Data / Rankings / Civilian labor force / Cities in Texas

Cities in Texas by civilian labor force

Houston, TX had the highest civilian labor force of 134 cities in 2020, at 1.15 million. Melissa, TX had the lowest, at 6,892. The median was 26,349. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,148,016Houston, TX
Lowest6,892Melissa, TX
Median26,349134 cities

Top 40 cities, 2020

Houston, TX: 1,148,016 personsHouston, TX1,148,016San Antonio, TX: 682,222 personsSan Antonio, TX682,222Dallas, TX: 674,458 personsDallas, TX674,458Austin, TX: 566,203 personsAustin, TX566,203Fort Worth, TX: 460,687 personsFort Worth, TX460,687El Paso, TX: 302,215 personsEl Paso, TX302,215Arlington, TX: 205,553 personsArlington, TX205,553Plano, TX: 153,671 personsPlano, TX153,671Corpus Christi, TX: 146,548 personsCorpus Christi, TX146,548Irving, TX: 135,963 personsIrving, TX135,963Lubbock, TX: 127,415 personsLubbock, TX127,415Garland, TX: 124,667 personsGarland, TX124,667Laredo, TX: 105,739 personsLaredo, TX105,739Frisco, TX: 104,914 personsFrisco, TX104,914McKinney, TX: 102,581 personsMcKinney, TX102,581Grand Prairie, TX: 98,715 personsGrand Prairie, TX98,715Amarillo, TX: 96,930 personsAmarillo, TX96,930Carrollton, TX: 78,761 personsCarrollton, TX78,761Brownsville, TX: 78,621 personsBrownsville, TX78,621Mesquite, TX: 75,899 personsMesquite, TX75,899Denton, TX: 75,001 personsDenton, TX75,001Lewisville, TX: 72,890 personsLewisville, TX72,890Pasadena, TX: 67,978 personsPasadena, TX67,978Midland, TX: 66,063 personsMidland, TX66,063McAllen, TX: 65,522 personsMcAllen, TX65,522Waco, TX: 65,045 personsWaco, TX65,045Richardson, TX: 64,902 personsRichardson, TX64,902Round Rock, TX: 64,734 personsRound Rock, TX64,734Pearland, TX: 62,414 personsPearland, TX62,414Killeen, TX: 60,608 personsKilleen, TX60,608College Station, TX: 59,583 personsCollege Station, TX59,583League City, TX: 57,855 personsLeague City, TX57,855Odessa, TX: 56,970 personsOdessa, TX56,970Abilene, TX: 55,528 personsAbilene, TX55,528Allen, TX: 54,200 personsAllen, TX54,200Sugar Land, TX: 54,112 personsSugar Land, TX54,112Beaumont, TX: 52,909 personsBeaumont, TX52,909Tyler, TX: 50,505 personsTyler, TX50,505San Angelo, TX: 47,350 personsSan Angelo, TX47,350New Braunfels, TX: 46,126 personsNew Braunfels, TX46,126Houston, TX: 1,148,016 personsHouston, TX1,148,016San Antonio, TX: 682,222 personsSan Antonio, TX682,222Dallas, TX: 674,458 personsDallas, TX674,458Austin, TX: 566,203 personsAustin, TX566,203Fort Worth, TX: 460,687 personsFort Worth, TX460,687El Paso, TX: 302,215 personsEl Paso, TX302,215Arlington, TX: 205,553 personsArlington, TX205,553Plano, TX: 153,671 personsPlano, TX153,671Corpus Christi, TX: 146,548 personsCorpus Christi, TX146,548Irving, TX: 135,963 personsIrving, TX135,963Lubbock, TX: 127,415 personsLubbock, TX127,415Garland, TX: 124,667 personsGarland, TX124,667Laredo, TX: 105,739 personsLaredo, TX105,739Frisco, TX: 104,914 personsFrisco, TX104,914McKinney, TX: 102,581 personsMcKinney, TX102,581Grand Prairie, TX: 98,715 personsGrand Prairie, TX98,715Amarillo, TX: 96,930 personsAmarillo, TX96,930Carrollton, TX: 78,761 personsCarrollton, TX78,761Brownsville, TX: 78,621 personsBrownsville, TX78,621Mesquite, TX: 75,899 personsMesquite, TX75,899Denton, TX: 75,001 personsDenton, TX75,001Lewisville, TX: 72,890 personsLewisville, TX72,890Pasadena, TX: 67,978 personsPasadena, TX67,978Midland, TX: 66,063 personsMidland, TX66,063McAllen, TX: 65,522 personsMcAllen, TX65,522Waco, TX: 65,045 personsWaco, TX65,045Richardson, TX: 64,902 personsRichardson, TX64,902Round Rock, TX: 64,734 personsRound Rock, TX64,734Pearland, TX: 62,414 personsPearland, TX62,414Killeen, TX: 60,608 personsKilleen, TX60,608College Station, TX: 59,583 personsCollege Station, TX59,583League City, TX: 57,855 personsLeague City, TX57,855Odessa, TX: 56,970 personsOdessa, TX56,970Abilene, TX: 55,528 personsAbilene, TX55,528Allen, TX: 54,200 personsAllen, TX54,200Sugar Land, TX: 54,112 personsSugar Land, TX54,112Beaumont, TX: 52,909 personsBeaumont, TX52,909Tyler, TX: 50,505 personsTyler, TX50,505San Angelo, TX: 47,350 personsSan Angelo, TX47,350New Braunfels, TX: 46,126 personsNew Braunfels, TX46,126
