Texas ranks among 10 best states to find a job, says new report

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Texas has claimed a top spot on Wallethub's Best & Worst States for Jobs report. Photo via Unsplash.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

“Texas is America’s jobs leader,” Abbott says. “With the best business climate in the nation and a skilled and growing labor force, Texas is where businesses invest, jobs grow, and families thrive. Texas will continue to cut red tape and invest in businesses large and small to spur the economic growth of communities across our great state.”

While Abbott proclaims Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

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Neither Houston nor Dallas made LinkedIn's inaugural Cities on the Rise report. Photo via Getty Images.

2 Texas cities named on LinkedIn's inaugural 'Cities on the Rise'

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LinkedIn’s 2025 Cities on the Rise list includes two Texas cities in the top 25—and they aren’t Houston or Dallas.

The Austin metro area came in at No. 18 and the San Antonio metro at No. 23 on the inaugural list that measures U.S. metros where hiring is accelerating, job postings are increasing and talent migration is “reshaping local economies,” according to the company. The report was based on LinkedIn’s exclusive labor market data.

According to the report, Austin, at No. 18, is on the rise due to major corporations relocating to the area. The datacenter boom and investments from tech giants are also major draws to the city, according to LinkedIn. Technology, professional services and manufacturing were listed as the city’s top industries with Apple, Dell and the University of Texas as the top employers.

The average Austin metro income is $80,470, according to the report, with the average home listing at about $806,000.

While many write San Antonio off as a tourist attraction, LinkedIn believes the city is becoming a rising tech and manufacturing hub by drawing “Gen Z job seekers and out-of-state talent.”

USAA, U.S. Air Force and H-E-B are the area’s biggest employers with professional services, health care and government being the top hiring industries. With an average income of $59,480 and an average housing cost of $470,160, San Antonio is a more affordable option than the capital city.

The No. 1 spot went to Grand Rapids due to its growing technology scene. The top 10 metros on the list include:

No. 1 Grand Rapids, Michigan
No. 2 Boise, Idaho
No. 3 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
No. 4 Albany, New York
No. 5 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
No. 6 Portland, Maine
No. 7 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
No. 8 Hartford, Connecticut
No. 9 Nashville, Tennessee
No. 10 Omaha, Nebraska

See the full report here.

Texas' job market still has room for improvement. Photo via Getty Images

Texas clocks in as No. 11 in new report of best job markets nationwide

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With the overall economy showing signs of bouncing back from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas is also displaying room for improvement with an employment sector that lands outside the top 10 in a new nationwide study.

B2B sales recruiting experts Peak Sales Recruiting designated the Lone Star State No. 11 in their 2023 report that ranks the best and worst job markets across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Overall, the American Southeast has some of the strongest labor markets in 2023, the report states. Louisiana earned the crown as the No. 1 state, and seven additional Southern states earned spots in the top 10: South Carolina (No. 2), Florida (No. 3), Virginia (No. 4), Georgia (No. 5), Alabama (No. 7), Kentucky (No. 8), and Arkansas (No. 9).

"The Southeast is...driven by strong employment growth, job openings and quits – meaning job seekers have their pick of the litter," the report says.

Rounding out the top 10 are Idaho in No. 5, and Delaware in No. 10.

The report examined the most recent available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on employment growth, layoffs, and resignation rates, job openings, and more to determine their rankings.

Perhaps controversially, popular states like New York and California were at the bottom of the list with the worst job markets, ranking No. 50 and No. 51, respectively.

"Despite its reputation as a hub for innovation and technological advancement, California faces significant challenges in its labor market," the report says. "Average weekly wages in the state have dropped by 6.9 percent, while 8.7 percent of workers are underemployed and the quit and job opening rates were lower than in most other states."

That might explain why Californians keep moving to Austin.

For Texas employers looking to improve their employee culture and retention, Peak Sales Recruiting offers five tips: embracing the rise of remote work opportunities; prioritizing diversity and inclusion among staff recruitment; offering competitive compensation packages and benefits to improve employee retention; focusing on employees' growth within the company; and providing a good workplace culture.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Texas is one of the best states for jobs for many reasons. VioletaStoimenova/Getty Images

Texas boasts highest starting pay in nation and more perks for workers, study says

Top marks for Texas

Texas is one of the most attractive states for workers, offering great starting salaries and job security, but there's still room for improvement in the Lone Star State, according to a new study.

Personal finance site WalletHub recently ranked the best and worst states for jobs in 2019, analyzing each in terms of the strength of its job market, opportunities, and economy. There's a lot of good — and surprising — news for Texas, which ranks No. 12 overall and places third in the economic environment category but 29th in the job market category.

Among the individual areas studied, Texas nabs a first-place ranking for highest monthly average starting salary ($3,331) along with the No. 14 spot in median annual income ($59,928). The Lone Star State scores well in several other areas, including its share of engaged workers (No. 5), job security (No. 6), and employment outlook (No. 13).

Texas falls in the middle in terms of disability-friendliness of employers (No. 20), availability of internships (No. 24), job opportunities (No. 27), and employment growth (No. 28).

There's more to be desired, however, across numerous aspects of working in Texas, including job satisfaction (No. 33); worker protection (No. 34); and average commute time (No. 37, clocking in at 26.1 minutes). We rank worst for length of average work week, No. 47; commuter-friendly jobs, No. 48; and employee benefits, No. 49.

Despite those downfalls, business is good in Texas. The Lone Star State recently was named one of the best states for women entrepreneurs and is home to many of the best cities for Hispanic business owners.

Massachusetts takes the No. 1 spot in this study, ranking first in job market and 16th in economic environment, while West Virginia comes in last, ranking 48th in economic environment and 49th in job market.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Micro-nuclear reactor to launch at Texas A&M innovation campus in 2026

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The Texas A&M University System and Last Energy plan to launch a micro-nuclear reactor pilot project next summer at the Texas A&M-RELLIS technology and innovation campus in Bryan.

Washington, D.C.-based Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor that’s a scaled-down version of its 20-megawatt reactor. The micro-reactor initially will aim to demonstrate safety and stability, and test the ability to generate electricity for the grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fast-tracked the project under its New Reactor Pilot Program. The project will mark Last Energy’s first installation of a nuclear reactor in the U.S.

Private funds are paying for the project, which Robert Albritton, chairman of the Texas A&M system’s board of regents, said is “an example of what’s possible when we try to meet the needs of the state and tap into the latest technologies.”

Glenn Hegar, chancellor of the Texas A&M system, said the 5-megawatt reactor is the kind of project the system had in mind when it built the 2,400-acre Texas A&M-RELLIS campus.

The project is “bold, it’s forward-looking, and it brings together private innovation and public research to solve today’s energy challenges,” Hegar said.

As it gears up to build the reactor, Last Energy has secured a land lease at Texas A&M-RELLIS, obtained uranium fuel, and signed an agreement with DOE. Founder and CEO Bret Kugelmass said the project will usher in “the next atomic era.”

In February, John Sharp, chancellor of Texas A&M’s flagship campus, said the university had offered land at Texas A&M-RELLIS to four companies to build small modular nuclear reactors. Power generated by reactors at Texas A&M-RELLIS may someday be supplied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.

Also in February, Last Energy announced plans to develop 30 micro-nuclear reactors at a 200-acre site about halfway between Lubbock and Fort Worth.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston falls from top 50 in global ranking of 'World's Best Cities'

Rankings & Reports

Houston is no longer one of the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious annual report by Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm Resonance Consultancy.

The newest "World's Best Cities" list dropped Houston from No. 40 last year to No. 58 for 2026.

The experts at Resonance Consultancy annually compare the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of at least 1 million residents or more based on the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity. The firm additionally collaborated with AI software company AlphaGeo to determine each city's "exposure to risk, adaptation capacity," and resilience to change.

The No. 1 best city in the world is London, with New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Madrid (No. 5) rounding out the top five in 2026.

Houston at least didn't rank as poorly as it did in 2023, when the city surprisingly plummeted as the 66th best city in the world. In 2022, Houston ranked 42nd on the list.

Despite dropping 18 places, Resonance Consultancy maintains that Houston "keeps defying gravity" and is a "coveted hometown for the best and brightest on earth."

The report cited the Houston metro's ever-growing population, its relatively low median home values ($265,000 in 2024), and its expanding job market as top reasons for why the city shouldn't be overlooked.

"Chevron’s shift of its headquarters from California to Houston, backed by $100 million in renovations, crowns relocations drawn by record 2024 Port Houston throughput of more than four million containers and a projected 71,000 new jobs in 2025," the report said.

The report also draws attention to the city's diversity, spanning from the upcoming grand opening of the long-awaited Ismaili Center, to the transformation of several industrial buildings near Memorial City Mall into a mixed-use development called Greenside.

"West Houston’s Greenside will convert 35,000 square feet of warehouses into a retail, restaurant and community hub around a one-acre park by 2026, while America’s inaugural Ismaili Center remains on schedule for later this year," the report said. "The gathering place for the community and home for programs promoting understanding of Islam and the Ismaili community is another cultural jewel for the country’s most proudly diverse major city."

In Resonance Consultancy's separate list ranking "America's Best Cities," Houston fell out of the top 10 and currently ranks as the 13th best U.S. city.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also saw major declines in their standings for 2026. Austin plummeted from No. 53 last year to No. 87 for 2026, and Dallas fell from No. 53 to No. 78.

"In this decade of rapid transformation, the world’s cities are confronting challenges head‑on, from climate resilience and aging infrastructure to equitable growth," the report said. "The pandemic, long forgotten but still a sage oracle, exposed foundational weaknesses – from health‑care capacity to housing affordability. Yet, true to their dynamic nature, the leading cities are not merely recovering, but setting the pace, defining new paradigms of innovation, sustainability and everyday livability."

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Waymo self-driving robotaxis will launch in Houston in 2026

Coming Soon

Houston just cleared a major lane to the future. Waymo has announced the official launch of its self-driving robotaxi service in the Bayou City, beginning with employee-only operations this fall ahead of a public launch in early 2026.

The full rollout will include three Texas cities, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, along with Miami and Orlando, Florida. Currently, the company operates in the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, with service available in Austin and Atlanta through Uber.

Before letting its technology loose on a city, Waymo first tests the routes with human drivers. Once each locale is mapped, the cars can begin driving independently. Unique situations are flagged by specialists, and engineers evaluate performance in virtual replicas of each city.

“Waymo’s quickly entering a number of new cities in the U.S. and around the world, and our approach to every new city is consistent,” explained the announcement. “We compare our driving performance against a proven baseline to validate the performance of the Waymo Driver and identify any unique local characteristics.”

The launch puts Waymo ahead of Tesla. Elon Musk’s Austin-based carmaker has made a lot of hullabaloo about autonomy being the future of the company, but has yet to launch its service on a wide scale.

Waymo started testing San Antonio’s roadways in May as part of a multi-city “road trip,” which also included Houston. The company says its measured approach to launches helps alleviate local concern over safety and other issues.

“The future of transportation is accelerating, and we are driving it forward with a commitment to quality and safety,” Waymo wrote. “Our rigorous process of continuous iteration, validation, and local engagement ensures that we put communities first as we expand.”

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