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South Texas Region
gross domestic product,
2020
About 5 percent of Texas’ GDP of $1.8 trillion.
South Texas Region Counties:
- Aransas
- Bee
- Brooks
- Cameron
- Dimmit
- Duval
- Edwards
- Hidalgo
- Jim Hogg
- Jim Wells
- Kenedy
- Kinney
- Kleberg
- La Salle
- Live Oak
- Maverick
- Mcmullen
- Nueces
- Real
- Refugio
- San Patricio
- Starr
- Uvalde
- Val Verde
- Webb
- Willacy
- Zapata
- Zavala
The 28-county South Texas region covers about 37,800 square miles, stretching along the Mexican border from Del Rio to Brownsville and up the Gulf Coast past Rockport to Aransas Pass and San Antonio Bay.
The region includes four metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): the Brownsville-Harlingen MSA, the Corpus Christi MSA, the Laredo MSA, and the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA. The region is young – nearly 30 percent of the region is under age 18 in 2019, a higher share than all other Texas regions and U.S. states.
Population Change
Between 2010 and 2020, Hidalgo County led regional population gains at 12.4 percent.
REGION
6.0%
TEXAS
15.9%
U.S.
7.4%
Jobs & Wages
About 880,000 people were employed in the region in 2020. Home health care services is a top industry by employment, employment growth and location quotient (LQ). An LQ of 1.25 or higher indicates the region has a competitive advantage in that industry.
Percent change in total jobs, 2010 to 2020
Employment growth in the South Texas Region grew by 7.2%, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lime and Gypsum Product Manufacturing | 559 | $70,387 | 24.80 |
| Footwear Manufacturing | 251 | $35,197 | 15.39 |
| Clay Product and Refractory Manufacturing | 750 | $50,487 | 13.78 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | 2,402 | $81,760 | 11.79 |
| Support Activities for Mining | 4,168 | $67,938 | 11.52 |
Industries with Largest Total Jobs Growth, 2015 to 2020
| Industry | Average Annual Wages | Employment Change, 2015 to 2020 | Percent Employment Change, 2015 to 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $53,879 | 737 | 7.5% |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | $24,513 | 714 | 26.6% |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services | $34,239 | 536 | 149.6% |
| Offices of Physicians | $90,678 | 464 | 11.9% |
| Business Support Services | $27,706 | 383 | 17.1% |
THE South Texas 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