SOUTH TEXAS CITIES BY THE RANKINGS
ECONOMIC HEALTH
Like the rest of the Lone Star State, most metro areas in South Texas fared well
by comparison from the perspective of recent economic growth. In a recent survey of
WalletHub, all South Texas cities except Brownsville were within the top 10 percent
of America’s fastest growing cities. The metrics for the rankings include job growth,
change in unemployment and population growth between 2008 and 2014. It is no
surprise that the top five fastest growing cities were all in Texas, which benefitted
much from the shale oil boom during that period.
Among the 515 cities in the 2015 survey, Edinburg and Corpus Christi joined
other cities in Texas as leaders in recent economic growth. Edinburg took the 12th
place and Corpus Christi ranked 22nd. Even the lowest ranked city in South Texas—
Brownsville—outperformed two-thirds of other U.S. cities.
. . . the top
five fastest
growing
cities were
all in Texas.
2015 Fastest Growing Cities
(Rankings)
124
22
Brownsville
Corpus Christi
12
40
42
62
Edinburg
Laredo
McAllen
San Antonio
Source: WalletHub.
Annual Review of South Texas Economy
SOUTH TEXAS CITIES BY THE RANKINGS
W
hat sets South Texas apart from the rest of the nation? In recent years,
most communities in this region leveraged the effects of the U.S. shale oil
revolution with extraordinary growth. Now that the oil boom has come to an
end, the regional economy will likely return to its historical path over time. It would
therefore be helpful to see how the region stacks up in the context of its business
competitiveness and quality of life. To this end, this section summarizes the findings of
a large number of rankings compiled by WalletHub for U.S. cities.
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