economy

The Southeast Region2022 Regional Report

Southeast Region Snapshot

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About the 2022 Regional Reports

The 2022 regional reports use the latest available annual data from a variety of state and federal sources on or about Sept. 1, 2021. The data for the 2020 U.S. Census is as of Oct. 1, 2021. Sources include JobsEQ, REMI, Texas A&M Real Estate Center, Texas Department of Transportation, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The 15-county Southeast region covers about 12,800 square miles in easternmost Texas, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Nacogdoches along the Louisiana border.

The Southeast region contains one metropolitan statistical area (MSA), the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA. It comprises Hardin, Jefferson, Newton and Orange counties. The region’s other 11 counties are not associated with an MSA.

This report examines regional economic information and trends regarding population, personal income, jobs and wages, and education, as well as economic conditions unique to the Southeast region.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2020 Census, the Southeast region has a total population of more than 769,000, or 2.6 percent of the state’s total population. An estimated 33 percent of the region’s population is concentrated in Jefferson County. In 2020, the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA accounted for 52 percent of the region’s population.

The region’s population has grown by 0.2 percent (or about 1,400 people) since the 2010 Census, compared to 15.9 percent growth statewide. Despite overall population consistency over the last 10 years, nine of the 15 counties in the region lost population during this time (Exhibit 1).

The median age in the Southeast region was 38.5 years in 2019, older than the state median age of 34.6 years. The Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA’s median age of 36.9 years was older than the state. Nacogdoches (30.9 years) was the youngest county in the region and Sabine (53 years) was the oldest. An area’s age distribution can reveal can reveal specific challenges. A younger county may prioritize education and workforce development, for example, while an older county might face retirement issues and higher health care costs.

Note: Median age data for the counties are from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2015 to 2019; region median age calculations are from JobsEQ.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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Median Household Income and Income Distribution

The Southeast region had a median household income of $49,781 in 2019, up from $40,566 in 2010, a 23.7 percent increase. Median household income in Texas, by comparison, was $61,874 in 2019, up 24.6 percent from 2010.

The region’s income distribution finds proportionally fewer households in the top quintiles when compared to Texas as a whole (Exhibit 2).

Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Income distribution derived by JobsEQ using data from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2015 to 2019.

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Education

Occupational Earnings by Educational Attainment Requirements

A strong educational foundation provides a cornerstone for growth and competitiveness in the global economy. Postsecondary education delivers a good return on investments of time and tuition.

Data for 2021 indicate that occupations in the Southeast region requiring at least an associate degree or certificate paid an average of $2,167 more annually than those requiring less than a postsecondary education. Occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree paid an average of $34,867 more (Exhibit 3).

Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.
Sources: JobsEQ; education requirement category assignments are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Regional Institutions of Higher Education

A postsecondary education also offers opportunity for greater job prospects, workplace advancement, higher wages and the development of a richer world view. The Southeast region offers a variety of options for higher educational achievement, including two universities and four junior and community colleges (Exhibit 4).

Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

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Health Care

Availability of Hospital Services

Residents of the Southeast region have access to a variety of hospital services. General hospitals offer a comprehensive range of services and facilities for medical diagnoses and treatments, including surgical services. Special hospitals provide clinical laboratory facilities, diagnostic X-ray facilities, treatment facilities or other definitive medical treatments (Exhibit 5).

For a list of facilities offering services other than hospitals – such as rural health clinics, community mental health centers and birthing centers – visit Texas Health and Human Services.

Note: State psychiatric hospitals data as of February 2019
Source: Texas Department of Health and Human Services

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Health Care Access

Access to health care facilities adds to the viability of a community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of Texans without health insurance — 18.4 percent in 2019 — was twice the national average of 9.2 percent.

In 2019, the rate of uninsured in the Southeast region ranged from a low of 16.2 percent in Hardin County to a high of 25.8 percent in Shelby County; the overall rate for the region was 20.7 percent (Exhibit 6).  (For additional information, see Uninsured Texans, Fiscal Notes, October 2020.)

