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High Plains Region
gross domestic product,
2020
About 3 percent of
Texas’ GDP of $1.8 trillion.
High Plains Region Counties:
- Armstrong
- Bailey
- Briscoe
- Carson
- Castro
- Childress
- Cochran
- Collingsworth
- Crosby
- Dallam
- Deaf Smith
- Dickens
- Donley
- Floyd
- Garza
- Gray
- Hale
- Hall
- Hansford
- Hartley
- Hemphill
- Hockley
- Hutchinson
- King
- Lamb
- Lipscomb
- Lubbock
- Lynn
- Moore
- Motley
- Ochiltree
- Oldham
- Parmer
- Potter
- Randall
- Roberts
- Sherman
- Swisher
- Terry
- Wheeler
- Yoakum
The 41-county High Plains region covers about 39,500 square miles in the Texas Panhandle, stretching from the Oklahoma state line in the east and north and the New Mexico state line in the west to the Lubbock metro area in the south.
The region includes two metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): the Amarillo MSA, comprising Armstrong, Carson, Oldham, Potter and Randall counties, and the Lubbock MSA, comprising Crosby, Lubbock and Lynn counties.
Population Change
Between 2010 and 2020, Randall County led regional gains at 16.6 percent, followed by Lubbock County at 11.4 percent.
REGION
3.2%
TEXAS
15.9%
U.S.
7.4%
Jobs & Wages
About 396,000 people were employed in the region in 2020. Cattle ranching and farming, oil and gas extraction and support activities for mining are some of the region’s most specialized industries, as measured by location quotient (LQ). An LQ of 1.25 or higher indicates the industries have a competitive advantage in the region. Cattle ranching, animal processing and construction led regional industry job gains between 2015 and 2020.
PERCENT CHANGE IN TOTAL JOBS, 2010 TO 2020
Employment growth in the High Plains region grew by 3.6%, compared to Texas at 17.1% and the U.S. at 7.8%.
Top Industries by Location Quotient, 2020
| Industry | Employment | Average Annual Wages | Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle Ranching and Farming | 9,387 | $45,352 | 22.11 |
| Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing | 172 | $38,964 | 14.93 |
| Other Crop Farming | 2,448 | $34,725 | 13.86 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | 3,214 | $130,347 | 8.97 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 11,660 | $47,029 | 8.32 |
Industries with Largest Total Jobs Growth, 2015 to 2020
| Industry | Employment | Average Annual Wages | Location Quotient | Employment Change, 2015 to 2020 | Percent Employment Change, 2015 to 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle Ranching and Farming | 9,387 | $45,352 | 22.11 | 1,798 | 23.7% |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing | 11,660 | $47,029 | 8.32 | 1,547 | 15.3% |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 30,270 | $17,583 | 1.28 | 1,185 | 4.1% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 18,635 | $55,300 | 1.19 | 974 | 5.5% |
| Utility System Construction | 3,237 | $70,564 | 2.25 | 685 | 26.8% |
THE High Plains REGION IS ONE OF THE COMPTROLLER’S 12 ECONOMIC REGIONS.
Sources: JobsEQ; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts