In 2019, Texas had a median household income of $61,874.[15] As of August 31, 2022 Texas had a total of $64.40 billion in state debt outstanding, including both general obligation and revenue debt.[16][17] Texas has the second largest population in the country after California.[18]
Texas ($2.4 trillion) compared to other countries. GDP is in the same range as France, Canada and Russia.Boom periods of the four major industries that built the early Texas economy
Historically four major business enterprises shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle and bison, cotton, timber, and oil.[19] 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.[20]
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 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 valley in South Texas 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.[21]
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.[22]
Texas remained largely rural until World War II 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 Texas economy today relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, aerospace, defense, biomedical research, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Fortune 500 companies based in Texas for 2021 according to revenues with State and U.S. rankings
In 2014, for the thirteenth year in a row, Texas led the United States in export revenues. Texas exports for 2008 totaled $192.2 billion.[24] In 2002, the Port of Houston was 6th among the top sea ports in the world in terms of total cargo volume;[25]Air Cargo World rated Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as "the best air cargo airport in the world".[26] The ship channel at the Port of Houston is the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world.[27]
Taxes
According to the Tax Foundation, 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.[28] Texas is one of only 7 states not to have a state income tax.[28][29] The state sales tax rate, 6.25%, is above the national medium, with localities adding up to 2% (8.25% total).[30] Texas does have a "back to school" sales tax holiday once a year (generally around the first weekend in August) on clothing and footwear under $100.[31]
As for Texas's business tax climate, the state ranks 8th in the nation.[28]Property taxes are exclusively collected at the local level in the state, and are generally at rates above the national average.[28] As a whole, Texas is a "tax donor state" with Texans receiving back approximately $0.94 per every dollar of federal income taxes collected in 2005.[28]
The state sales tax is set at 6.25 percent.[33] 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.[citation needed]
While property taxes 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 items such as cars, boats, and airplanes can be subject to local taxes as well, it is far less common.[citation needed]
Industries
Agriculture
Offloading freshly harvested cotton into a module builder. Previously built modules can be seen in the background.
Texas has the most farms of all United States both in terms of number and acreage. Texas leads the nation in number of cattle, usually exceeding 16 million head. The sprawling 320,000 deeded acres (130,000 ha) La Escalera Ranch, located 20 miles (32 km) south of Fort Stockton, is one of the largest cattle ranches in the Southwestern United States.
The Rio Grande valley 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.[37]Phomopsis stem-end rot is a common problem in grapefruit here.[38]: 436 Burger and Davis found in 1982 that etaconazole and imazalil are effective against the post-harvest effects if Phomopsis has already occurred pre-harvest in Texas groves.[38]: 437
Grapes are a common crop in some parts of Texas.[40][41]Pierce's Disease is a common problem in the East and South.[40] From 1970-1996 PD was unknown outside of the southern part of the state and this was thought to be impossible, however in 1996 suddenly many vineyards were heavily hit in north central Texas and some were wiped out completely.[40][41]PD resistance is important here due to PD's prevalence.[41] Some areas suffer from Cotton root rot of many crops, including grape.[40] It is so associated with this state that it is also called Texas root rot.
In the 1990s strawberry acres had greatly increased especially around Poteet, however by 2004 imported strawberries had competed almost all strawberry production out of the state.[42]
Texas and Arkansas are among the higher producers of spinach in North America and form the eastern limit of large scale commercial production.[43]: 3 Major spinach pests here include Myzus persicae (Sulzer), Pegomya spp., and Circulifer tenellus (Baker).[43]: 3
Texas is one of the largest producers of onions.[43]: 5 Production here suffers from onion thrips (Thrips tabaci (Lindeman)) and onion maggots (Delia antiqua (Meigen)).[43]: 5
Texas is one of the major growers of watermelons.[43]: 5 Whiteflies and aphids commonly vector Cucurbit viruses here.[43]: 5 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides commercial production guides for both seeded and seedless.[44] For seeded varieties they recommend Allsweet, Black Diamond, Bush Sugar Baby, Calhoun Grey, Charleston Gray, Crimson Sweet, Crimson Tide, Dixielee, Golden Crown, Jubilee, Mickylee, Minilee, Mirage, OrangeGlo, Prince Charles, Royal Jubilee, Tendersweet, and Yellow Doll; while for seedless varieties, Gem Dandy, Matrix, Summersweet 5244, Tiffany, and Tri-X 313.[44] In both, common diseases are Alternaria, Downy Mildew, Fusarium Wilt, Gummy Stem Blight, nematodes, Powdery Mildew, and various viruses.[44] Common insect pests are aphids, armyworm (beet armyworm and fall armyworm), Cabbage Looper, cutworm, various leafminers, various mites, thrips, webworm, and various whiteflies.[44] AgriLife also makes recommendations for fungicide, insecticide, and herbicide control of all these in this crop, and for common weeds.[44]
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, located nearly equidistant from downtownDallas and downtown Fort Worth, is the largest airport in the state, the second-largest in the US, and the fourth-largest in the world.[45] In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, the third-busiest in the nation, and the sixth-busiest in the world.[citation needed] The airport serves 135 domestic destinations and 40 international. DFW is the largest and main hub for American Airlines, 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 (IAH), the largest hub of United Airlines. 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.
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, AECOM, and DXC Technology) have substantial operations in Fort Worth.
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, Cirrus Logic, Freescale Semiconductor, Intel and Silicon Labs. Dell's headquarters is located in the city's suburb, Round Rock, 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. Dallas is the birthplace of the integrated circuit.[citation needed]
The North Dallas area is called the "Telecom Corridor" or the "Silicon Prairie"[citation needed] for the area's high concentration of information technology companies such as Texas Instruments, Perot Systems, and EDS, as well as telecommunications giant AT&T. San Antonio is the home of cloud computing giant Rackspace, as well as computing pioneer Datapoint. Harris County-based Compaq,[47] was once one of the world's largest computer companies.[citation needed] After Compaq's merger with Hewlett-Packard, the new owner currently employs more employees in the Houston area than anywhere else in the world.[citation needed]
Energy is a major component of the state economy. Texans consume the most energy in the nation both in per capita and as a whole.[48] The state is also the nation's largest energy producer, producing twice as much energy as Florida, the state with the second-highest production. It is also the national leader in wind power generation, comprising about 28% of national wind powered electrical production in 2019. Wind power surpassed nuclear power production in the state in 2014.[49]
Texas has a large tourism industry. The state tourism slogan is "Texas: It's like a whole other country." Tourists might enjoy San Antonio and El Paso's Hispanic culture, or Fort Worth western attractions. Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island are some of the popular Texas resort areas located on the Gulf of Mexico. 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 is now one of the leading filmmaking locations in the country. The exteriors for the popular soap opera Dallas were filmed on Southfork Ranch, a location at Parker, Texas. 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.[50] Also many Hollywood studios are relocating parts of their production divisions to the Austin, Houston, and Dallas areas.[50]
^"Local Sales and Use Tax". Susan Combs, Comptroller of Public Accounts. October 2011. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
^"Clothing Sales Tax Holiday". Susan Combs, Comptroller of Public Accounts. January 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
^Accounts, Texas Comptroller of Public. "Franchise Tax". www.comptroller.texas.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
^"Compaq Offices Worldwide". Archived from the original on December 25, 1996. Retrieved September 6, 2008.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Compaq. Accessed September 6, 2008.
