Occasionally, we have potential home buyers who are considering moving to Austin, and they ask about the primary employers here in this area. Each year, the Austin Relocation Guide releases a list of the top Austin employers, both public and private. Here is the latest list:
1. The State of Texas - 65,688 employees - http://www.governor.state.tx.us/
Top agencies include the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Water Development Board, and the Texas Department of Health.
2. Dell Computer, Inc. - Approx. 17,000 employees - http://www.dell.com/
Dell was started by Michael Dell in his dorm room at the University of Texas, and it has grown into one of the Austin area's largest employers, headquartered in Round Rock. In fact, it now employs more people than the university itself.
3. University of Texas - 13,577 employees - http://www.utexas.edu/
With one of the largest student populations in the country (over 50,000 undergrads), UT needs a large staff of professors and support staff to keep things running smoothly.
4. Austin Independent School District - 10,714 employees - http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/
AISD is one of the largest urban districts in the state of Texas.
5. U.S. Government - 10,624 employees
A very large number of these US Government employees in Austin work for the Postal Service.
6. City of Austin - 10,000 employees - http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ 
7, Seton Healthcare Network - 7,538 employees - http://www.seton.net/
The Seton Healthcare Network, a not-for-profit organization, is the largest provider of healthcare services in Central Texas, with nearly 8,000 employees.
8. IBM Corporation (Austin Research Laboratory) - 6,200 employees - www.research.ibm.com/arl 
This division of IBM was first created to explore the usage and expansion of microprocessor research through the growing technology market of Austin, Texas.
9. St. David's Healthcare - 5,712 employees - http://www.stdavids.com/
St. David's operates four hospitals in Austin, including St. David's Medical Center, North Austin Medical Center, 
South Austin Hospital, and Round Rock Medical Center, along with several other medical and psychiatric facilities.
10. Freescale Semiconductor - 5,600 employees - http://www.freescale.com/
With 5,500 Austin employees, Motorola spun off its semiconductor unit to create Freescale a few years ago.
11. U.S. Internal Revenue Service - 4,728 employees - http://www.irs.gov/ 
The IRS operates a processing center here in Austin - very handy when it comes time to mail those April tax returns.
12. Round Rock Independent School District - 4,400 employees - http://www.roundrockisd.org/
During the past five years, the number of students in the Round Rock district has increased by roughly 21 percent.
13. Travis County - 4,000 employees - http://www.co.travis.tx.us/
14. Austin Community College - 3,285 employees - http://www.austin.cc.tx.us/
Having grown to seven campuses. ACC provides contracted training to many local high tech companies, as well as associate's degree programs in specialized fields like manufacturing and technology.
15. Solectron Texas - 2,900 employees - http://www.solectron.com/
According to the company's description, Solectron provides electronics manufacturing and integrated supply chain services for industries that rely on high-tech electronics.
16. Leander Independent School District - 2,800 employees - http://www.leanderisd.org/
The Leander ISD includes the cities of Leander and Cedar Park, along with parts of Jonestown and northwest Austin.
17. Brackenridge Hospital/Dell Children's Hospital - 2,537 employees - http://www.seton.net/ 
Brackenridge Hospital is the only Level II Trauma Facility serving the Central Texas area, an acute care hospital and outpatient facility that is also accredited as a teaching hospital. Dell Children's Hospital is a department of Brackenridge Hospital, and is the only hospital in Central Texas dedicated solely to the care of children and adolescents.
18. Applied Materials - 2,500 employees - http://www.appliedmaterials.com/ 
Applied Materials manufactures systems for processing silicon wafers and other semiconductor products. Austin's division focuses on R&D and manufacturing.
19. AT&T Communications (formerly SBC Labs, Inc.) - 2,400 employees - http://www.att.com/ 
20. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - 2,300 employees - http://www.amd.com/
21. Seton Medical Center - 2,112 employees - www.seton.net
22. National Instruments - 2,058 employees - www.ni.com
Fortune magazine has named National Instruments one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" for the last five years. My wife worked at NI for over seven years, and we can attest to the fact that they are a great company.
