Austin guide

What is the Austin job market like?

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This article is part of our Moving to Austin guide.

Last updated October 19, 2026

The Austin job market is still growing and unemployment is low, but tech hiring has cooled and the big growth now comes from construction, business services and manufacturing. The metro’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in August 2026, and it had about 1.42 million nonfarm jobs, 1.2% more than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average wage across all jobs was $35.85 an hour in May 2025, above the U.S. average of $33.54. That is roughly $74,600 a year for full-time work, well above the $49,279 MIT says one adult with no kids needs to live in Travis County.

Unemployment rate3.9%Austin metro, August 2026 (BLS, preliminary)
Average hourly wage$35.85All jobs, May 2025 (BLS OEWS)
Nonfarm jobs1.42MUp 1.2% in a year, August 2026 (BLS)
Fortune 500 HQs3Dell, Tesla, Oracle, 2026 list

How easy is it to find a job in Austin right now?

Somewhat easier than in Texas or the U.S. overall. The BLS counts the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro as the five counties around the city: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell. Here is what its latest numbers show:

  • Unemployment was 3.9% in August 2026. That is up from 3.4% in March and April, though the rate is not seasonally adjusted and usually moves around during the year.
  • About 1.57 million people were in the labor force, and about 61,000 of them were looking for work.
  • Austin is doing better than the state. The Dallas Fed put Austin’s July 2026 rate at 3.8% (seasonally adjusted), compared with 4.5% for Texas and 4.1% for the U.S. It also found Austin jobs up 24.1% since the pandemic, versus 11.3% for Texas.

If you can, line up a job before you move. Our moving checklist explains when to start.

How much do jobs in Austin pay?

The table uses BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for May 2025, released August 13, 2026. These are averages (means) for the metro. The annual column is our math: the hourly wage times 2,080 hours (40 hours a week, 52 weeks). Compare it with MIT’s living wage for one adult with no kids in Travis County: $23.69 an hour, or $49,279 a year before taxes.

Job groupShare of Austin jobsAverage hourlyAbout per year
All jobs100%$35.85$74,568
Management10.4%$71.09$147,867
Legal1.1%$66.46$138,237
Computer and math6.5%$58.73$122,158
Architecture and engineering2.5%$55.89$116,251
Healthcare practitioners (nurses, doctors, techs)4.8%$48.95$101,816
Business and finance8.1%$44.76$93,101
Teaching and library5.4%$31.36$65,229
Sales8.7%$28.31$58,885
Construction4.5%$27.53$57,262
Office and admin support12.3%$25.20$52,416
Transportation and warehouse6.7%$21.90$45,552
Healthcare support (aides, assistants)2.8%$20.67$42,994
Personal care and service1.9%$18.82$39,146
Cleaning and grounds2.6%$18.69$38,875
Food prep and serving9.3%$16.50$34,320

What this means for you:

  • Office, professional and tech jobs pay well above the living wage on average.
  • Transportation, healthcare support, cleaning, personal care and food jobs average below $49,279 a year. Many people in these jobs share an apartment or live farther out to make the numbers work.
  • Texas has no state income tax, so you keep more of each paycheck than you would in many states. Sales tax is 8.25% in Austin, and high property taxes show up in rent.

For a full budget, see how much it costs to live in Austin. Rents have fallen lately: Zumper’s average one-bedroom was $1,305 a month in October 2026, down 10% from a year earlier.

Who are the biggest employers in Austin?

Austin is the state capital and home to the flagship University of Texas campus, so government is the base of the job market. In August 2026, government (federal, state and local) had about 201,000 jobs in the metro, according to the BLS. Here are the big names and where they stand:

  • State of Texas. State agencies and public universities employ about 63,850 people in the metro. That is the largest employer, based on Opportunity Austin data from June 2024 that HUD cites.
  • University of Texas at Austin. About 23,925 employees in the same data.
  • Tesla (Giga Texas). The car factory in southeast Travis County had 16,506 workers at the end of 2025, down from 21,191 a year earlier. That figure comes from a Travis County compliance report, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman in April 2026.
  • Dell Technologies. Dell’s headquarters is in Round Rock. Worldwide, it cut about 10% of its workforce in its 2026 fiscal year, to about 97,000 people as of January 31, 2026 (FOX 7 Austin, citing Reuters). Local cut numbers were not reported.
  • Apple. Apple runs a large campus in North Austin. When Apple announced it in 2018, it said the campus would have room for up to 15,000 workers.
  • Samsung (Taylor). Samsung’s chip plant in Taylor, northeast of Austin, is not in full production yet. Korean news outlets reported in 2026 that it should start early operations by the end of 2026 and mass production, including chips for Tesla, in 2027.

Many of these employers are on the north and east edges of the metro, so think about your commute before you sign a lease. Our sister site, AustinApartmentBuildings.com, lists the large apartment buildings near The Domain, a North Austin office and shopping hub. Also see our guide to the best Austin neighborhoods for newcomers.

Which industries are growing, and is tech still hiring?

Tech is still a big part of Austin, but it has stopped driving growth. BLS numbers for August 2026 compared with August 2025 show where jobs grew and where they shrank:

  • Professional and business services is the largest sector, with about 291,500 jobs, up 2.0%. It includes many tech, consulting and office jobs.
  • Construction and mining grew 4.2%, to about 98,500 jobs.
  • Manufacturing grew 2.9%, to about 87,800 jobs.
  • Leisure and hospitality grew 2.4%, to about 156,000 jobs.
  • Information (software publishing, telecom, data and media) fell 5.5%, to about 48,200 jobs. The Dallas Fed also listed information as the sector with the biggest drop over the three months ending in July 2026.

Layoffs have continued into 2026. Besides Tesla’s smaller workforce and Dell’s cuts, CBS Austin reported in April 2026 that Oracle had laid off some Austin employees as part of nationwide cuts. It also reported that Expedia filed a state layoff notice for 100 Austin-area workers in February 2026. If you work in tech, plan for a longer search than people needed a few years ago.

Which Fortune 500 companies are based in Austin?

Three Austin-area companies made the 2026 Fortune 500, according to the Austin American-Statesman (June 4, 2026):

  1. Dell Technologies, No. 41, Round Rock
  2. Tesla, No. 43, Austin
  3. Oracle, No. 82, Austin

CrowdStrike is also based in Austin. It ranked No. 691 on the larger Fortune 1000 list, so it is not in the Fortune 500. Texas as a whole had 57 Fortune 500 companies in 2026, more than any other state.

How long is the commute in Austin?

Commute times depend a lot on where you live. Census data for 2024 (American Community Survey 1-year estimates, via Census Reporter) shows:

  • Austin city: the average one-way commute is 24.2 minutes.
  • Whole metro: 28.2 minutes. Living in the suburbs usually means a longer drive.
  • Remote work is common. An October 2024 KXAN report on Census data found that 24.9% of Austin-area workers worked from home in 2023. That was the highest share of the metros studied (the U.S. figure was 13.8%).

Most Austin commuters drive. Buses and the MetroRail Red Line work for some routes, but there is no light rail yet. Read do you need a car in Austin and how public transit works in Austin before you pick a place to live.

How do you look for a job in Austin?

  1. Register on WorkInTexas.com. It is the free job site of the Texas Workforce Commission. You can search jobs, build a resume and set up email alerts. If you ever file for unemployment in Texas, you must register there.
  2. Use your local Workforce Solutions office. Workforce Solutions Capital Area serves Austin and Travis County. It offers free job search help, workshops and some training scholarships, and holds events at 9001 N IH 35. If you live in Williamson, Hays, Bastrop or Caldwell County, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area serves you.
  3. Check employer sites directly. The state, UT Austin and the big tech and manufacturing companies post many openings on their own career pages.
  4. Look beyond tech. Construction, manufacturing and hospitality added jobs over the past year.
  5. Plan your money. Have savings for a deposit, first month’s rent and a few months of bills while you search. Our Austin moving guide covers the rest.

Frequently asked questions about the job market in Austin

Is it hard to get a job in Austin?

Not especially. Metro unemployment was 3.9% in August 2026 and jobs grew 1.2% in a year. Tech jobs are harder to land than a few years ago.

What is a good salary in Austin?

MIT puts the living wage for one adult with no children in Travis County at $49,279 a year ($23.69 an hour) before taxes. The average Austin job paid $35.85 an hour in May 2025, or about $74,600 a year full time.

Who is the largest employer in Austin?

The State of Texas, with about 63,850 workers in the metro including public universities, followed by UT Austin (Opportunity Austin data, June 2024). Tesla’s Giga Texas had 16,506 workers at the end of 2025.

Is Austin still a tech hub?

Yes. Dell, Tesla and Oracle are based in the metro, and Apple and Samsung have big operations nearby. But information-sector jobs fell 5.5% in the year to August 2026, and layoffs continued at several companies.

Sources

Go Big City Team
Author: Go Big City Team

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