The economy of the State of Texas is the second largest by GDP in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

after that of California. It has a

gross state product Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...

of $2.709 trillion as of 2024. In 2024,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

had the most

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies of any state with 53 in total. As of 2023, Texas grossed more than $440 billion a year in exports, more than double the next highest state

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

($178 billion). Texas would be ranked as the 8th largest economy among nations of the world by nominal GDP, ahead of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and Australia. In 2019, Texas had a median household income of $61,874. As of August 31, 2022 Texas had a total of $64.40 billion in state debt outstanding, including both general obligation and revenue debt. Texas has the second largest population in the country after California.

History

Historically four major business enterprises shaped the Texas economy prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: cattle and bison, cotton, timber, and oil. The first enterprise to enjoy major success in Texas was cattle and bison. In the early days of Anglo-American settlement, furs and hides were the major products derived from cattle. Beef was not particularly popular in the United States. However, Texas entrepreneurs soon pioneered the beef industry, and demand steadily increased. The cattle industry enjoyed its greatest financial success in the later 1870s and 1880s. Cotton production, which had been known in Texas since Spanish times, gradually increased throughout the 19th century. By the early 20th century, Texas had become the leading cotton producer in the nation. By the 1920s, the cotton industry was past its peak, as government regulation and foreign competition took their toll.

Forests

The forests of Texas have been an important resource since its earliest days and have played an important role in the state's history. The vast woodlands of the region, home to many varieties of wildlife when Europeans first arrived, provided major economic opportunities for early settlers. They today continue to play an important role economically and environmentally in the state. The densest forest lands lie in the eastern part of the state. In particular the Big Thicket region, just north of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and Beaumont, has historically been home to the most dense woodlands. The Big Thicket was mostly uninhabited until heavy settlement from the U.S. began in the mid-19th century, and was even used as a refuge by runaway slaves and other fugitives. The

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

valley in

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

was home to a large palm tree forest when Spaniards first arrived, though today very little of it remains. The development of railroads in the eastern part of the state during the mid-19th century led to a boom in lumber production in the 1880s. This era of financial success lasted approximately 50 years finally coming to an end as Texas's forests were decimated and the Great Depression dropped prices.

Oil boom

In 1901 the Gladys City Oil, Gas, and Manufacturing Company struck oil on Spindletop Hill in Beaumont. Though petroleum production was not new, this strike was by far the largest the world had ever seen. The find led to widespread exploration throughout Texas and neighboring states. By 1940 Texas was firmly established as the leading oil producer in the U.S. Texas instruments gate3 dallas tx usa 2009-08-07

Texas instruments gate3 dallas tx usa 2009-08-07

Texas remained largely rural until

though the success of the petroleum industry rapidly expanded the economy with heavy industry of many types taking root. The second world war created tremendous demand for petroleum and a variety of products that Texas was in a unique position to provide. By the end of the war Texas was one of the leading industrial states and the population had become predominantly urban. Additionally the economy had diversified sufficiently that, though petroleum was still the largest sector by the end of the war, the business community in the state was truly diverse. The economy of Texas relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, aerospace, defense, biomedical research, fuel processing, electric power,

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and manufacturing.

Exports

Texas had led the United States in export revenues since 2001, grossing more than $440 billion in 2023. Largest export categories (2023): #Oil and gas – $140 billion #Petroleum and coal products - $70 billion #Chemicals - $58 billion #Computer and electronic parts - $53 billion #Transportation equipment - $27 billion Mexico is by far the largest export partner with Texas, receiving nearly $130 billion worth of goods in 2023. The next largest export partners are Canada ($36 billion) and Netherlands ($26 billion). ''Air Cargo World'' rated

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...

as "the best air cargo airport in the world". The

Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Houston, Texas. The port is a complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. Loc ...

is the largest port in the U.S. by tonnage, with more than 266 million tons of cargo passing through the port in 2021.

Taxes

According to the

Tax Foundation The Tax Foundation is an international research think tank based in Washington, D.C. that collects data and publishes research studies on Taxation in the United States, U.S. tax policies at both the federal and state levels. Its stated mission ...

