and stable as it has grown, unlike so many other boom-to-bust towns associated with oil and agriculture.
In recent years, copper refining, meat packing and a plethora of manufacturing has been the driving force behind the economy.
If Amarillo’s business sector wasn’t good enough already, the city is quickly becoming known as Rotor City, USA, because it is becoming the home of the latest aviation technology, and to Bell Helicopter, where several models are assembled.
Amarillo's name most likely comes from Amarillo Lake and Amarillo Creek, named in turn for the yellow soil along their banks and shores.
Amarillo is Spanish for yellow.
The City of Amarillo is comprised of two counties, Potter and Randall.
The median income for a household in the city is approximately $35,000, and the median income for a family is about $43,000.
Men earn a median income of about $32,000 versus about $23,000 for women.