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.