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Houston, TX1,148,016-0.9%
2San Antonio, TX682,222+0.1%
3Dallas, TX674,458-0.1%
4Austin, TX566,203+0.3%
5Fort Worth, TX460,687+1.7%
6El Paso, TX302,215+0.2%
7Arlington, TX205,553-0.1%
8Plano, TX153,6710%
9Corpus Christi, TX146,548-1.4%
10Irving, TX135,963+0.1%
11Lubbock, TX127,415-0.4%
12Garland, TX124,667-1.1%
13Laredo, TX105,739-0.8%
14Frisco, TX104,914+2.8%
15McKinney, TX102,581+3.5%
16Grand Prairie, TX98,715+0.2%
17Amarillo, TX96,930-0.4%
18Carrollton, TX78,761+0.3%
19Brownsville, TX78,621+3%
20Mesquite, TX75,899-1.8%
21Denton, TX75,001+3.1%
22Lewisville, TX72,890+1.6%
23Pasadena, TX67,978-1.3%
24Midland, TX66,063-5.9%
25McAllen, TX65,522+2%
26Waco, TX65,045+1.9%
27Richardson, TX64,902-1.7%
28Round Rock, TX64,734+1.1%
29Pearland, TX62,414-2.1%
30Killeen, TX60,608+1.9%
31College Station, TX59,583-0.9%
32League City, TX57,855-1.4%
33Odessa, TX56,970-5%
34Abilene, TX55,528-0.2%
35Allen, TX54,200+2.4%
36Sugar Land, TX54,112-3%
37Beaumont, TX52,909-1.5%
38Tyler, TX50,505+0.6%
39San Angelo, TX47,350-1.1%
40New Braunfels, TX46,126+3%
41Conroe, TX44,977+4.1%
42Edinburg, TX44,654+2.7%
43Wichita Falls, TX44,342-1.1%
44Flower Mound, TX40,661+0.8%
45Baytown, TX40,426+1.7%
46Cedar Park, TX40,229-0.2%
47Bryan, TX40,132+1.3%
48Missouri City, TX37,927+0.2%
49Mansfield, TX37,797+0.4%
50San Marcos, TX37,617+1.4%
51Longview, TX37,526-1.7%
52North Richland Hills, TX37,414+1.4%
53Pflugerville, TX36,779+1.2%
54Mission, TX36,004+2.7%
55Temple, TX35,467+2.3%
56Euless, TX35,459+0.8%
57Pharr, TX34,337+2.9%
58Rowlett, TX34,067+0.5%
59Leander, TX32,562+11.1%
60Wylie, TX29,997+1%
61Victoria, TX29,827-2.1%
62DeSoto, TX29,811-0.7%
63Grapevine, TX29,786+0.1%
64Harlingen, TX29,436+1.6%
65Georgetown, TX29,044+7%
66The Colony, TX27,640+2%
67Bedford, TX27,473-1%
68Galveston, TX25,225-0.5%
69Cedar Hill, TX25,205-0.1%
70Rockwall, TX25,089+1.8%
71Kyle, TX24,618+5.6%
72Texas City, TX24,579+2.8%
73Little Elm, TX24,431+6.5%
74Burleson, TX23,627+2.1%
75Coppell, TX23,136-2.7%
76Keller, TX22,590-2.4%
77Haltom City, TX22,516-1.4%
78Port Arthur, TX21,973+1.7%
79Farmers Branch, TX21,603+8.3%
80Sherman, TX21,167+1.8%
81Waxahachie, TX21,134+3.3%
82Hurst, TX21,014-1.6%
83Lancaster, TX19,609+0.4%
84Friendswood, TX18,909-3.1%
85Rosenberg, TX18,747+1.2%
86Schertz, TX18,730-1.6%
87Duncanville, TX18,276-1.1%
88Midlothian, TX18,049+2.8%
89Huntsville, TX17,453-0.6%
90La Porte, TX17,245+1.6%
91Weslaco, TX16,669+5.5%
92Deer Park, TX16,524-2.6%
93Socorro, TX15,579+4.9%
94San Juan, TX15,561+4.1%
95Hutto, TX15,523+5.5%
96Weatherford, TX15,210+2.1%
97Texarkana, TX15,009-1.3%
98Del Rio, TX14,947-4.7%
99Nacogdoches, TX14,762-0.9%
100Copperas Cove, TX14,754+0.5%
101Prosper, TX14,540n/a
102Sachse, TX14,512-2%
103Cibolo, TX14,474+4%
104Cleburne, TX14,449+1%
105Lufkin, TX14,175-0.5%
106Harker Heights, TX14,110+1.2%
107Lake Jackson, TX13,880-2.1%
108Seguin, TX13,722-1.8%
109Converse, TX13,301+1.5%
110Southlake, TX13,283-2.7%
111Balch Springs, TX12,998-1.9%
112Alvin, TX12,898-0.2%
113Greenville, TX12,811+0.8%
114Forney, TX12,761+8.9%
115Eagle Pass, TX12,703+4.6%
116Colleyville, TX12,304-2.3%
117Saginaw, TX12,141n/a
118Kingsville, TX11,181-1.2%
119Corsicana, TX11,179-3%
120Paris, TX10,773-0.3%
121Denison, TX10,576+1%
122University Park, TX10,483-3.7%
123Big Spring, TX10,236-4%
124Kerrville, TX10,214n/a
125Katy, TX10,127n/a
126Belton, TX9,833n/a
127Princeton, TX9,358n/a
128San Benito, TX9,256+3.4%
129Anna, TX9,147n/a
130Fate, TX8,964n/a
131Celina, TX8,817n/a
132Royse City, TX7,310n/a
133Fulshear, TX7,086n/a
134Melissa, TX6,892n/a

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_texas_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Cities in Texas by civilian labor force, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Texas by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

Houston, TX, with 1.15 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Melissa, TX, with 6,892 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

Cities in Texas: more rankings