Austin, Texas

The City of Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Austin has a population of 656,562 people, making it the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th largest in the United States. Situated in the region of Central Texas, the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing in the United States and is home to an estimated population of 1.4 million as of 2004. Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.

1 The local economy
2 Recent Austin business news
3 See also
4 External links

The local economy

Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at The University of Texas at Austin provide a steady source of young, talented and driven employees that help to fuel Austin's technology sector. The metro Austin area also has much lower housing costs than, for example, Silicon Valley. As a result of the relatively high concentration of high tech companies in the region, Austin was strongly affected by the dot-com boom in the late 1990s and subsequent bust, although recovery is proceeding rapidly.

Austin's biggest employers include the State of Texas, The University of Texas, the SETON Healthcare Network, Dell, IBM and Freescale Semiconductor (spun off from Motorola in 2004). Other high-tech companies in Austin include Apple Computer, Vignette, AMD, Applied Materials, Intel, Motive Inc, Cirrus Logic, Samsung, National Instruments, United Devices and Sun Microsystems. The proliferation of technology companies has led to the region's nickname, "the Silicon Hills," and has spurred rapid development that has greatly expanded the city to the north and south.

In addition to global companies, Austin features a strong network of independent, locally-owned firms and organzations, the Austin Independent Business Alliance. The success of these businesses reflects the high level of commitment by the citizens of Austin to preserving the unique spirit of the city, and has been tied to the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign.

Source - Wikipedia: Austin, Texas

Recent Austin business news

Links to recent headlines via Topix.net

Venerable cleaners left hanging by SoCo rent hike: Soaring rents on trendy SoCo are pressing an ancient dry cleaners out of business like an old pair of pants.
Texas Comptroller's Office offers local tax help: Comptroller Susan Combs' office will offer a free seminar to assist local taxpayers with their state taxes Tuesday Aug.
Taxi fares may increase: With the gas prices skyrocketing, taxi driver's are getting hit hard. "For the last 2 weeks every single dollar I make over and beyond my lease payment is going to my gas tank," said Martha Bryson, an Austin ...
Store Owner Speaks Out After Being Cited For Cheating Gas Buyers: Though he owns the grocery mart and the land the gas pumps sit on, Mubarak Maknojia said he is not in control of how the pumps are calibrated.
Waller Creek Rises As Rain From Dolly Falls Over Austin: Dolly brought wet weather to Central Texas, opening up the skies for intermittent showers Thursday.
Acton to Offer Its Nationally Recognized 'Life of Meaning' Class to...: The Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship , in partnership with the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, will offer its nationally recognized Life of Meaning class to the Austin community through a series ...
Site Controls: The company's flagship platform, Site-Command , was specifically designed to address the unique needs of Retail, Restaurant, and Convenience Store operators who seek to profitably deliver a consistent and ...
Dancer accused of kicking, spitting at APD officers: A dancer was arrested after police say she kneed an officer and spit in his face outside the Yellow Rose in North Austin, according to court documents.