Austin's Economy
Not only is Austin an enjoyable and enriching city in which to live, but also a great place to work and do business. Many companies prefer Austin to places like New York City or Los Angeles because of the low cost of living, rapidly developing real estate market and well-educated and diverse workforce. Explore the major industries shaping our city and area employment opportunities.
Employment By Industry
(Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area 2007)
Major area employers:
(Austin Chamber of Commerce 2007)
Employing 6,000 & over
Austin School District
City of Austin
Dell Computer equipment
Federal Government
IBM Corporation
Employing 2,000 - 5,999
Leander School District
National Instruments
Round Rock SchoolDistrict
Solectron Texas
Texas State University - San Marcos
Travis County
U.S. Internal Revenue Service
Advanced Micro Devices
Apple Computer
Applied Materials
AT&T Telecommunications
Austin Community College
Freescale Semiconductor
Employing 1,000 - 1,999
Harte-Hanks Response Management
Hospital Healthcare
Keller Williams Realty
Lower Colorado River Authority
PPD Development
Progressive Insurance Company
Samsung Austin
3M Corp.
ACS State Healthcare
Austin American-Statesman
Austin Energy
Capital Metro Transportation Authority
Cisco Systems
GCA Services
Girling Health Care
Goodwill Industries
Harcourt Education
Sears Teleserve Retailer
Spansion
State Farm Insurance Company
Temple-Inland
Time Warner Cable Company
Whole Foods Market
Williamson County
Largest Private Sector Employers in the Austin - San Marcos MSA
Dell
Seton Healthcare Network
IBM Corporation
Freescale Semiconductor
AMD
The major industry sectors are biosciences, computers and peripherals, film, digital entertainment, logistics and distribution, multimedia, music, semiconductors, software, telecommunications and call centers. Government, travel and tourism are also significant industries in the Austin area.
County Human Resources Departments
Austin
Ph. 974.3210;
www.ci.austin.tx.us/hr/default.htm
Travis County Human Resources
854.9165;
www.co.travis.tx.us
Williamson County
Ph. 943.1533;
www.williamson-county.org
Economic Development Organizations
Greater Austin Chamber
210 Barton Springs Rd., Ste. 400, Austin 78704
Ph. 478.9383;
www.austinchamber.org
Austin Technology Incubator
3925 W. Braker Ln., Ste. 400, Austin 78705
Ph. 305.0000
; http://ati.ic2.org
Better Business Bureau
1005 La Posada, Austin 78752
Ph. 445.2911
; www.centraltx.bbb.org
Big Austin, Business Investment Growth
1050 East 11th Street, Suite 350, Austin 78702
Ph. 928.8010;
www.bigaustin.org
Business Solutions Center
One Texas Center
505 Barton Springs Rd., Austin 78704
Ph. 974.7786
; www.ci.austin.tx.us/sbdp/bsc.htm
Texas Economic Development & Tourism
(Office of the Governor)
P.O. Box 12428, Austin 78711
Ph. 463.2000; www.governor.state.tx.us/ecodevo
Population
Annual Population Estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau
Population Growth Rate
By County 2000 - 2007
(Annual Population Change Estimates by the U.S.
Census Bureau)
Travis 20%
Williamson 49.4%
Hays 45%
Williamson County, just north of Austin, is the 13th fastest growing county in the nation and is experiencing the fastest growth rate in the region.
Cost of Living
(Cost of living index ACCRA 2007)
Note: The ACCRA Cost of Living Index measures differences
between areas in the cost of consumer goods and services,
excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures. It
measures the relative price levels for consumer goods and
services in participating areas. The average for a participating
place, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan, equals 100,
and each participant’s index is read as a percentage of the
average for all places.