Employment
The University of Texas at Austin is the largest single employer in the Austin area. Being the state capital and the county seat, government is also a major employer and you'll find that politicians, aids, lobbyists and the myriad of employees it takes to run the state, city and county government plays a large role in the area's economy. You'll also recognize some of the "big name" employers of the area, such as Dell, Apple and Samsung. With such a large population, there's also a significant need for people to work in the service-related industries.