Note: Uninsured population includes under 65 (ages 0-64) only.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates

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Regional Economy and Employment

In 2020, the Southeast region had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $36.9 billion, about 2.1 percent of Texas’ statewide GDP of $1.8 trillion. Between 2010 and 2020, GDP rose by an average annual rate of 0.7 percent, less than the statewide average annual rate of 3.6 percent. In 2020, GDP fell from the previous year by 10.4 percent, more than the state’s GDP fall of 4.7 percent. (GDP values not adjusted for inflation.) Preliminary data for the first two quarters of 2021, however, suggest a significant economic rebound in many industries and regions.

Regional Employment Levels

Of the 280,316 people employed in the Southeast region in 2020, 57.1 percent were in the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA. Between 2010 and 2020, employment declined in the region by 4.2 percent, in contrast to positive growth in the state (17.1 percent) and the U.S. (7.8 percent) (Exhibit 7).

Source: JobsEQ using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

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Regional Industries

In the five-year period between 2015 and 2020, jobs in the Southeast region decreased by 5.6 percent, or about 16,700 jobs. During this period, by comparison, jobs rose by 3.3 percent in Texas and fell by 0.5 percent in the U.S.

The Southeast region’s largest industries by employment levels are in restaurants, education and health care. Public safety and building and utility construction also employ many workers in the region (Exhibit 8).

Source: JobsEQ using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

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Building services, outpatient care and courier services were among the leaders in regional job gains between 2015 and 2020 (Exhibit 9).

Source: JobsEQ using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

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Using the location quotient (LQ) — a measure of an industry’s relative size in a region compared to its average size in the nation — petroleum and chemical manufacturing, rail transportation, logging, and paper and wood products manufacturing stand out as highly concentrated and unique to the regional economy. An LQ of 1.25 or higher indicates that the region has a comparative advantage in the industry (Exhibit 10).

Source: JobsEQ using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

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Occupations

Occupations with high levels of employment and relative concentration reflect the industrial composition of the region. The Southeast region has large numbers of people in labor, fast food, health care and retail occupations. The region also has many cashiers, building cleaning workers and truck drivers (Exhibit 11).

Source: JobsEQ using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

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Southeast Regional Infrastructure

Housing Affordability

The Texas Housing Affordability Index (THAI) from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center measures the ability of a household earning the median family income to purchase a median-priced home. An index ratio greater than 1 means that the median family income is more than the income required to purchase the median home in a specific area. The calculations for the index assume that consumers are making a down payment of 20 percent and have a family income that is 25 percent of the price of the median home.^[1]

According to the THAI, a median-income family in the Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA would have about twice the income needed to afford the median home (Exhibit 12). Home prices in this area are more affordable than in the state as a whole.

Source: Texas A&M Real Estate Center

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Regional Transportation

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are federally mandated policymaking organizations created to coordinate transportation planning in urbanized areas. One MPO operates transportation planning in the Southeast region, the Beaumont-Port Arthur MPO/Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission. Roadways within the region make up parts of the Beaumont and Lufkin Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) districts. Road miles and vehicle miles traveled for the region’s roadway network, as of 2019, are listed by road type (Exhibit 13).

Source: Texas Department of Transportation

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Transit authorities and transit districts are governmental entities or companies that coordinate public transit in an area. The Beaumont and Port Arthur areas are served by their respective urban public transit districts, and rural transit is provided by Brazos Transit District and the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (Exhibit 14).

Source: Texas Department of Transportation

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The state of Texas has 27 commercial service airports offering passenger service. One of those commercial service airports is in the Southeast region (Exhibit 15).

