ft. bend at work
This Houston-area county clocks in as top U.S. spot for workforce talent
Despite a tough year for the nation, Fort Bend County keeps winning. In July, the Houston-area county was named the most charitable in Texas. Later, Sugar Land, the anchor city of Fort Bend County, was named one of America's best small cities.
Sugar Land was also named one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Shoppers in Sugar Land are even ranked as some of the biggest holiday spenders in the nation.
Now comes news that bustling Fort Bend is among the country’s top large counties for the ability to recruit and develop workforce talent in a new ranking by mapping software company, Esri. The county could attract even more employers and residents once they pore over this year’s Talent Attraction Scorecard from mapping software company Esri. The scorecard, released December 8, ranks Fort Bend No. 11 overall.
Esri relied on six data points to come up with its rankings:
- Net migration
- Overall job growth
- Growth of skilled jobs
- Level of education
- Regional competitiveness
- Annual job openings per capita
Fort Bend ranks high in education attainment and job migration in the new study.
Another Texas county scored third in the Esri ranking. Dallas-area Collin County is home to heavyweight employers like FedEx Office, Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney, and Toyota, and it continues to draw thousands of new workers each year.
Elsewhere in Texas:
- Williamson County (Austin area) ranks fourth among large counties.
- Montgomery County (Houston area) ranks ninth among large counties.
- Travis County (Austin area) ranks 17th among large counties.
- Kendall County (San Antonio area) ranks ninth among small counties.
Overall, four Texas counties are in the top 10 among large counties. “While they rank well across the index, the common theme with all of them is they are suburbs of major metros, and are seeing a migration from those metros,” the report says.
