[9] Texas would be ranked as the 8th largest economy among nations of the world by nominal GDP, ahead of Canada, South Korea, Russia, and Australia.

[14] Historically four major business enterprises shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle and bison, cotton, timber, and oil.

The vast woodlands of the region, home to many varieties of wildlife when Europeans first arrived, provided major economic opportunities for early settlers.

The Big Thicket was mostly uninhabited until heavy settlement from the U.S. began in the mid-19th century, and was even used as a refuge by runaway slaves and other fugitives.

The Rio Grande valley in South Texas was home to a large palm tree forest when Spaniards first arrived, though today very little of it remains.

This era of financial success lasted approximately 50 years finally coming to an end as Texas's forests were decimated and the Great Depression dropped prices.

The second world war created tremendous demand for petroleum and a variety of products that Texas was in a unique position to provide.

Additionally the economy had diversified sufficiently that, though petroleum was still the largest sector by the end of the war, the business community in the state was truly diverse.

The economy of Texas relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, aerospace, defense, biomedical research, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing.

[24] Texas does have a "back to school" sales tax holiday once a year (generally around the first weekend in August) on clothing and footwear under $100.

[22] Property taxes are exclusively collected at the local level in the state, and are generally at rates above the national average.

While larger personal property items such as cars, boats, and airplanes can be subject to local taxes as well, it is far less common.

[citation needed] Cultivation of mung bean here began during World War II when a Chinese native by the name of Henry Huie – who worked as a U.S. Army cook – planted the staple crop in the clay plains near Vernon.

[35] Texas and Arkansas are among the higher producers of spinach in North America and form the eastern limit of large scale commercial production.

Texas's second-largest air facility is Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the largest hub of United Airlines.

Southwest Airlines, also a leader in the commercial passenger market, is based near Love Field airport in Dallas.

The United States Air Force operates several bases in the state – Sheppard (Wichita Falls); Dyess (Abilene); Goodfellow (San Angelo); Laughlin (Del Rio); Lackland and Randolph (San Antonio); and Ellington Airport (Houston).

Texas (specifically Dallas and Houston) has a large number of defense contractors that create sizable employment for the state.

Furthermore, three major defense service contractors (DynCorp, AECOM, and DXC Technology) have substantial operations in Fort Worth.

Outside the DFW area, KBR (the former Halliburton subsidiary) maintains its headquarters in Houston, while the Southwest Research Institute is located in San Antonio.

Dell's headquarters is located in the city's suburb, Round Rock, and major offices for Google, Facebook, EA Games, and Apple are also open in the Austin area.

[citation needed] The North Dallas area is called the "Telecom Corridor" or the "Silicon Prairie"[citation needed] for the area's high concentration of information technology companies such as Texas Instruments, Perot Systems, and EDS, as well as telecommunications giant AT&T.

[citation needed] After Compaq's merger with Hewlett-Packard, the new owner currently employs more employees in the Houston area than anywhere else in the world.

Tourists might enjoy San Antonio and El Paso's Hispanic culture, or Fort Worth western attractions.

Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island are some of the popular Texas resort areas located on the Gulf of Mexico.

The exteriors for the popular soap opera Dallas were filmed on Southfork Ranch, a location at Parker, Texas.

Cinemark Theatres which is one of the largest movie theater chains is also based in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

[47] The University of Texas medical system[48] has additional branches in Dallas, San Antonio, Tyler, and Galveston.