{"h1":"Best county job markets for job seekers in the Southwest","faq":[{"a":"Midland County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the Southwest, with a score of 85 / 100.","q":"Which county ranks first: best county job markets for job seekers in the southwest?"},{"a":"30 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 30 entries.","q":"How many counties are ranked?"},{"a":"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 30%, unemployment rate 25%, private-sector job growth since 2022 25%, population growth since 2020 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.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Midland County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the Southwest, with a score of 85 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":154,"bar":1,"key":"48329","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/midland-county","name":"Midland County","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"5"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"3.2%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+11.4%"}],"value":84.82758620689654,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"85 / 100"},{"n":121,"bar":0.9928861788617886,"key":"48397","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/rockwall-county","name":"Rockwall County","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"3.8%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+16.1%"}],"value":84.22413793103448,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"84 / 100"},{"n":5850,"bar":0.934959349593496,"key":"48453","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/travis-county","name":"Travis County","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"19"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"3.6%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+5.8%"}],"value":79.3103448275862,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"79 / 100"},{"n":1498,"bar":0.8760162601626017,"key":"48085","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/collin-county","name":"Collin County","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"5"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.1%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+11.0%"}],"value":74.3103448275862,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"74 / 100"},{"n":287,"bar":0.8241869918699187,"key":"48491","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/williamson-county","name":"Williamson County","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 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100"},{"n":416,"bar":0.7103658536585367,"key":"32031","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/county/washoe-county","name":"Washoe County","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"3.5%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+3.5%"}],"value":60.25862068965517,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"60 / 100"},{"n":5165,"bar":0.7093495934959351,"key":"04013","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/county/maricopa-county","name":"Maricopa County","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"5"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.1%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+5.4%"}],"value":60.17241379310345,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"60 / 100"},{"n":416,"bar":0.6737804878048781,"key":"48121","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/denton-county","name":"Denton County","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 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100"},{"n":271,"bar":0.6138211382113822,"key":"48339","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/montgomery-county","name":"Montgomery County","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.3%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+11.0%"}],"value":52.06896551724138,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"52 / 100"},{"n":1851,"bar":0.5975609756097562,"key":"48439","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/tarrant-county","name":"Tarrant County","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.1%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+5.3%"}],"value":50.68965517241379,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"51 / 100"},{"n":542,"bar":0.5802845528455286,"key":"40143","sub":"OK","href":"/places/oklahoma/county/tulsa-county","name":"Tulsa County","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 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100"},{"n":128,"bar":0.5426829268292683,"key":"48375","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/potter-county","name":"Potter County","rank":18,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"6"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.0%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+2.2%"}],"value":46.03448275862068,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"46 / 100"},{"n":183,"bar":0.5223577235772359,"key":"48157","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/fort-bend-county","name":"Fort Bend County","rank":19,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"1"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.5%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+13.3%"}],"value":44.31034482758621,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"44 / 100"},{"n":146,"bar":0.5172764227642277,"key":"48303","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/lubbock-county","name":"Lubbock County","rank":20,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 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100"},{"n":209,"bar":0.4776422764227642,"key":"48309","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/mclennan-county","name":"McLennan County","rank":23,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.0%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+1.4%"}],"value":40.51724137931033,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"41 / 100"},{"n":132,"bar":0.4156504065040651,"key":"48355","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/nueces-county","name":"Nueces County","rank":24,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.4%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+7.8%"}],"value":35.25862068965517,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"35 / 100"},{"n":1031,"bar":0.4126016260162602,"key":"32003","sub":"NV","href":"/places/nevada/county/clark-county","name":"Clark County","rank":25,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 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100"},{"n":691,"bar":0.2520325203252033,"key":"04019","sub":"AZ","href":"/places/arizona/county/pima-county","name":"Pima County","rank":28,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"3"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.8%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+1.7%"}],"value":21.37931034482759,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"21 / 100"},{"n":378,"bar":0.2439024390243903,"key":"35001","sub":"NM","href":"/places/new-mexico/county/bernalillo-county","name":"Bernalillo County","rank":29,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"4.6%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+2.9%"}],"value":20.68965517241379,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"21 / 100"},{"n":131,"bar":0.1219512195121951,"key":"48061","sub":"TX","href":"/places/texas/county/cameron-county","name":"Cameron County","rank":30,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"1"},{"label":"Unemployment rate","value":"5.9%"},{"label":"Private-sector job growth since 2022","value":"+3.4%"}],"value":10.3448275862069,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"10 / 100"}],"slug":"best-county-job-markets-in-the-southwest","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"southwest","kind":"region","name":"Southwest"},"title":"Best county job markets for job seekers in the Southwest","family":"Best overall","method":["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 30%, unemployment rate 25%, private-sector job growth since 2022 25%, population growth since 2020 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."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"coverall","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county","Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages","Census Bureau population estimates"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Midland County, TX: 85 / 100","#2 Rockwall County, TX: 84 / 100","#3 Travis County, TX: 79 / 100","30 counties ranked in the Southwest","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"counties","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: Midland County leads on 85 / 100, and #10 Denton County is at 57 / 100.","Hunt County reaches #7 on a sample of 104 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Travis County is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,850 openings behind its figure.","Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-county-job-markets-in-the-southwest"}