College Station, Texas, United States

🇺🇸 College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is 83 miles (130 km) north-west of Houston and 87 miles (140 km) east-north-east of Austin. College Station and Bryan make up the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area, the 13th largest metropolitan area in Texas.

College Station is home to the main campus of Texas A&M University, the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The city owes its name and existence to the university's location along a railroad. Texas A&M's triple designation as a Land-, Sea-, and Space-Grant institution reflects the broad scope of the research endeavours it brings to the city, with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research.

Economy As of May 2008, the local unemployment hovered around 3 to 4%, among the lowest in Texas. This rate is largely attributed to the significant role the university plays in the local economy. However, underemployment is an ongoing issue.

Major employers • Texas A&M University System – education; • Bryan Independent School District – education; • St. Joseph Regional Health Center – health services; • Sanderson Farms – poultry processing; • College Station Independent School District – education; • Reynolds and Reynolds/Rentsys – computer hardware/software; • City of Bryan – government; • City of College Station – government; • Walmart – retail; • Ply Gem – windows; • H-E-B Grocery – retail.

Headquarters Until its 2007 acquisition by Tavistock Group, Freebirds World Burrito had its corporate headquarters in College Station.

Post Oak Mall Post Oak Mall was the city's first mall and is currently the largest mall in the Brazos Valley. The 82-acre (330,000 m²) mall is home to 125 stores; its opening on February 17, 1982, helped create the impetus for growing economic and commercial developments for College Station. It is currently the largest taxpayer in College Station and the second-largest in the Brazos Valley, though the anchor stores are free-standing units that are privately owned and taxed separate from the mall proper. Over 75% of retail sales in the Brazos Valley come from sales at the mall's stores.

Colleges and universities • Texas A&M University (approximately 68,000 students) • Texas A&M Health Science Center • Blinn College (approximately 19,000 students).