, Texans' state and local tax burdens are among the lowest in the nation, 7th lowest nationally, with state and local taxes costing $3,580 per capita, or 8.7% of resident incomes. Texas is one of only 7 states not to have a

state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...

. The state

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

rate, 6.25%, is above the national medium, with localities adding up to 2% (8.25% total). Texas does have a "back to school" sales

tax holiday A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. It is synonymous with tax abatement, subsidy#Tax subsidy, tax subsidy or tax reduction. Governments usually create tax holidays as incentives for business investment, although the ...

once a year (generally around the first weekend in August) on clothing and footwear under $100. As for Texas's business tax climate, the state ranks 8th in the nation.

Property taxes A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net we ...

are exclusively collected at the local level in the state, and are generally at rates above the national average.

Tax burden

Texas is one of the seven states of the United States with no personal state income tax. In addition, Texas does not allow any lower level of government (counties, cities, etc.) to impose an income tax. This means that, for the residents of Texas, the maximum rate of income taxation is the top rate set by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. Businesses, except for

sole proprietorships A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by only one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. ...

and

partnerships A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations m ...

, are subject to a

franchise tax A franchise tax is a government levy (tax) charged by some US states to certain business organizations such as corporations and partnerships with a nexus in the state. A franchise tax is not based on income. Rather, the typical franchise tax ca ...

. The state

is set at 6.25 percent. Cities are allowed to impose an additional 1% tax, and additional taxes not to exceed 1% may be approved by voters for any combination of county sales tax, transportation districts, economic development, and/or crime prevention. The average sales tax in Texas amounts to 8.25 percent. The state determines the items subject to sales tax, which all other entities must follow. Motor vehicle sales are subject only to the 6.25% state sales tax. Food, except for prepared food, and non-prescription medicines are among the major items exempt from sales tax. While

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

es are among the highest in the nation, property costs are also among the lowest in the nation. Property taxes constitute the majority of revenue and are collected and kept by local governments, as the Texas Constitution specifically prohibits a state property tax. For real property, counties, cities, and school districts (along with other special districts, such as for a community college or public hospital) can also impose taxes. All property is assessed uniformly throughout the county via the county "appraisal district", and taxes are assessed based on 100% of the property's assessed value. While larger

personal property Personal property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law (legal system), civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—a ...

items such as cars, boats, and airplanes can be subject to local taxes as well, it is far less common.

Industries

Agriculture

Texas has the most farms in the United States both in terms of number and acreage. Texas leads the nation in number of cattle, usually exceeding 16 million head. Cultivation of

mung bean The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

here began during

when a Chinese native by the name of Henry Huie – who worked as a U.S. Army cook – planted the

staple crop A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

in the

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

plains near Vernon. Texas leads nationally in production of

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

products. Texas is king of cotton, leading the nation in

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

production, its leading crop and second-most-valuable farm product. Texas is a leader in

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crop production. Three counties in the state—

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Wharton and Matagorda—take advantage of water from the Lower Colorado River Authority to grow

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and are responsible for about 5% of annual U.S. rice production. Texas is also a large producer of

cantaloupe The cantaloupe ( ) is a type of true melon (''Cucumis melo'') with sweet, aromatic, and usually orange flesh. Originally, ''cantaloupe'' refers to the true cantaloupe or European cantaloupe with non- to slightly netted and often ribbed rind. ...

s. The

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

is one of the best areas for the cultivation of grapefruit. Early varieties like the Duncan had many seeds and pale flesh, but in the 1880s citrus growers in Texas and Florida discovered pink-fleshed seedless grapefruit mutations like the Ruby Red, which along with red-fleshed varieties like the Rio Red and Star Ruby are preferred varieties for modern commercial production.

Grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s are a common

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

in some parts of Texas. In the 1990s

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

acres had greatly increased especially around Poteet, however by 2004 imported strawberries had competed almost all strawberry production out of the state. Texas and Arkansas are among the higher producers of

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

in North America and form the eastern limit of large scale commercial production. Texas is the westernmost limit of commercial

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

production. Texas is one of the largest producers of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

s. Texas is one of the major growers of

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

s. Fire ants ('' Solenopsis invicta'') are an

invasive agricultural pest A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment fo ...

here.

Aeronautics

Southwest airlines hq from east 2009-06-22

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, the center of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

(NASA), is located in Houston. It is a leading hub for the Aeronautics industry. The National Space and Biomedical Research Institute is headquartered in Houston.

, located nearly equidistant from

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and downtown

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, is the largest airport in the state, the second-largest in the US, and the fourth-largest in the world. The airport serves 135 domestic destinations and 40 international. DFW is the largest and main hub for

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, one of the world's largest in terms of total passengers-miles transported and passenger fleet size. Texas's second-largest air facility is Houston's

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Initially named Houston Intercontinental Airport upon its opening in 1969, it was renamed in ho ...

(IAH), the largest hub of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

. IAH offers service to the most Mexican destinations of any U.S. airport. IAH is currently ranked second among all U.S. airports with scheduled non-stop domestic and international service. Headquartered in Fort Worth,

is the world's largest airline by passenger miles, passengers carried, and revenue.

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

, also a leader in the commercial passenger market, is based near Love Field airport in Dallas.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company is a major unit of Lockheed Martin with headquarters at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas, with additional facilities are located Marietta, Georgia and Palmdale, California. Palmdale is home to the A ...

, the aviation division of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, is also headquartered in Fort Worth, and the company's Missiles and Fire Control division is based in nearby

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

, along with the American division of

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...

, Airbus Helicopters, Inc.

Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, United States as well as commercial heli ...

is headquartered in Fort Worth as well.

Defense

Texas is home to two of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

's largest facilities (in terms of geographic size),

Fort Cavazos Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

in Central Texas near Killeen and

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

near El Paso. In addition,

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

in San Antonio is home to the

Brooke Army Medical Center Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the United States Army's premier medical institution. Located on Fort Sam Houston, BAMC is a 425-bed academic medical center, and is the Department of Defense's largest facility and only Level 1 trauma center ...

, one of the Army's major hospitals and its only burn facility, and the Corpus Christi Army Depot in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

is home to the world's largest helicopter repair and maintenance facility. The

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

operates several bases in the state – Sheppard (Wichita Falls); Dyess (Abilene); Goodfellow (San Angelo); Laughlin (Del Rio); Lackland and Randolph (San Antonio); and Ellington Airport (Houston). The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

operates Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (the former Carswell Air Force Base facility) as well as

NAS Corpus Christi Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. History A naval air station for Corpus Christi ...

and NAS Kingsville.

Defense contracting

Texas (specifically Dallas and Houston) has a large number of defense contractors that create sizable employment for the state. Two divisions of

have their divisional headquarters in the DFW area –

(where the

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

, the largest Western fighter program, is manufactured, as well as its successor, the

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

and the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...

) and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in

. Fort Worth is also the home of Bell Helicopter Textron, which manufactures several helicopters for the military, including the V-22 and the H-1, on which final assembly is performed in Amarillo. Furthermore, three major defense service contractors (

DynCorp DynCorp International Inc. (), was an American private military contractor. Starting as an aviation company, the company also provided flight operations support, training and mentoring, international development, intelligence training and suppor ...

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...

, and

DXC Technology DXC Technology Company is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. History DXC Technology was founded on April 3, 2017, through a merger between Hewlett Packar ...

) have substantial operations in Fort Worth. Other major defense contractors with DFW presence include

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

(Richardson),

Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins, Inc. was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radi ...

(Richardson), Vought Corporation (headquarters in Dallas; facilities in Dallas and Grand Prairie),

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

(plants in Garland, Dallas, and McKinney),

L-3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training ...

