Where should you live for a Samsung Taylor or Tesla Giga Texas job?
Both of the metro’s largest east-side employers sit on the SH-130 corridor: Samsung’s semiconductor fab in Taylor to the northeast, and Tesla Giga Texas in Del Valle to the southeast. If you’re starting at either, the right new building is usually the one with the shortest free-flow drive and a toll cost you can live with. We sort new apartments near work by exactly that.
SH-130 in one paragraph
SH-130 runs north-south east of I-35, from Georgetown past Hutto and Pflugerville, through Manor and the Decker Lane area, down past the airport and Del Valle. It’s a toll road. For Samsung Taylor, SH-130 north then US-79 east is the usual route from most of the metro. For Giga Texas, SH-130 south or SH-71 east are the main approaches.
Where new buildings sit relative to each employer
| Area | Toward Samsung Taylor | Toward Tesla Giga Texas | Main toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutto | Short drive east | Long drive south | SH-130 |
| Pflugerville / Northeast Austin | About 25-35 min free-flow | About 20-30 min free-flow | SH-130, SH-45 |
| Manor / Far East Austin | About 30-40 min free-flow | About 10-20 min free-flow | SH-130 |
| Del Valle / Southeast Austin | Long drive north | About 5-15 min free-flow | SH-130 (or SH-71, no toll) |
Approximate free-flow ranges across tracked buildings. Each building card shows its own drive minutes, route, and toll. New-build counts by town render from the feed.
Employer pages and the 5-building rule
We publish a page for a single employer only when 5 or more new buildings sit within 20 free-flow minutes. Until then, this guide and the Near Work page cover both commutes.
Put a monthly number on the toll
Monthly tolls = toll per one-way trip × trips per week × 52 ÷ 12
| Toll per trip | Trips per week | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2 | 10 | $87 | $1,040 |
| $4 | 10 | $173 | $2,080 |
| $6 | 10 | $260 | $3,120 |
Toll rates change and differ by tag and time; enter your current posted rate. A TxTag costs less than pay-by-mail. Our toll cost calculator on the tools page adds the result to true monthly, and the toll roads guide covers the other corridors.
Shift schedules
Fab and factory shifts often start early or late, which helps: free-flow is closer to reality outside the 8 AM peak. If you rotate shifts, compare a building with a short toll drive against one with a slightly longer free route; the time saved on a 12-hour shift day can matter more than the toll. Our guide on choosing a new apartment by commute walks through the full decision.
Electric and utilities on the east side
East-side buildings mix providers. Northeast Austin includes Oncor plan-choice addresses; Far East Austin addresses such as Citizen House Decker run on Austin Energy with no plan choice. We check the provider for every address and we’ll help you set it up before move-in.
Two areas worth a look
- New apartments in Far East Austin: Decker Lane lease-ups a short SH-130 drive from Giga Texas, with MetroRapid 837 nearby.
- Northeast Austin: East Parmer buildings close to SH-130 ramps toward Taylor.
Send your shift times and employer on the form, and we’ll rank new buildings by free-flow drive and toll, with true monthly and year two for each.
