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
$3.84
+$1.14vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Comal County $3.66, highest Roberts County $4.89. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Texas, October 10, 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).
Offered pay in certified work-visa filings, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Click a company for its jobs and salaries.
In fiscal year 2025, employers offered a median of $109,886 a year in 81,957 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Texas, up 7.7% from 2024 (US: $120,000). The largest job group was Software Developers. Fiscal year 2026 so far covers filings decided through Jun 30, 2026.
Median offered pay
$109,886
+7.7%vs 2024
Middle half: $88,899 to $139,776.
H-1B, fiscal year 2025
H-1B filings
81,957
+7.5%vs 2024
122,959 positions asked for.
Certified, full-time, fiscal year 2025
Top job group
$115,000
Software Developers, 32,434 filings.
Median offered pay of the largest job group
Green card jobs
$108,456
+9.6%vs 2024
14,072 PERM filings.
PERM median, fiscal year 2025
Median and middle half of the offers in Texas, next to the US median. Hover a year for the numbers.
| Job group | Filings | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 32,434 | $115,000 |
| Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians | 9,526 | $108,000 |
| Data Scientists | 4,423 | $101,200 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 3,357 | $97,157 |
| Computer Programmers | 3,329 | $85,530 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 2,352 | $101,000 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 1,778 | $184,900 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 1,506 | $135,907 |
| Database Administrators | 1,421 | $100,629 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 1,227 | $86,965 |
| Employer | Filings | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. CTSH | 2,023 | 69 |
| Infosys Limited INFY | 1,748 | 22 |
| Amazon.com Services LLC AMZN | 1,593 | 30 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited TCS.NS | 1,579 | 23 |
| Ernst & Young U.S. LLP | 1,342 | 81 |
| Apple Inc. AAPL | 927 | 5 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 924 | 8 |
| hCL AMERICA, INC. HCLTECH.NS | 886 | 42 |
| Deloitte Consulting LLP | 859 | 53 |
| Amazon Web Services Inc AMZN | 742 | 34 |
| City | Filings | Median pay | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 13,433 | $130,000 | $107,141 to $155,709 |
| Plano | 8,825 | $110,000 | $92,581 to $140,000 |
| Dallas | 8,591 | $110,500 | $85,530 to $143,336 |
| Irving | 8,146 | $106,000 | $89,000 to $130,864 |
| Houston | 8,135 | $103,210 | $80,974 to $130,478 |
| Frisco | 3,533 | $106,080 | $90,900 to $136,136 |
| Richardson | 2,497 | $105,997 | $84,500 to $128,200 |
| San Antonio | 2,309 | $99,965 | $84,157 to $120,827 |
| Westlake | 2,154 | $114,379 | $105,997 to $132,000 |
| McKinney | 1,666 | $106,000 | $91,062 to $133,000 |
Yearly pay that employers offered in certified work-visa filings (H-1B, E-3 and PERM green card), from official public data. Pay is the lower end of the offered pay range, for full-time positions only. These are offered pay figures for positions in work-visa filings, not the pay of all employees. A filing is an offer for a position, not a hire, and one person can appear in several filings. Fiscal years run from October to September. Groups with fewer than 3 filings show counts only. Employers are ranked by filings in the cities of Texas added up.
Declared disasters and flood insurance claims: what happened, from official public data.
Texas has had 392 declared disasters and emergencies since 1953, 220 of them since 2000, most often Fire. Flood insurance has paid $17.4 billion on 394,204 claims since 1978; the biggest year was 2017 ($9.1 billion).
Declared disasters
220
40 major disasters. Most often Fire (272 since 1953).
Since 2000, all types; 392 since 1953
Flood claims paid
$11.2B
137,995 claims. Biggest year 2017 ($9.1B).
2016 to 2025, flood insurance
Policies in force
599,362
Average premium $902 a year.
2025, flood insurance policies
Most-declared county
30
Travis County, latest Jul 6, 2025.
Declarations since 2000
Declarations for Texas, 1953 to today
Claims paid in Texas by the year of the flood, US dollars
Declarations since 1953
Declarations naming the county since 2000; statewide ones not counted
All years since 1978; policies are a yearly average. Top 15 of 217.
| # | County | Claims | Paid | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harris County | 170,854 | $8.8B | 280,656 |
| 2 | Galveston County | 60,620 | $2.5B | 63,059 |
| 3 | Jefferson County | 22,715 | $1.2B | 25,663 |
| 4 | Orange County | 12,876 | $1.0B | 11,581 |
| 5 | Montgomery County | 13,035 | $633.9M | 23,485 |
| 6 | Brazoria County | 21,436 | $632.1M | 35,063 |
| 7 | Fort Bend County | 7,389 | $451.0M | 45,437 |
| 8 | Hardin County | 2,405 | $191.1M | 2,642 |
| 9 | Nueces County | 8,673 | $186.7M | 29,614 |
| 10 | Cameron County | 7,061 | $184.7M | 19,455 |
| 11 | Chambers County | 2,096 | $129.5M | 3,938 |
| 12 | Hidalgo County | 4,405 | $117.9M | 10,439 |
| 13 | Travis County | 4,418 | $114.9M | 9,395 |
| 14 | Guadalupe County | 2,456 | $109.5M | 2,832 |
| 15 | Liberty County | 3,306 | $109.2M | 1,915 |
A declaration opens federal help after a disaster; it can name counties or the whole state. Flood insurance numbers count insured losses only (most homes have no flood insurance) and are not adjusted for inflation; the current year is data so far. For the flood-zone risk of a place, open the area on the real estate map.
Environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports of facilities in Texas, from official public data.
Official public data lists 19,002 facilities in Texas with records since 2010, 17,308 of them with environmental compliance records. In 2022 to 2026, the largest penalties were at Altair Recycling Facility in Altair ($124,006,202). 2,129 large facilities reported 485.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2023, up 0.5% from 2022.
Facilities with records
19,002
17,308 with environmental records.
Since 2010
Largest penalties
$124.0M
Altair Recycling Facility, Altair.
One facility, 2022 to 2026
Greenhouse gases
485.4M t
+0.5%vs 2022
2,129 reporting facilities.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
Largest emitter
12.8M t
Martin Lake/Tatum Mine, Tatum.
Metric tons CO2e, 2023
| Facility | Penalties | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| Altair Recycling Facility Altair | $124,006,202 | 38 |
| Huntsman Petrochemical Corp - C4 Plant Port Neches | $13,995,518 | 13 |
| Texas Petrochemicals Houston | $12,182,425 | 20 |
| Big Lake Plant Big Lake | $6,125,000 | 0 |
| Kentzel State 42 W101BO Oil Mt Battery Orla | $5,500,000 | 0 |
| Apache Corp - Bragg Ctb Orla | $4,017,191 | 0 |
| Chaparral Compressor Station Mentone | $4,017,191 | 0 |
| Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas Point Comfort | $3,607,000 | 11 |
| Sabine River Operations Orange | $3,501,608 | 13 |
| Chevron Phillips Chemical Company Llc-Cedar Bayou Baytown | $3,413,126 | 10 |
| Facility | Metric tons CO2e |
|---|---|
| Martin Lake/Tatum Mine Tatum | 12,787,949 |
| Baytown Olefins Plant Baytown | 12,693,547 |
| Oak Grove Franklin | 12,278,594 |
| W A Parish Thompsons | 10,110,961 |
| Sam Seymour Fayette Power Project La Grange | 8,456,123 |
| Galveston Bay Refinery Texas City | 6,640,866 |
| Limestone Electric Generating Station Jewett | 6,616,811 |
| Exxonmobil Beaumont Refinery Beaumont | 5,979,837 |
| Calaveras Plant San Antonio | 5,604,408 |
| Formosa Point Comfort Plant Point Comfort | 5,290,825 |
Large facilities in Texas, metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Hover a year for the number.
Their facilities in Texas, 2022 to 2026. Click a company for its Risk & Compliance tab.
| Company | Facilities | Penalties | CO2e (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| LyondellBasell Industries N.v. LYB | 19 | $6.00M | 7.14M |
| Dow Inc. DOW | 12 | $5.71M | 8.27M |
| ArcBest Corporation ARCB | 10 | $5.35M | - |
| Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM | 92 | $4.30M | 26.8M |
| Chevron Corporation CVX | 28 | $2.12M | 2.20M |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK-B | 17 | $1.07M | 619K |
| ConocoPhillips COP | 25 | $980K | 8.48M |
| Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY | 63 | $926K | 7.60M |
Official public data on environmental compliance records, workplace safety inspections and greenhouse gas reports, summarized by facility and year since 2010. A record does not mean a site is unsafe today; penalties and violations vary a lot by industry and size. Penalties are the amounts assessed (after settlements), not amounts paid. Recent years can still change.
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 $3.84 per gallon on October 10, 2026, up $1.14 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $5.69. Among its counties, Comal County had the lowest regular price ($3.66) and Roberts County the highest ($4.89). 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.
$109,886 a year was the median pay offered in 81,957 certified H-1B filings for jobs in Texas in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), up 7.7% from 2024. The middle half of the offers ranged from $88,899 to $139,776. The US median was $120,000. These are offered pay figures in work-visa filings, not the pay of all workers.
Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp. (2,023), Infosys Limited (1,748), Amazon.com Services LLC (1,593), Tata Consultancy Services Limited (1,579), Ernst & Young U.S. LLP (1,342) had the most certified H-1B filings for jobs in Texas in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).
Software Developers (32,434 filings, median $115,000), Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians (9,526 filings, median $108,000), Data Scientists (4,423 filings, median $101,200) were the largest job groups in certified H-1B filings in Texas in fiscal year 2025.
$130,000 was the median offered pay in Austin, the highest among the Texas cities with the most H-1B filings in fiscal year 2025 (13,433 filings).
$108,456 a year was the median pay offered in 14,072 certified PERM green card filings for jobs in Texas in fiscal year 2025.
392 disasters and emergencies have been declared for Texas since 1953, 220 of them since 2000 (40 major disasters). The most common type is Fire (272 declarations).
Travis County, with 30 declarations since 2000, followed by Walker County (30) and Montgomery County (28). Statewide declarations are not counted for single counties.
$17.4 billion on 394,204 flood insurance claims since 1978. The biggest year was 2017, with $9.1 billion paid on 93,589 claims. Harris County received the most ($8.8 billion).
$902 a year in 2025, across 599,362 flood insurance policies in Texas. Most homes have no flood insurance; the premium depends on the home's flood risk and coverage.