Hometown Glory

"Texas Miracle" hailed: Half of the jobs created in America since 2009 are inthe Lone Star State

It's not everyday that you hear good financial news, but in Texas the news is better than most.

That's especially true after recent numbers released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Texas gained 262,000 jobs from June 2009 to June 2011. That's half of the net job increase in the entire country. Of the 34 states that are currently adding payroll jobs, Texas jobs make up nearly one-third of the total jobs added.

Payrolls in Texas have risen 2.9 percent since the end of the recession, compared with .4 percent growth for the country as a whole. Unemployment isn't exactly low, at 8.2 percent, but it's lower than the nationwide rate of 9.2 percent.

The USA Today devoted the front page on Tuesday to deciphering the "Texas Miracle." Experts are divided over whether the gains are the result of outside factors like energy prices and a boom-and-bust-resistant housing market or whether Rick Perry, Texas' business-friendly governor for the past 10 years, deserves a large share of the credit.

James Galbraith, a professor of government at the University of Texas-Austin, largely attributes the state's job growth to the energy and export booms. Texas, he notes, has never had an income tax. From 1990 to 2000, before Perry took office, Texas payrolls swelled 36%, compared with 21% for the nation.

"Rick Perry did not come and find a high-tax, high-service state and dismantle it," Galbraith says. "For something to contribute, there (has to be) a change. There's been a change in oil prices."

Others cite a low cost of living and Texas' lack of corporate and income taxes as key factors in bringing companies like Fluor, Toyota, Medtronic, eBay, AT&T, Samsung and Cirrus Logic to Texas.

Jeff Ruiz, head of Medtronic's Texas operations, says the company was drawn by labor costs that are "significantly lower" than those in Los Angeles and a large, high-quality workforce. Ruiz also points to more affordable real estate and the lack of a state corporate tax, though he says the latter was a minor factor. The company, which also received $14 million in incentives from the state — a figure Ruiz says was comparable with other offers — chose San Antonio from among more than 900 U.S. cities it evaluated.

While Texas' fortunes look bright, some other figures point out that these job numbers don't reflect prosperity for everyone. At 17 percent, the state's poverty rate is higher than the national average, and Texas has the highest proportion of residents without health insurance. According to USA Today, Texas also ranks 44th in public schools spending per student and 43rd in graduation rates — and the legislature recently cut $4 billion in public school funding.

Should job seekers come to Texas? It's not perfect, but when it comes to creating jobs, Texas is better than anywhere else.

Why do you think Texas is on top?

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income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family