High Paying Jobs in Austin Texas – Top 5 Employers

You’ve probably heard the news that a lot of people are moving to Austin (or are considering moving to Austin). If you’re considering transferring to Austin, you’re in good company because it’s not just your friends, family, or neighbors relocating to Austin but also companies, particularly big tech. Big tech companies like Apple, Samsung, and TikTok are rapidly expanding in Austin.

Why did I mention big tech companies in Austin? Well, relocating is a huge undertaking. First on the long list is finding out what job opportunities are here in Austin. What kind of salaries can you expect, and who are Austin’s top employers? If you’re asking yourself these questions, this blog post is for you.

I’m Tiffany Moore. I’m a local realtor and broker right here in Austin, Texas. I help people from all over the world relocate to Austin. So if you’re considering a move to Austin or are in the process of migrating to Austin, give me a call. Whether you’re moving from Seattle to Austin or moving from NYC to Austin, I’ve got your back on all things related to moving to Austin.

One disclaimer is that the information you will find here is from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. While I tried to be as accurate as possible, they last published this information in March of 2022, based on 2021 data. It could be more recent, but it’s the most current data published about high-paying jobs in Austin.

Highest Paying Jobs in Austin, Texas

With that out of the way, here are Austin’s top five highest-paying salaries. Number five is chief executives. On average (meaning some chief executives are above or below this number), chief executives make $134 an hour. This amounts to about $280,000 a year. Next, at number four, is general internal medicine physicians. They earn around $139, which translates to $280,000 annually. General pediatricians take the third slot, making about $143 an hour or roughly $298,000 a year. Coming in at number two is psychiatrists, earning about $146 per hour or about $304,000 a year. Taking first place is obstetricians and gynecologists, getting paid an average of $180 an hour or $375,000 per year.

Top Five Highest-Paying Salaries in Austin:

1. Obstetricians and Gynecologists – $180 an hour or approximately $375,000 per year
2. Psychiatrist – $146 per hour or about $304,000 a year
3. General Pediatricians – $143 per hour or roughly $298,000 per year
4. General Internal Medicine Physicians – $139 per hour or around $280,000 a year
5. Chief Executives – $134 per hour or about $280,000 per year

Noticeably, four of the five highest-paying salaries in Austin are in the medical field. Two of them have to do with child-rearing. In other words, delivering babies and then taking care of babies. There are plenty of kids in Austin, Texas. This brings us to psychiatrists, the second highest paying job in Austin. So is there a correlation between the number of children and the need for mental health treatment? It’s interesting. Don’t you think?

Other High Paying Jobs in Austin

I did mention big tech at the onset. So what about big tech? Without a doubt, tech is rapidly growing in Austin. There was a bit of a slowdown toward the end of 2022. It has started to pick up, with the interest rates decreasing and people adjusting to the new normal. Let’s look at how some financial and tech positions rank in so far as the highest salaries in Austin are concerned. At number 10 on the list is financial managers. They make about $78 an hour or about $162,000 a year. Computer and information systems managers take the number 11 spot, paying about $76 an hour, which comes to about $160,000 a year. Jumping to number 38 is computer hardware engineers, earning about $60 an hour or $124,000 a year. At number 42 is computer network architects with a pay of $59 an hour. That’s $122,000 a year. Software developers come in at 53, making around $54 an hour or approximately $112,000 a year.

Finance and Tech Jobs in Austin:

1. Financial Managers – $78 per hour or about $162,000 per year
2. Computer and Information Systems Managers – $76 per hour or around $160,000 a year
3. Computer Hardware Engineers – $60 per hour or roughly $124,000 per year
4. Computer Network Architects – $59 per hour or about $122,000 a year
5. Software Developers – $54 an hour or approximately $112,000 per year

The cost of living in Texas on that index scale is 94% and that’s Texas as a whole. Then we talked about cost of living for Georgetown it’s 108% and for Austin it’s 119%. The major reasons for those costs being so high is because of housing. Let’s dig into the housing numbers, comparing Austin to Georgetown.

Top Employers in Austin

We’ve looked at the highest-paying jobs in Austin. Now it’s time to look at Austin’s top five employers. You’ll be glad to know that this information is recent. This was reported only in November of 2022 by the Austin Business Journal. It’s self-reported by these companies. No agency has verified the information, so take it with a grain of salt. In descending order, we have St. David’s Healthcare as the fifth largest employer in Austin. Established in 1996, they are a hospital and healthcare company with 10,854 employees.

At this point, it isn’t a giant leap to make a comparison between Austin and San Francisco. Austin, just like San Francisco, has seen massive movements in the housing industry. Tech companies are also an ever-growing presence in Austin, similar to San Francisco. A third similarity is the growth in the medical industry. A couple of years ago, my husband and I went to San Francisco to attend a wedding. A really cool couple we talked to at a restaurant said that everyone in San Francisco works in tech or the medical industry. If you’re not, then you’re not making a lot of money in San Francisco, which, to my mind, isn’t a lot of fun in California. It appears Austin is trending in that direction.

Amazon is the fourth largest employer in Austin, and this surprised me. They have 11,000 employees just in Austin and were established here in 2015. Amazon has corporate offices at The Domain, but most of their employees are on the warehouse and distribution side of their business. It’s not only residential development that’s booming in Austin. In the suburbs and outside those areas, most commercial development is warehouse and industrial for Amazon and other e-commerce businesses because Austin is centrally located in the US. I order from Amazon all the time. The option of getting my package on the same day or the following day has become a norm. One time my mom visited, she said, “oh, really, they’re going to deliver this afternoon?” I said, “yeah, they have a warehouse down the street.” Most of us in Austin take this for granted, but not every city has an Amazon warehouse right down the street. Whether you love or hate it, Amazon is a way of life.

Ascension Texas is Austin’s third largest employer. Established in 1902, Ascension Texas has 11,000 employees and a lot of locations spread across Austin. With another hospital and healthcare company being one of the largest employers in Austin, it looks like the healthcare industry is where high-paying salaries and most jobs are. It might be worth looking into if you’re not yet in healthcare.

Coming in second place as Austin’s largest employer is Dell Technologies. Do you remember the nineties commercial where a kid said, “oh, dude, you’re getting a Dell?” It’s the same Dell. Established in 1984, they have 13,000 employees in Austin. Dell is not only a world-renown brand but also a staple in our community. We have Dell Children’s Medical Center, a nationwide leader in pediatric specialty. Dell has done so much for charity, philanthropy, and for kids. I didn’t know they were the second-largest employer in town, which is also quite interesting. 

Occupying the top spot as Austin’s largest employer is H-E-B. Established in 1938, with 20,749 employees in Austin, it is one of the nation’s largest independently owned food retailers. There’s literally an H-E-B every five or 10 minutes here. You can’t turn a corner without seeing H-E-B. Also, and this is exciting, the much-talked-about two-story H-E-B has finally opened its doors. Located at the intersection of Lake Austin Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard, it’s a massive 97,000-square-foot store with a True Texas BBQ restaurant, SouthFlo Pizza, Lake Austin’s Coffee Spot, underground parking, and a two-story porch.

Austin’s Top Five Employers:

1. H-E-B – 20,749 employees, established in 1938
2. Dell Technologies – 13,000 employees, established in 1984
3. Ascension Texas – 11,000 employees, established in 1902
4. Amazon – 11,000 employees, established in 2015
5. St. David’s Healthcare – 10,854 employees, established in 1996

Other Top Companies to Work for in Austin, Tx

You might be wondering who the other mentionable companies are outside the top five. Well, you have Walmart sitting in the sixth position. It employs 7,800 people and has been in Austin since 1979. I didn’t expect Walmart to rank so high on the list, but I guess Austin loves its Walmarts. The seventh spot belongs to Apple. Though I was surprised to see Apple outside the top five employers in Austin, I expect to see it climb higher on the list in the next few years. This is because Apple has recently completed a new campus a mile from its old one. That brand-new campus is right across the street from my house, so I’m very familiar with all the development going on there. In early January, they announced they were expanding more on that property.

The 11th largest employer in Austin is Tesla. Tesla relocated its corporate headquarters to Austin in 2021 and is reported to have 5,000 employees here. Many people I helped move out here are connected to Tesla in some way. Either they work at Tesla, for a supplier, or some adjacent company. Tesla is very much embedded in the community and the population of Austin.

Relocating to Austin is a big move. You’ll need a job and take out a loan to buy a house. I can help you. Book a call today, and let’s talk about your plan to come to Austin. We’ll ensure you’re taken care of when moving out to Austin.