There are four key components to San Antonio's business and industrial profile...financial services, healthcare, national defense and tourism. More than 20 million tourists come to San Antonio every year, and the San Antonio Convention Center hosts more than 300 events annually, drawing more than 750,000 conventioneers. It is rated one of the top cities in the world for conventions. Key to San Antonio's tourism is the Alamo, the 18th century Spanish Mission San Antonio de Valero, site of one of the pivotal battles of Texas' war of independence from Mexico. The hospitality/tourism industry contributes more than $9 billion toward San Antonio's economic output, and employs more than 94,000 workers.

Healthcare and Biosciences includes the sprawling South Texas Medical Center, home to more than 20 different hospitals, clinics, educational and research facilities. The Center generates some $12 billion in economic impact and employs more than 27,000. The healthcare segment of the city's economy contributes a total of $14.3 billion in output and there are more than 108,000 healthcare-related jobs in the marketplace.

The U.S. military installations...the U.S. Army's Fort Sam Houston and Brooke Army Medical Center and the U.S. Air Force's Lackland and Randolph Air Force bases...account for some $4.9 billion in economic benefit, employing nearly 75,000 civilian and military personnel. Additionally, the aerospace sub-segment of the city's economy employs some 9,500 workers and generates $3.3 billion in output. Also contributing to the military segment is KellyUSA, a commercial development of the defunct Kelly Air Force Base, that employs some 12,360, including 7,200 Air Force personnel, and produces $2.5 billion in business income.

San Antonio's workforce totals more than 920,000, with unemployment around 4.8%. San Antonio is home to some of America's most-recognized corporate names, including AT&T, the telecom giant. Others include Clear Channel Communications, Frost National Bank, H.E.B. Food Stores, Tesoro Petroleum, Rackspace Managed Hosting, Southwest Research Institute and Valero Energy Corp. Other major national companies maintain strong presence in the city, including Citibank, the QVC Network, Washington Mutual and Toyota Motor Corp. The largest single private employer in San Antonio is insurance giant United Service Automobile Association with more than 13,000 employees. Other large employers include H.B. Zachary Construction, H.E.B. Food Stores, Frost National Bank, QVC and Taco Cabana.