Business & Economy
Corpus Christi has a dynamic economy based in large part to the sea it borders. The port is the heart of this community and, quite frankly, the reason for its being. Already home to several large American and international companies, the city is home to the sixth largest port in the County, outpacing even the likes of the Long Beach port in Long Beach, California.
Just because the city has an almost guaranteed economy base doesn’t mean the city has not done some planning to keep the city viable. To enhance economic development efforts, the city provides funding and support to the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation, a program committed to finding innovative ways to help inspire and nurture business here.
Additionally, the Small Business Development Center was created to serve, promote the growth, expansion, innovation, productivity, profitability and improved management of business by providing business counseling, training programs, a procurement technical assistance center, the SBDC resource library, assists small business owners with developing business plans, packaging loan requests, preparing strategic marketing plans, analyzing and improving accounting practices, accessing the government procurement system and entering the global marketplace.
The center, hosted by Del Mar College, is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Some of the area’s key employers are: CITGO Refinery, TT Electronics, Gulf Marine Fabricators, Boeing Company, DuPont, Southwestern Bell and Whataburger, Inc.
In 2006, the total number of employees available for employment was about 37,000. More than 19,000 were underemployed and another 13,000 were unemployed.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 277,454 people in Corpus Christi.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,414 and the median income for a family was $41,672.
Men had a median income of $31,863 versus $22,616 for women.