If you are looking to grow your business, first look at where the population is growing. Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on the fastest growing cities in the US, and this article looks at trends and where Louisiana and Mississippi rank.
The last 12 months show that the fastest growing cities for jobs were in Texas, with Midland ranking #1 at 7.7% job growth and Odessa ranking #6 at 5.5%. Both cities benefit from spending by the oil industry.
If you are looking at just the numbers of jobs, Texas grabbed first place with growth of 529,000 jobs and a 4% growth in jobs, followed by California adding 427,000 jobs but only 2.4% growth.
The best chance of success for a business would be in a city with the highest growth rate in jobs, but also in an area where there are several high growth cities. Texas tops the list again, with 11 cities that have 3.3% or higher job growth over the last 12 months, followed by Florida with 8 cities, Georgia with 5, and the other 47 states have only 3 or less cities with job growth over 3.3%.
So what does Texas do that Louisiana & Mississippi doesn't to attract jobs? It can't be the education level, because only 84% of Texans graduate high school, which is among the lowest in the US. Here are the reasons companies flock to Texas:
