Location Notebook: Texas Builds on Its Strengths and Confronts Its Challenges

3 Jun 2019


Population growth, a favorable tax climate, and a business-friendly environment are among the factors fueling economic gains and drawing corporate investment to Texas.

The size and steady growth of the Texas economy makes it enviable to many of its state peers. If it were a country, Texas would have the 10th-largest economy in the world, ahead of Spain, Russia, and Mexico, among others. The state has been the largest exporter in the U.S. for 17 consecutive years, and it shipped $315 billion worth of goods in 2018. Unsurprisingly, each year Texas finishes near or at the top of various rankings of the best states for business in the country.

Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation, says Texas routinely posts GDP growth of between 3 percent and 5 percent each quarter and “for an economy of our size, those are stunningly large numbers.” Keys to the state’s success, he notes, include rapid population growth, a favorable tax climate, and a business-friendly environment throughout the state.

Read full article