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An article By Bill Hethcock Senior Reporter, Dallas Business Journal
Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s economic engine continue to dominate, with the state ranking No.1 in the nation in gross domestic product growth.
Within Texas, Dallas County and Tarrant County rank second and third, respectively, behind Harris County in GDP growth.
GDP is a measure of the size and strength of an economy.
Texas, the ninth-largest economy in the world based on its GDP, posted a 10.1% increase in the annual growth rate of real GDP in the last quarter of 2021, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday. That compares to the national average of 6.9%
Real GDP increased in 47 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2021, as real GDP for the nation rose at an annual rate of 6.9%, according to statistics from the bureau. The percent change in real GDP in the fourth quarter ranged from 10.1% in Texas to –2.3% in Iowa.
Dallas-Fort Worth’s economic recovery from the pandemic has dramatically outperformed the national average not only in terms of GDP but also in jobs, said Lu Chen, senior economist with Moody’s Analytics.
“All the jobs which were lost during the crisis fully returned for Dallas,” Chen said in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal. “Nationally, it’s not fully recovered, but we’re getting really close.”
The future looks promising for DFW, too, according to an analysis by Moody’s.
Employment is expected to accelerate by 4.8% this year, and DFW’s net migration — the number of people moving in after subtracting those leaving — should grow by 42% in 2022 alone, Moody’s predicts.
The increase in GDP for Texas is consistent with other economic indicators that flag Texas as the best state in the nation to do business, said Robert Allen, President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corp., based in Austin.
“Texas has a long track record of economic strength and stability as well as a business-friendly climate, a large skilled workforce, low tax burden, the availability of affordable land, robust transportation network and deepwater seaports — and elected leadership that enthusiastically welcomes new, expanding and relocating businesses,” Allen said in a prepared statement.
At the county level, a new analysis by SmartAsset found that Dallas and Tarrant County combined edged out Harris County in GDP growth over the last three years.
Dallas County grew its GDP by $6.83 billion and Tarrant grew its economic output $4.41 billion in the period studied, for a combined $11.24 billion in GDP growth. Harris County, which includes Houston, posted $10.58 billion in GDP growth during the same three-year span.
Going down the list, No. 4 Travis County (Austin) grew its GDP by $3.81 billion, and No. 5 Bexar County (San Antonio) boosted its output $3.74 billion, according to the SmartAsset study.
Two North Texas counties ranked sixth and seventh in the state. Collin County (containing McKinney and most of Plano and Frisco) posted $2.59 billion in GDP growth, and Denton County grew its GDP $1.63 billion in the past three years.
SmartAssset also looked at the number of building permits per 1,000 homes as another measure of growth,
Travis County led all large counties in that category, with 52.7 permits per 1,000 homes.
Collin County, with 40.7 permits per thousand, came next, followed by Denton County, with 32.3 permits per thousand homes.
Harris County had 20.9 building permits per 1,000 homes, Tarrant logged 18.5 permits per thousand, and Bexar posted 15.0 permits per thousand. Dallas County, which is mostly built out, trailed all large counties in the category with 10.5 building permits per 1,000 homes.