This North Texas county clocks in as top U.S. spot for workforce talent

Collin County reigns as a burgeoning corporate hub. It’s already home to heavyweight employers like FedEx Office, Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney, and Toyota, and it continues to draw thousands of new workers each year.

The county could attract even more employers and residents once they pore over this year’s Talent Attraction Scorecard from mapping software company Esri. The scorecard, released December 8, ranks Collin County third among the country’s top large counties for the ability to recruit and develop workforce talent. That’s up from a No. 4 ranking in 2019.

The government website for Collin County brags that the county is “one of the nation’s best places for employers and employees.”

“We aren’t just the Metroplex’s country cousin anymore. In just a few years, we have grown into a destination county for individuals, families, and corporations alike,” the county website says.

Esri relied on six data points to come up with its rankings:

• Net migration
• Overall job growth
• Growth of skilled jobs
• Level of education
• Regional competitiveness
• Annual job openings per capita

Among large counties, Collin appears at No. 7 for net migration, No. 10 for regional competitiveness, No. 13 for growth of skilled jobs, No. 14 for level of education, No. 20 for overall job growth, and No. 176 for annual job openings per capita.

Supporting the No. 7 ranking for net migration, the county's population rose 3 percent from 2018 to 2019 to surpass 1 million. It is projected to be home to 1.6 million to 1.7 million residents by 2030. Collin County cities like Allen, Frisco, McKinney, and Plano are consistently ranked among the best places to live and work. For example:

• Plano: Named America's best city for a staycation (May 2020).
• Frisco: No. 6 among fastest-growing cities in U.S. (October 2020).
• McKinney: Named one of the top U.S. cities for growth. (January 2020).

Collin County isn’t the only North Texas county to score well in Esri’s ranking. At No. 6, Denton County sits three spots behind it on the list of large counties (those with at least 100,000 residents). Denton County fares particularly well in these four categories: net migration (No. 6), level of education (No. 6), growth of skilled jobs (No. 17), and overall job growth (No. 18). On last year’s scorecard, it earned the No. 10 ranking among large counties.

Elsewhere in Texas:

• Williamson County (Austin area) ranks fourth among large counties.
• Montgomery County (Houston area) ranks ninth among large counties.
• Fort Bend County (Houston area) ranks 11th among large counties.
• Travis County (Austin area) ranks 17th among large counties.
• Kendall County (San Antonio area) ranks ninth among small counties.

Overall, four Texas counties are in the top 10 among large counties. “While they rank well across the index, the common theme with all of them is they are suburbs of major metros, and are seeing a migration from those metros,” the report says.