Survey Says

Dallas suburbs dominate list of best Texas cities for job seekers

Irving's wide variety of business opportunities make it one the best Texas cities for job seekers.

Photo courtesy of Irving Convention Center

A recent study of the best Texas towns for job seekers shows that Dallas-Fort Worth is booming for those looking for work. The study, conducted by consumer finance website NerdWallet.com, found that half of the 10 best cities for finding jobs are right here in town.

To devise the rankings, Nerdwallet used information from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics on population growth, unemployment rates and median income. League City in Galveston County was ranked No. 1, but Allen took silver, thanks to strong population growth and low unemployment. Allen Independent School District received mention as the biggest employer for the city, further cementing Allen as a great town for raising a family.

McKinney and Grand Prairie made the fourth and fifth spots. McKinney has seen tremendous growth over the last decade, doubling its population between 2000 and 2010. A large portion of jobs are in the tech, medical and manufacturing industries for companies like Torchmark and StatLab.

Grand Prairie’s location near DFW Airport makes it a hot spot for companies like Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter. Irving is No. 8, thanks to a large variety of companies, including ExxonMobil, BlackBerry, Verizon, Citigroup and Allstate.

The last North Texas town is also the largest on the list. Plano took the dime spot for having a diversified portfolio of finance, tech, medicine and software companies such as McAfee, Capital One, and the Medical Center of Plano. Other cities on the list are Sugar Land, Midland, Edinburg and Bryan.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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