Austin's Economy

Austin's diverse economy revolves around state government, research, development and high technology. Over 300 of its 800 manufacturers are considered high tech, thanks in a large part to a booming microchip industry. Sixty-five percent of the manufacturing workforce is employed by the high tech industry, along with a large number of workers employed by service-based high tech businesses such as computer programming and software design.

Many high tech companies have relocated to Austin from Silicon Valley because of the lower cost of living. South Korea's Samsung Electronics is moving to Austin, the first installation for the manufacturer outside of South Korea. Other semiconductor giants include Motorola and Advanced Micro Devices, both of which recently completed billion dollar chip factories. The high tech industry also includes IBM, with over 1,600 employees, and Dell Computer, a leader in the field of personal computers. Dell employs over 5,000 workers.

The high tech industry has also been responsible for focusing a great deal of national attention on Austin. In 1995 Austin ranked 7th in Fortune's "Best Cities for Business" list, the smallest city on the list.

Outside the high tech field, the Texas Employment Commission reports that nearly 135,000 employees work for government, the leading employer, followed by services with 131,000. Other top jobs include financial institutions and insurance, with over 28,000 workers, construction, hiring nearly 26,000 employees, and transportation, with nearly 17,000 employees.

Did You Know?

Sixty percent of Austin's population uses computers, making it the most computer literate city in the nation.

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