2023 Year-in-Review for San Antonio Shows Groundbreaking Progress in Education, Air Travel, Quality of Life, and More

In 2023, the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) achieved historic firsts and reached impressive milestones across education, air travel, economic development and quality of life with recognition from third parties such as the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, PwC and Urban Land Institute, CityHealth, and others, with more progress to come, according to greater:SATX, the region’s economic development organization.

“San Antonio is at a critical point in our growth trajectory,” said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, president and CEO of greater:SATX. “The shared vision and collaborative work of our corporate, government and regional economic development leaders allows the region to set ambitious goals and, more importantly, to achieve them. We are committed to keeping this momentum going in 2024 and beyond.”

The 2023 highlights include:

• Greater San Antonio continues to lead the nation in the number of first-generation college students graduating from area universities.

• San Antonio International Airport secured its first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight – to Frankfurt with Condor Airlines. It also added nonstops to several Mexican cities and was named the No. 2 mid-sized U.S. airport by the Wall Street Journal.

• Greater San Antonio finished third among the largest 41 North American metros in a recent new study that measures the “metro positivity effect,” which compares job satisfaction among employees in San Antonio with that of their colleagues working for the same companies, but in different metro areas.

• The region landed a new manufacturing facility with manufacturer JCB. It’s the second JCB plant in North America, and to be the largest on the continent for the UK-based global leader in agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturing. The facility is expected to break ground in 2024 and to create more than 1,500 jobs in the next 5 years, having a $30 billion economic impact over 10 years.

• San Antonio’s downtown was rated first in post-pandemic recovery according to an article in Bloomberg.

• The region was the first to scale implementation of the Talent Pipeline Management framework across six industries. The framework is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative to develop a strong workforce, and the region deployed it across six key industries in the region: advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity/tech, healthcare/life sciences, financial services, as well as construction and skilled trades.

• PwC & Urban Land Institute named San Antonio a “Top 10 Real Estate Market to Watch” – marking San Antonio’s first time breaking into the Top 10 of this prestigious list.

• It was one of only seven U.S. cities to be named a Gold Medal City by CityHealth for its health and well-being public policies.

• It was named a Top 5 City for Digital Nomads by TravelOffPath.com.

2024 is expected to bring forward more progress on all fronts, said Saucedo-Herrera, as greater:SATX supports the San Antonio International Airport in securing additional nonstop flights, lures more companies to the region, and supports local business advancement, along with deploying key initiatives in partnership with 19 regional economic development organizations in the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA and megaregional partners through to Austin.

The rest of the world is taking notice of what San Antonio has to offer – a tremendous place to live, work and build a business,” she said. “Our metro is majority-minority with 56% Hispanic and 42% bilingual, and many experts believe the rest of the nation will look like San Antonio by 2045. We are working together to sustain a region that offers economic prosperity and a high quality of life for all residents and businesses.

Click here for a 2023 Year-in-Review Infographic showcasing these 2023 successes.