23. Texas State University - San Marcos - 1,995 employees - www.txstate.edu
Texas State University is halfway between Austin and San Antonio on the San Marcos River and boasts a beautiful campus. Formerly Southwest Texas State University, the school was founded in 1899 and offers undergraduate, master's and PhD programs.
24. Girling Health Care - 1,956 employees - www.girling.com
Girling Health Care is a family business that coordinates with hospitals, doctors and patients to provide professional home health, personal care, hospice care, and homemaker services to those who have been affected by health issues. 
25. Pflugerville Independent School District - 1,800 employees - www.pflugervilleisd.net
Located just north of Austin, this fast-growing district currently operates 16 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and three high schools.
If you are considering a move to the Austin, Texas area, please feel free to visit our Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com or give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell). I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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If you're looking for a home in the Austin area, you can also visit my primary Austin real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com. If you're interested in social media training, visit 210 Consulting. Thanks!
Jason - and we were pioneers in the 6th street renovation way back when. how austin has grown.
best wishes in the new year
GARY - Yes, Austin has grown an awful lot over the past 10-20 years. Happy new year to you as well!
DONNA - I am not offended by that. The funny thing is, Austin was named "Top City for Singles" a couple of years ago and the percentage of women is 49% vs. 51% men. I was actually born and raised in Dallas, but I have lived here for almost 20 years now, after meeting my wife at a club near 6th Street (believe it or not).
Cool post. Have a great holiday and happy new year.
J.
JEFF - Thanks, man. I appreciate you checking it out. Have a very happy 2008! I hope your Christmas was a good one.
Well now you know your options if real estate doesn't improve in 2008.
Jason,
It's 2:48 in the morning in Texas! I just clicked on the "Online Now" button, and there was your smiling face. Get some sleep, guy! LOL
Mike in Tucson, where it's 1:48 a.m.
Wow - i knew about DELL and of course Government folks since it is the capitol - but the IRS? Eeek. Now how many Realtors??
Great Info!
Hi Jason!
You probably didn't know it but I'm from Dallas, TX Guess you don't know me well enough.
By the way -I'm Tree #4 in Candace's Tree contest (you didn't pick my tree). That said, I have investors from Phoenix looking at your area instead of NC. Austin and Raleigh are neck and neck for investors given the pricing and real estate climate.
TO ALL - Thanks so much for your comments. I have tons of comments to try to respond to from the past week or so, so I will simply say "thank you" and I will respond to those who posed specific questions on this post.
DONNA - There are way too many Realtors here in Austin these days - over 11,000 the last time I checked.
DAN - The market outlook is decent for the upcoming year. In 2007, we had roughly 10% appreciation, but it was based on fewer sales overall. I would love the chance to help your son with their home sale and purchase.
JIM - Way too many.
TRACY - That is cool that you are also from Dallas. If you have the ability to send any investors my way, I would love the opportunity to assist them.
RICKI - What is HNY?
Thanks Jason. I am with a new company coming to Austin and this is great information as we work to develop employer based programs to target the diabetic population with the employer group. We are new to the area and this is a list we wil be working with. For more information got to www.diabetsamerica.com
We will have two maybe three facilities in Austin. We are comprhensive high performance network of physicians that just treat diabetes and have everything the diabetic needs under one roof. Anyone can come to see us but my job is the Corporate Business Developement which includes working with payers, employers and brokers. We are based in Houston.
Thanks for the information. Paula Turnquist, RN, MHA Director of Managed Care and Corporate Business Development for Diabetes Ameica. pturnquist@diabetesamerica.com
I am inspired to put together my own Blog for my location in Central Florida because of your content. It seems a bit much, but then I realize if I am interested in a new area I cannot get enough information! Lots of people know very little about where they live and some have lived there their entire life! I love maps, books, knowledge of areas, tidbits, coupons for events, and what the weather is like among other things. The content is important to keep the reader engaged.
Thank You,
Ms. Trudy S. McCann, Broker Associate, Stirling Sotheby's, Port Orange, FL
Jason, Your relo package is really good. I am hoping to compile something for the washington dc area myself!