(plants in Arlington, Carrollton, and Greenville; also has a facility in Waco),

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

(facility in Fort Worth),

Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS, formerly DRS Technologies, Inc., is a US-based defense contractor. Previously traded on the NYSE, the company was purchased by the Italian firm Finmeccanica (now Leonardo) in October 2008. History Diagnostic/Retrieval Systems, Inc ...

(Dallas),

Hewlett Packard Enterprise The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) is an American multinational information technology company based in Spring, Texas. It is a business-focused organization which works in servers, storage, networking, containerization software and ...

and NTT Data (Plano),

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, arms manufacturer headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company operated across 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK reven ...

(facility in Fort Worth), and

Elbit Systems Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial v ...

(facility and US headquarters in Fort Worth). The

Defense Contract Audit Agency The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense under the direction of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). It was established in 1965 to perform all contract audits for the Department o ...

maintains its Central Region office in Irving. Outside the DFW area, KBR (the former

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's second-largest oil service company which is responsible for most of the world's fracking operations. It employs approximately 55,000 people through its hundreds of su ...

subsidiary) maintains its headquarters in Houston, while the Southwest Research Institute is located in San Antonio. BAE Systems also manufactures the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles at its facility in

Sealy, Texas Sealy is a city in Austin County in southeastern Texas, United States. The population was 6,839 at the 2020 census. Sealy is located west of the downtown Houston area, on the most eastern part of the Texas-German belt region, an area settled by ...

Computer technology

Texas is one of the major hubs in the U.S. for development of computer components, systems, software and information infrastructure. Austin, Dallas, and Houston are the major centers for this industry in Texas. The Austin area is often nicknamed " Silicon Hills" because of the concentration of semiconductor design companies including

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Inc. is an American fabless semiconductor company, fabless semiconductor supplier that specializes in analog, mixed-signal, and audio Digital signal processor, DSP integrated circuits (ICs). Since 1998, the company's headquarters have ...

Freescale Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. was an American semiconductor manufacturer. It was created by the divestiture of the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola in 2004. Freescale focused their integrated circuit products on the automotive, embedde ...

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

and Silicon Labs.

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

's headquarters is located in the city's suburb,

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

, and major offices for Google, Facebook, EA Games, and Apple are also open in the Austin area. Austin is also the home of the Texas Advanced Computing Center at The

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Dallas is the birthplace of the

integrated circuit An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...

. The North Dallas area is called the "Telecom Corridor" or the "Silicon Prairie" for the area's high concentration of

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

companies such as

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

Perot Systems Perot Systems Corporation was an information technology services provider founded in 1988 by a group of investors led by Ross Perot and based in Plano, Texas, United States. Perot Systems provided information technology services in the industries ...

, and EDS, as well as telecommunications giant AT&T. San Antonio is the home of cloud computing giant

Rackspace Rackspace Technology, Inc. is an American cloud computing company based in San Antonio, Texas. It also has offices in Blacksburg, Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia and Austin, Texas, as well as in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Dubai, Sw ...

, as well as computing pioneer

Datapoint Datapoint Corporation, originally known as Computer Terminal Corporation (CTC), was a computer company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in July 1968 by Phil Ray and Gus Roche, its first products were, as the company's initial ...

. Harris County-based

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology, information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compati ...

, was once one of the world's largest computer companies. After Compaq's merger with

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

, the new owner currently employs more employees in the Houston area than anywhere else in the world.

Energy

Energy is a major component of the state economy, especially

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

. Texans consume the most energy in the nation both in per capita and as a whole. The state is also the nation's largest energy producer, producing twice as much energy as

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, the state with the second-highest production. It is also the national leader in

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

generation, comprising about 28% of national wind powered electrical production in 2019. Wind power surpassed nuclear power production in the state in 2014.

Tourism

Texas has a large tourism industry. The state tourism slogan is "Texas: It's like a whole other country." Tourists might enjoy

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

's Hispanic culture, or

western attractions.

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, Corpus Christi, and

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, ...

are some of the popular Texas resort areas located on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Houston is Texas's leading convention city along with its Southern culture. Dallas is also one of the nation's leading convention cities as well as San Antonio. Professional and college sports are dominant in both Dallas and Houston.

