In this episode of The Deep Dive, we unpack Bertram, Texas a small Hill Country city riding the Austin growth wave while managing to stay financially disciplined, strategically focused, and surprisingly agile.
With a 42.5% population jump since 2020, nearly $33 million in audited assets, and a $940K EDC budget, Bertram is proving that small cities can punch well above their weight.
We walk through how the city’s leadership has built an unusually strong fiscal foundation, aligned policy with pro-business growth, and leveraged strategic location to attract residents, investment, and opportunity.
Along the way, we break down the city’s four economic pillars: construction, commuter income, institutional anchors, and niche tourism, and highlight the clear service and retail gaps creating ground-floor opportunities for entrepreneurs.
This episode is for economic development directors, planners, and civic leaders who want to see how a fast-growing small city can manage expansion without losing control, and how to turn growth pressure into long-term economic advantage.
What we cover:
How Bertram’s fiscal discipline funds infrastructure ahead of demand
The city’s four-pillar economic engine and why construction dominance is both an asset and a risk
Smart policy moves: streamlined permitting, targeted incentives, downtown revitalization, and ETJ expansion
Where the biggest service gaps are and how they translate into immediate opportunities
Strategic questions every EDC leader should be asking during a growth surge
Disclaimer:
This podcast was created using AI. The voices you hear are not real people, but synthetic narrators generated by artificial intelligence. All content is based on my original article and reflects verified public data and sources.
