NextChapter

Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Southwest

Dallas County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Southwest, with a score of 72 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Dallas County, TX: 72 / 100
  • #2 Harris County, TX: 70 / 100
  • #3 Travis County, TX: 69 / 100
  • 30 counties ranked in the Southwest
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Dallas County TX72 / 100
  2. 2Harris County TX70 / 100
  3. 3Travis County TX69 / 100
  4. 4Maricopa County AZ68 / 100
  5. 5Collin County TX67 / 100
  6. 6Washoe County NV67 / 100
  7. 7Midland County TX64 / 100
  8. 8Rockwall County TX63 / 100
  9. 9Tarrant County TX60 / 100
  10. 10Clark County NV59 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Dallas County leads on 72 / 100, and #10 Clark County is at 59 / 100.
  • Rockwall County reaches #8 on a sample of 121 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Dallas County is the largest market in the top ten, with 6,562 openings behind its figure.
  • Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

For someone who has lost a job, the useful counties have openings for people looking, job centers to help and unemployment that is falling. This list weighs those with published weights.

How to use it

If you are between jobs, use it to find nearby counties with more going on, and read each county page for its American Job Centers and workforce board.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Dallas County TX

    72 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    11
    American Job Centers
    7
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 6,562 openings.

    Dallas County job market

  2. 2

    Harris County TX

    70 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    10
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 4,986 openings.

    Harris County job market

  3. 3

    Travis County TX

    69 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    19
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 5,850 openings.

    Travis County job market

  4. 4

    Maricopa County AZ

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    6
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 5,165 openings.

    Maricopa County job market

  5. 5

    Collin County TX

    67 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 1,498 openings.

    Collin County job market

  6. 6

    Washoe County NV

    67 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.7 points

    Based on 416 openings.

    Washoe County job market

  7. 7

    Midland County TX

    64 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 154 openings.

    Midland County job market

  8. 8

    Rockwall County TX

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 121 openings.

    Rockwall County job market

  9. 9

    Tarrant County TX

    60 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    5
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 1,851 openings.

    Tarrant County job market

  10. 10

    Clark County NV

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.9 points

    Based on 1,031 openings.

    Clark County job market

  11. 11

    Taylor County TX

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 128 openings.

    Taylor County job market

  12. 12

    El Paso County TX

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.5 points

    Based on 307 openings.

    El Paso County job market

  13. 13

    Hunt County TX

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 104 openings.

    Hunt County job market

  14. 14

    Pinal County AZ

    48 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 132 openings.

    Pinal County job market

  15. 15

    McLennan County TX

    47 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.2 points

    Based on 209 openings.

    McLennan County job market

  16. 16

    Potter County TX

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.4 points

    Based on 128 openings.

    Potter County job market

  17. 17

    Bexar County TX

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    5
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.0 points

    Based on 1,327 openings.

    Bexar County job market

  18. 18

    Denton County TX

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 416 openings.

    Denton County job market

  19. 19

    Williamson County TX

    44 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 287 openings.

    Williamson County job market

  20. 20

    Fort Bend County TX

    44 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 183 openings.

    Fort Bend County job market

  21. 21

    Smith County TX

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 130 openings.

    Smith County job market

  22. 22

    Pima County AZ

    41 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    8
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.1 points

    Based on 691 openings.

    Pima County job market

  23. 23

    Nueces County TX

    41 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 132 openings.

    Nueces County job market

  24. 24

    Oklahoma County OK

    40 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 605 openings.

    Oklahoma County job market

  25. 25

    Montgomery County TX

    40 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.1 points

    Based on 271 openings.

    Montgomery County job market

Full ranking

All 30 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Dallas County TX72 / 1006,562
2Harris County TX70 / 1004,986
3Travis County TX69 / 1005,850
4Maricopa County AZ68 / 1005,165
5Collin County TX67 / 1001,498
6Washoe County NV67 / 100416
7Midland County TX64 / 100154
8Rockwall County TX63 / 100121
9Tarrant County TX60 / 1001,851
10Clark County NV59 / 1001,031
11Taylor County TX57 / 100128
12El Paso County TX54 / 100307
13Hunt County TX54 / 100104
14Pinal County AZ48 / 100132
15McLennan County TX47 / 100209
16Potter County TX46 / 100128
17Bexar County TX46 / 1001,327
18Denton County TX46 / 100416
19Williamson County TX44 / 100287
20Fort Bend County TX44 / 100183
21Smith County TX43 / 100130
22Pima County AZ41 / 100691
23Nueces County TX41 / 100132
24Oklahoma County OK40 / 100605
25Montgomery County TX40 / 100271
26Cameron County TX38 / 100131
27Tulsa County OK37 / 100542
28Galveston County TX31 / 100137
29Bernalillo County NM24 / 100378
30Lubbock County TX20 / 100146

How this ranking works

A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.

Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.

Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.

Sample bar: counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; CareerOneStop American Job Center directory. Data as of November 2026.

Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.

Questions

Which county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in the southwest?
Dallas County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Southwest, with a score of 72 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
30 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 30 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.
How often is it updated?
Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.

More rankings

Cite this ranking

NextChapter, “Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Southwest,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-southwest

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-southwest">Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Southwest (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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