The local economy of Texas and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.4%
+0.2 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Loving County 0.7%, highest Starr County 9.4%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,646
+3.8%vs a year ago
14,124,564 jobs at 868,766 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
194,150
-9.7%this year vs last year
Most in Harris County 28,922, Collin County 15,804.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
+111,404
+4.8 per 1,000residents
568,302 moved in and 456,898 moved out. Most newcomers came from California.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Texas gas price
$3.85
+$1.14vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Comal County $3.69, highest Hudspeth County $4.64. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Texas, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
671K
+2.1%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
12.0M
+4.4%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (14.3%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$805.0B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$67,014
Highest sector: Management of Companies and Enterprises $141,553.
Per employee per year
Share of Texas's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 1,126,293 | $22,659 |
| Employment Services | 615,645 | $56,220 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 390,049 | $80,294 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 350,528 | $141,553 |
| Grocery Stores | 262,844 | $29,907 |
| Home Health Care Services | 224,946 | $28,785 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 223,843 | $71,708 |
| Offices of Physicians | 222,179 | $104,773 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 215,555 | $31,485 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 192,176 | $120,677 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 184,896 | $97,939 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | 180,983 | $110,122 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Texas, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Texas is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Texas, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Texas was 4.4% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.2% a year earlier. 15,225,115 people were employed out of a labor force of 15,932,639. Among its counties, Loving County had the lowest rate (0.7%) and Starr County the highest (9.4%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Texas was $1,646 in Q1 2026, up 3.8% from a year earlier, across 14,124,564 jobs at 868,766 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 14,789 new homes in Texas in August 2026 (10,652 single-family and 3,487 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 131,692, down 9.7% from the same months last year, and 194,150 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Harris County (28,922), Collin County (15,804), Tarrant County (15,352) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 568,302 people moved to Texas and 456,898 moved away, a net gain of 111,404 (+4.8 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from California, Florida, Louisiana, and most people who left went to California, Florida, Colorado.
Regular gasoline in Texas averaged $3.85 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.14 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $5.69. Among its counties, Comal County had the lowest regular price ($3.69) and Hudspeth County the highest ($4.64). In the weekly survey, Texas averaged $3.87 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Health Care and Social Assistance (1,718,907 employees), Retail Trade (1,382,827 employees), Accommodation and Food Services (1,355,419 employees) were the largest sectors in Texas in 2023. In all, 670,878 business locations employed 12,012,629 people at an average pay of $67,014 a year.