Source: WalletHub

 

WalletHub analyzed data for 122 cities across the Lone Star State to come up with the Best and Worst Cities in Texas for finding a job.  This survey included Tyler, Longview, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and Marshall. 

So, how did we rate?

First, a little background.  WalletHub is self-described as the web's best personal finance resource and several times a week they release lists of the best of and/or the worst of finance, education, or economic related studies.  In this case, WalletHub set forth two major areas to analyze the data.  The 'Job Market' data which includes job opportunities, employment growth, and starting salary, to name a few.  The 'Socioeconomic Environment' is also considered and includes data such as annual income, commute time, and housing costs.

Now, the rankings, which leave a bit to be desired.

No city in East or Northeast Texas made the top 55.  Longview rated the best from cities in the Eastern third of Texas coming in at 56.  Tyler followed at 62, Marshall ranked 78th, Nacogdoches at 82, Lufkin at 83, Paris ranked 96th, Huntsville 99th, and Texarkana came in at 113th in the survey of 122 Texas cities.

The top 5 cities that were job friendly in Texas are Southlake, Coppell, University Park, Flower Mound, and Sugarland. Brownsville ranked last followed by Copperas Cove, Texas City, El Paso, and Killeen.

In breaking down some of the specifics, Lufkin had good to great scores in categories such as commute time to work and unemployment rates, in fact, Lufkin ranked #1 for unemployment rates for residents with a Bachelor's Degree or higher.  However, Lufkin ranked no better than 100 out of 122 cities in categories such as monthly median starting salary, industry variety, median annual income, and crime rate.

Nacogdoches, meanwhile, came out with great marks for categories such as commute time, annual transportation costs and unemployment rate for high school graduates.  However, Nacogdoches ranked no better than 100th in many of the same categories in which Lufkin struggled.

Here's a side by side of the some of those specific rankings

.......................................Lufkin..................................Nacogdoches.................

Job opportunites                       42                                                   53

Employment Growth                 66                                                   87

Median Starting Salary            100                                                  101

Unemploy rate for HS grads     45                                                    31

Unemploy rate for Coll grads     1                                                     72

Industry Variety                         100                                                  102

Median Annual Income             107                                                  118

Commute time                            13                                                     6

Housing costs                             93                                                   119

Safety (Crime Rate)                   105                                                   77

Annual Transportation costs        51                                                    6

 

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