Entertainment

Texas is a top filmmaking state.

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

is now one of the leading filmmaking locations in the country. The exteriors for the popular soap opera ''

'' were filmed on

Southfork Ranch Southfork Ranch is a conference and event center in Parker, in the US state of Texas, north of Dallas. It includes the Ewing Mansion, the setting for the television series ''Dallas''. A variety of tours are offered to the location. History Th ...

, a location at

Parker, Texas Parker is a city in Collin County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,462 in 2020. History The first settlers arrived in the area that is now Parker in the early 1840s. The town was named after William C. Parker, the son of the area's f ...

. From 1995 to 2004, more than $2.75 billion was spent in Texas for film and television production. The Texas Film Commission was founded for free services to filmmakers, from location research to traveling. Also many

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

studios are relocating parts of their production divisions to the Austin, Houston, and Dallas areas. The media conglomerate

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

is based in San Antonio, Texas. Video game developers Robot Entertainment,

Gearbox Software Gearbox Software, L.L.C is an American video game developer, video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitch ...

, and

3D Realms 3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game '' Kingdom of Kroz''. In the ...

are based in the Dallas Fort Worth area, while Retro Studios,

Armature Studio Armature Studio, LLC is an American video game developer, video game development studio in Austin, Texas. The studio, founded by former Retro Studios directors Mark Pacini, Todd Keller and Jack Mathews in September 2008, developed ''Batman: Arkh ...

, and Ghostfire Games are based in Austin.

Cinemark Theatres Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (stylized as CineMark from 1998 until 2022 and in all caps since 2022) is an American movie theater chain that started operations in 1977 and since then it has operated theaters with hundreds of locations throughout the A ...

which is one of the largest movie theater chains is also based in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Healthcare

Healthcare is a growing industry in the state of Texas. The

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

, located in south central Houston, is the largest medical center in the world. It is home to University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston which trains medical students and residents and includes The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, a global leader of cancer research and treatment. The medical complex also hosts a private medical college, The

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

. The

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

medical system has additional branches in Dallas, San Antonio, Tyler, and Galveston. The South Texas Medical Center in San Antonio with nearly 27,000 employees has a $14.3 billion economic impact on the state of Texas. In addition to these facilities, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Texas A&M Health Science Center,, and

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...

in Lubbock and El Paso provide the state with a total of nine centers of medical research.

Wealthiest places in Texas

The following list contains per capita incomes of the 32 wealthiest locations in Texas: # Southlake – $176,427 # Barton Creek – $110,504 # Westover Hills – $98,573 # Highland Park – $97,008 # Midland – $93,369 # Hunters Creek Village – $88,821 # Bunker Hill Village – $86,434 # Hill Country Village – $77,374 #

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...

– $75,692 # West University Place – $69,674 # Hilshire Village – $66,620 # Olmos Park – $65,697 # The Woodlands – $64,430 # University Park – $63,414 # The Hills – $61,363 # Southside Place – $57,021 # West Lake Hills – $55,651 # Onion Creek – $54,758 # Tiki Island – $54,611 # Parker – $54,099 # Lakeshore Gardens-Hidden Acres – $52,512 # Rollingwood – $52,280 # Hedwig Village – $52,153 # Lost Creek – $52,147 #

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

– $51,049 # Colleyville – $50,418 # Shavano Park – $47,705 #

Sugar Land Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

– $47,597 # Bellaire – $46,674 # Lakeway – $45,765 # Ransom Canyon – $45,675 #

Alamo Heights Alamo Heights is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States, that is surrounded by the city of San Antonio. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Alamo Heights was 7,357. It is part of the Greater San Antonio metropolitan area. ...

– $45,640

References

External links

The official State of Texas website

State of Texas economic development

Window on State Government, Susan Combs - Texas Comptroller

Texas Lyceum Journal: "Harnessing the Lightning: Economic Growth Opportunities for Texas"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Of Texas