recovery

The Texas economy continues to buck national trends thanks to the strength of the residential real estate market. Four of the nine cities that made the Gadberry Group’s new list of most notable high-growth areas in the nation are in the Lone Star State.  Two Dallas suburbs — Frisco and McKinney — also made the list of 25 finalists. Industry research indicates that the state’s comparatively stable housing market is likely a contributing factor in the strong rankings, says Larry Martin, principal of Little Rock-based Gadberry.

Mansfield came in at number seven as the number of households more than doubled in the last nine years. It added 15 percent of its total households last year alone. Also on the list is Wylie, which has had an impressive 163 percent increase in the number of households since 2000. According to the report, most of the new households are located in one of Wylie’s eight “Emerging Blocks.”

Other Texas cities that made the list are Atascocita and Katy, both located near Houston. Here’s the complete list of 9 from 2009:

• Braselton, Georgia (Atlanta suburb)
• Atascocita, Texas (Houston suburb)
• Spring Hill, Tennessee (Nashville suburb)
• Lincoln, California (Sacramento suburb)
• Katy, Texas (Houston suburb)
• Wake Forest, North Carolina (in the Raleigh-Durham triangle)
• Mansfield, Texas (Dallas suburb)
• Wylie, Texas (Dallas suburb)
• Buckeye, Arizona (Phoenix suburb)

BusinessWeek recently highlighted several Texas cities – specifically Dallas and Houston – as being amongst the U.S. metros “least touched by the recession.” Though the Lone Star unemployment rate hit 8.2% in September (peaking above 8% for the first time in 22 years), Texas still ranks high overall. And when compared to the national unemployment rate of 9.8% or Nevada’s 13.3%, an 8.2% average doesn’t seem so shocking.

The magazine also ranked the “Forty Strongest U.S. Metro Economies,” giving five Texas cities spots in the top ten: San Antonio (#1), Austin (#2), Dallas (#5), Houston (#9), and El Paso (#10). Pretty impressive!

How has Texas managed to maintain its footing in the midst of such a shaky situation? An affordable cost of living and low wage rates have drawn both individuals and corporations to Texas metros, and its economy has been further bolstered by strong oil and gas industries. Though no region has been immune to the recession, these factors have helped Texas remain remarkably strong. And according to Terry Clower, an economist at the UNT, “Texas is unlikely to face a prolonged downturn.”