Source: Federal Aviation Administration

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Amtrak interstate passenger rail service runs three routes through the state (Texas Eagle, Heartland Flyer and Sunset Limited). Texans can get direct service to Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Oklahoma City, with numerous stops along the way and connections to the rest of the country. Amtrak’s station stop in the Southeast region is in the city of Beaumont.

Ports of entry within Texas account for 17 percent of all U.S. international trade, and each region contributes to international trade in direct and indirect ways. The Southeast region has five official ports of entry (Exhibit 16).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online, Port Level Data for 2020

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Region vs. Texas

If the Southeast region were a state, it would be the 42nd largest in terms of area and 48th in terms of population (Exhibit 17).For more information on how Texas and its distinct, diverse regions compare to the U.S. and other states, visit TexIndex.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

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Southeast Region Economic Development Highlights

• The Beaumont-Port Arthur MSA had a total GDP of nearly $30 billion in 2019, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.^[2]
• A Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $278,000 was extended to Corrigan OSB, a wood-products manufacturing company. Corrigan is building its newest production facility in Polk County. The project will create 50 new jobs and $211 million in capital investment.^[3]
• ExxonMobil proposed a $1 billion investment in Beaumont Independent School District (ISD) in Jefferson County. The project consists of constructing a world-class, high-performance polyethylene plant with an annual processing capacity of 650,000 tons of polyethylene using control technology to minimize emissions.^[4]
• A Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $485,000 was extended to Optimus Steel. Optimus is establishing a new rebar line and coil handling facility in Orange County. The project will create more than 50 new jobs and $40 million in capital investment.^[5]
• The Chevron Philips Chemical Company is constructing a world-scale ethylene processing facility on 1,700 acres in Orange County. The plant will break down hydrocarbons into ethylene to be processed at other units into resin, which is used in products like plastic pipes and containers. The $5.56 billion proposed total investment will benefit West Orange-Cove Consolidated ISD and Bridge City ISD. The completed construction is estimated for 2024.^[6]
• The Port of Beaumont is the fifth largest port in the U.S. in terms of tonnage^[7] and was recently awarded a $1.57 million grant from TxDOT to fund a new truck terminal. In 2019, the port supported more than 67,000 jobs and contributed around $4.4 billion to the state’s GDP.^[8]
• Lamar University, founded in 1923 and a member of the Texas State University System since 1995, had an economic impact of $246.7 million on the region during the 2018-19 school year and supported nearly 3,750 jobs during the same period.^[9]

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Endnotes

Links are correct at the time of publication. The Comptroller's office is not responsible for external websites.

1. Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, , “Texas Housing Affordability Index: Data Series Description,” (Last visited March 22, 2022).↳
2. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Total Gross Domestic Product for Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX (MSA),” (Last visited March 22, 2022).↳
3. Email from Lauren Vay, Marketing & Communications Specialist, Economic Development & Tourism, Office of Governor Greg Abbott, December 3, 2021; and Office of the Texas Governor, “Governor Abbott Announces Expansion of Optimus Steel, LLC Facility in Orange County,” (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳
4. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Chapter 313 School Value Limitation, “Beaumont ISD No. 1119, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation,” (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳
5. Email from Lauren Vay, Marketing & Communications Specialist, Economic Development & Tourism, Office of Governor Greg Abbott, December 3, 2021; and Office of the Texas Governor, “Governor Abbott Announces Expansion of Optimus Steel, LLC Facility in Orange County,” (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳
6. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Chapter 313 School Value Limitation, “West Orange-Cove Cisd No. 1330, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP,” (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳
7. Port of Beaumont, “Welcome to Our Story,” (Last visited March 22, 2022).↳
8. Chris Moore, “Coalition hopes private funding will help Texas roads,” (PDF) Beaumont Enterprise (August 17, 2020), (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳
9. Lamar University, “Analysis reveals LU’s significant economic impact to tri-county region,” (Last visited May 2, 2022).↳

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Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the material on this page, please contact the Comptroller’s Data Analysis and Transparency Division.