Hometown Glory

The Economist credits Texas for powering economy past recession

Houston ranked No. 2 behind Austin.
Photo by Jack Opatrany/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
Dallas ranked seventh on the The Economist's list.
Austin tops The Economist's list of new job growth.
Ed Schipul/Flickr

Did you know that the name Texas originally came from the word "jobs" in the language of the Caddo, an Eastern Texas tribe of Native Americans?

No? That's because it's not true. (Fun fact: The original Caddo word "taysha" meant friends or allies.) But based on new jobs figures compiled by The Economist, maybe the state should change its name.

It's been five years since the United States officially slid into recession in December 2007, and the newest metropolitan employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that most cities have yet to reach pre-recession jobs levels. After all, the 10th-best city for growth between December 2007 and October 2012 is New Orleans, which has the slightly dubious accomplishment of breaking even on jobs during that time frame.

Of the nine American metropolitan areas (with more than half a million jobs) that recorded job growth that surpassed pre-recession levels, four are in Texas.

Austin's amazing growth leads the pack, with Texas' capital boasting nearly 8 percent more employment than in 2007, or 55,400 additional jobs. On the other hand, Houston came in second in percentage change since 2007, with around 5 percent growth, but the city is the unchallenged leader in raw jobs numbers, with 128,000 more jobs now than before the recession. San Antonio came in fourth, and Dallas rounded out the Texas foursome in seventh place.

But as The Economist writes, even those numbers don't tell the whole story on Texas' strong jobs performance.

The second thing that stands out is Texas. The focus on just the very top of the league table for large metro areas actually understates the performance of the Lone Star State. Looking at all metropolitan areas, eight of the top 20 and 17 of the top 50 metros, in terms of percentage employment growth, are in Texas.

Although the booming energy sector and more stringent mortgage policies in Texas are included as factors of Texas' remarkable, virtually recession-proof run, the author also points to Texas' strong population growth over the past five years as a main source of new jobs.

But one could just as easily argue that the strong economy of the Lone Star State has been a cause, rather than an effect, of people from around the country and beyond making Texas their home.

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Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Garry Neesam on Unsplash

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In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Dallas, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycling riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

texas reports rankings