It may not come as a surprise given Texas’ economic strength over the last few years that the Lone Star State has five of the first 11 leading cities in job gains over the last 10 years. All four of the state’s biggest markets – Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin – posted gains in the number of new jobs. And McAllen-Edinburg, from its perch in the Rio Grande Valley, posted an astonishing 41 percent job growth rate and added 48,000 jobs in that 10-year span starting in May 2000. What’s more, while most areas were posting heavy job erosion in 2008 and 2009, McAllen held steady. Its location near the U.S.-Mexico border makes it a major retail draw, and it posted more than $3.5 billion in retail sales
