With a population of about 189,000, Amarillo City is now the biggest city within the Texas Panhandle and the 14th biggest city in Texas. It is also the county seat of Potter County, however a small portion of the city stretches into Randall County. The four counties which make up the Amarillo metropolitan area have an anticipated population of 236,000.
The city, that was at first named Oneida, is situated in the Llano Estacado region. In the late 19th century, the city grew exponentially due to the availability of the freight and railroad services provided by the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad. Over time, the city of Amarillo has become the regional economic center for the Texas Panhandle. The city of Amarillo is likewise really essential economically to the Oklahoma Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico.
The city of Amarillo has been called and is known by various phrases, like for instance "The Yellow Rose of Texas", the Rotor City, USA" and the Helium Capital of the World". These three names reflect certain aspects of their community. Amarillo City currently has a renowned V-22 Osprey hybrid aircrafts assembly plant as well as among the globe's most productive helium fields.
Among the biggest meat packing areas in the US is situated within Amarillo; almost one-quarter of the countries beef supply is processed there. Furthermore, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association is situated in Amarillo.
Among the other major trades in the city of Amarillo comprise petroleum extraction and nuclear weapons. Pantax, which is the only nuclear weapon disassembly and assembly facility within the country, is located here. Since the federal government privatized local operations in the late 1990s, the helium industry has decreased considerably. During the year 1999, a helicopter assembly plant was built close to the city's international airport by Bell Helicopter Textron.
The largest employer in Amarillo City is Tyson Foods, which hires about 3,700 employees. The Independent School District of Amarillo is the second biggest employer with just under 3,700 employees. Baptist St. Anthony's Care System, BWXT pantex, City of Amarillo, United Supermarkets, Amarillo College, Bell Helicopter Textron, Owens-Corning, Northwest Texas Healthcare System and ASARCO are also major businesses.
Situated adjacent to Interstate 40 is the Big Texan Steak Ranch as well as the Cadillac Ranch. U.S. Highway 66 also went through the city of Amarillo.
There are roughly fourteen million acres of farmland surrounding the city, consisting of corn, wheat and cotton, silage, hay, soybeans and sorghum. Some state of the art diaries were built within the area early 2000.
Companies are encouraged to take full advantage of the aggressive incentive packages provided by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, which is funded by a city sales tax. In the late 1990s, the AEDC created a bad name for itself by sending fake cheques to several companies across the country. It likewise placed some full-page advertisements within the Wall Street Journal and paid American Airlines a yearly one million dollars subsidy so as to retain jet service.