LaTasha Cannon has been staying at San Marcos’ Southside Community Center, which provides shelter for those in need, for about a month. But Cannon said she is optimistic she and her two children will be able to move out soon and into a residence of their own.

In February she was hired by a local fast-food restaurant, and in March she anticipates starting a second job working for a company that provides cleaning services to the new Amazon.com distribution center on McCarty Lane.

Cannon’s job prospects are illustrative of one of San Marcos’ assets—a strong retail sector—that also lowers the city’s median annual household income.

A disproportionate percentage of jobs in the city are in retail and food service. According to data from the American Communities Survey, the occupation classifications that include retail and food service accounted for 41 percent of the jobs in San Marcos in 2015. That was up from 37.8 percent in 2010.

Although the retail and food services sectors grew between 2010 and 2015, median annual household income grew too, at a faster clip than the state and national levels.

Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, which provides economic development services to the city of San Marcos as well as Hays and Caldwell counties, said she is optimistic about developments in the region’s economy.

Although she called retail and food service jobs an important facet of the local economy, the city and GSMP are working to diversify the local economy.

“When people need to work part-time at the outlets they have that, but there is also an opportunity to do some data processing or financial services or back office work as they grow in their career and explore other opportunities,” Cruz said. “The outlets are a piece of our economic puzzle, and an important piece.”

While discussions about poverty, homelessness and diversification of the local economy have been happening at the city level for years, a group of San Marcos residents began discussing similar issues in December. The group says they are trying to find solutions without turning to public money, and they do not want to “reinvent the wheel,” said Rob Roark, who has helped lead initial community discussions about poverty.

“We don’t want to go out and start any new organizations,” he said. “We don’t want to go and do anything through the city. We want to use the resources we have. What are the ideas we can implement as the community?”

Available resources

Many organizations in San Marcos assist people dealing with poverty, but some are reporting being overwhelmed with demand for services.

Albert Sierra is the executive director of the San Marcos Public Housing Authority, which oversees more than 500 units of subsidized housing providing rent below the market rate.

In July 2016, the housing authority opened registration for the 228 living units the organization oversees as part of the federal government’s Section 8 program. Registration closed in December, and there are currently 558 people on the waiting list.

“We don’t have vacancies, so those people will move in one at a time,” Sierra said. “Before we can exhaust that waiting list it will be another four or five years until we open again.”

Ruben Garza, director of the Southside Community Center, said the center is seeing more families like the Cannons than in years past.

Jason, a resident at the community center, who, along with his wife, is saving money so they can find a permanent residence, said he wishes the shelter had more space. 

“This place is filled up,” Jason said, gesturing to the community center’s shelter. “I’ve seen a woman and three children ask for help, and they were given food but turned down for shelter.”

Diversifying the economy

Although these jobs typically pay lower wages than other industries, they provide an important step for those wishing to lift themselves out of poverty and homelessness, Cruz said.

“You never want to have all your eggs in one basket, so to speak,” Cruz said.

The GSMP’s Vision 2020 Plan calls for the Greater San Marcos area to focus on attracting companies working in aerospace, business services and support, destination attractions and materials science, among other areas.

“As we continue to diversify our employment base, I think we’ll continue to see those numbers improve,” she said.

San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides said he is equally optimistic about employment opportunities being created by Texas State University, whose STAR Park, which focuses on incubating technology companies, has undergone two expansions to keep pace with demand for space at the incubator.

“I think we have a great opportunity knowing that the university has some one-of-a-kind research stuff and commercialization processes and technology,” he said. “That bodes really well for the city of San Marcos.”

‘The Amazon effect’

Garza said the opening of the Amazon.com fulfillment center on McCarty Lane in May had a big impact on the community center.

“Almost everybody has gotten a job at Amazon, and they’ve gotten out [of the shelter] within 30 days,” he said. “As long as somebody has a job and has an income, that’s a good thing.”

The fulfillment center employs more than 3,000 people and provides full benefits, including health insurance, a 401K plan and tuition assistance.

The fulfillment center’s opening is having ripple effects throughout the local economy as well. In January, the San Marcos CISD board of trustees approved a pay increase for district school bus drivers, some of whom have left the district to pursue employment and potentially higher wages with Amazon, said Willie Watson, assistant superintendent of human resources.

Watson calls it “the Amazon effect.”

“[Amazon’s opening] is putting pressure on all of us,” he said.