US Unemployment
4.3%
Latest month, BLS
Texas Unemployment
4.3%
Latest month, BLS
West TX Region
4.0%
Avg of 4 counties
Regional Spread
-0.3%
Region vs. US
West Texas
Regional economy — Sonora, Eldorado, Ozona, and Junction vs. Texas and the US
A comparison of the West Texas regional economy to the state of Texas and the United States, focusing on four small towns in the Edwards Plateau and Permian Basin fringe:
- Sonora (Sutton County, pop. ~3,000)
- Eldorado (Schleicher County, pop. ~2,800)
- Ozona (Crockett County, pop. ~3,400)
- Junction (Kimble County, pop. ~4,400)
These communities share an economy shaped by ranching, oil and gas services, and highway commerce. County-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis allows direct comparison to state and national benchmarks.
Sections
- Unemployment → — Monthly unemployment rates for each county vs. Texas and the US, from 2005 to present.
- Per-Capita Income → — Annual per-capita personal income by county, with comparisons to state and national averages.
- Economic Output → — Annual GDP for Texas and the US, with county-level output where available from the BEA.
- Methodology → — Data sources, FIPS codes, population context, and caveats about small-county volatility.
Data sources
| Source | What | License | Refresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS LAUS | Monthly county unemployment rates | Public domain (US gov) | Monthly |
| BEA Regional | Annual county GDP and per-capita income | Public domain (US gov) | Annual (~6 mo lag) |
| FRED | US unemployment (UNRATE), Texas unemployment (TXUR), Texas real GSP (TXRGSP) | Public domain | Daily / monthly |