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 2021, at 1.15 million. Melissa, TX had the lowest, at 8,454. The median was 27,989. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,146,377Houston, TX
Lowest8,454Melissa, TX
Median27,989134 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Houston, TX: 1,146,377 personsHouston, TX1,146,377San Antonio, TX: 696,481 personsSan Antonio, TX696,481Dallas, TX: 684,226 personsDallas, TX684,226Austin, TX: 589,078 personsAustin, TX589,078Fort Worth, TX: 478,274 personsFort Worth, TX478,274El Paso, TX: 307,061 personsEl Paso, TX307,061Arlington, TX: 208,632 personsArlington, TX208,632Plano, TX: 159,206 personsPlano, TX159,206Corpus Christi, TX: 146,918 personsCorpus Christi, TX146,918Irving, TX: 137,897 personsIrving, TX137,897Lubbock, TX: 131,970 personsLubbock, TX131,970Garland, TX: 126,758 personsGarland, TX126,758Frisco, TX: 112,332 personsFrisco, TX112,332McKinney, TX: 108,399 personsMcKinney, TX108,399Laredo, TX: 106,882 personsLaredo, TX106,882Grand Prairie, TX: 101,424 personsGrand Prairie, TX101,424Amarillo, TX: 99,845 personsAmarillo, TX99,845Brownsville, TX: 81,431 personsBrownsville, TX81,431Carrollton, TX: 80,782 personsCarrollton, TX80,782Denton, TX: 80,101 personsDenton, TX80,101Mesquite, TX: 77,076 personsMesquite, TX77,076Lewisville, TX: 75,085 personsLewisville, TX75,085Round Rock, TX: 69,428 personsRound Rock, TX69,428McAllen, TX: 67,522 personsMcAllen, TX67,522Midland, TX: 67,224 personsMidland, TX67,224Waco, TX: 67,138 personsWaco, TX67,138Pasadena, TX: 66,657 personsPasadena, TX66,657Richardson, TX: 66,261 personsRichardson, TX66,261Pearland, TX: 63,223 personsPearland, TX63,223College Station, TX: 63,120 personsCollege Station, TX63,120Killeen, TX: 62,511 personsKilleen, TX62,511League City, TX: 59,054 personsLeague City, TX59,054Abilene, TX: 57,183 personsAbilene, TX57,183Odessa, TX: 56,488 personsOdessa, TX56,488Allen, TX: 56,482 personsAllen, TX56,482Sugar Land, TX: 54,305 personsSugar Land, TX54,305Tyler, TX: 51,828 personsTyler, TX51,828Beaumont, TX: 51,524 personsBeaumont, TX51,524New Braunfels, TX: 50,682 personsNew Braunfels, TX50,682San Angelo, TX: 48,699 personsSan Angelo, TX48,699Houston, TX: 1,146,377 personsHouston, TX1,146,377San Antonio, TX: 696,481 personsSan Antonio, TX696,481Dallas, TX: 684,226 personsDallas, TX684,226Austin, TX: 589,078 personsAustin, TX589,078Fort Worth, TX: 478,274 personsFort Worth, TX478,274El Paso, TX: 307,061 personsEl Paso, TX307,061Arlington, TX: 208,632 personsArlington, TX208,632Plano, TX: 159,206 personsPlano, TX159,206Corpus Christi, TX: 146,918 personsCorpus Christi, TX146,918Irving, TX: 137,897 personsIrving, TX137,897Lubbock, TX: 131,970 personsLubbock, TX131,970Garland, TX: 126,758 personsGarland, TX126,758Frisco, TX: 112,332 personsFrisco, TX112,332McKinney, TX: 108,399 personsMcKinney, TX108,399Laredo, TX: 106,882 personsLaredo, TX106,882Grand Prairie, TX: 101,424 personsGrand Prairie, TX101,424Amarillo, TX: 99,845 personsAmarillo, TX99,845Brownsville, TX: 81,431 personsBrownsville, TX81,431Carrollton, TX: 80,782 personsCarrollton, TX80,782Denton, TX: 80,101 personsDenton, TX80,101Mesquite, TX: 77,076 personsMesquite, TX77,076Lewisville, TX: 75,085 personsLewisville, TX75,085Round Rock, TX: 69,428 personsRound Rock, TX69,428McAllen, TX: 67,522 personsMcAllen, TX67,522Midland, TX: 67,224 personsMidland, TX67,224Waco, TX: 67,138 personsWaco, TX67,138Pasadena, TX: 66,657 personsPasadena, TX66,657Richardson, TX: 66,261 personsRichardson, TX66,261Pearland, TX: 63,223 personsPearland, TX63,223College Station, TX: 63,120 personsCollege Station, TX63,120Killeen, TX: 62,511 personsKilleen, TX62,511League City, TX: 59,054 personsLeague City, TX59,054Abilene, TX: 57,183 personsAbilene, TX57,183Odessa, TX: 56,488 personsOdessa, TX56,488Allen, TX: 56,482 personsAllen, TX56,482Sugar Land, TX: 54,305 personsSugar Land, TX54,305Tyler, TX: 51,828 personsTyler, TX51,828Beaumont, TX: 51,524 personsBeaumont, TX51,524New Braunfels, TX: 50,682 personsNew Braunfels, TX50,682San Angelo, TX: 48,699 personsSan Angelo, TX48,699
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

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Houston, TX1,146,377-0.1%
2San Antonio, TX696,481+2.1%
3Dallas, TX684,226+1.4%
4Austin, TX589,078+4%
5Fort Worth, TX478,274+3.8%
6El Paso, TX307,061+1.6%
7Arlington, TX208,632+1.5%
8Plano, TX159,206+3.6%
9Corpus Christi, TX146,918+0.3%
10Irving, TX137,897+1.4%
11Lubbock, TX131,970+3.6%
12Garland, TX126,758+1.7%
13Frisco, TX112,332+7.1%
14McKinney, TX108,399+5.7%
15Laredo, TX106,882+1.1%
16Grand Prairie, TX101,424+2.7%
17Amarillo, TX99,845+3%
18Brownsville, TX81,431+3.6%
19Carrollton, TX80,782+2.6%
20Denton, TX80,101+6.8%
21Mesquite, TX77,076+1.6%
22Lewisville, TX75,085+3%
23Round Rock, TX69,428+7.3%
24McAllen, TX67,522+3.1%
25Midland, TX67,224+1.8%
26Waco, TX67,138+3.2%
27Pasadena, TX66,657-1.9%
28Richardson, TX66,261+2.1%
29Pearland, TX63,223+1.3%
30College Station, TX63,120+5.9%
31Killeen, TX62,511+3.1%
32League City, TX59,054+2.1%
33Abilene, TX57,183+3%
34Odessa, TX56,488-0.8%
35Allen, TX56,482+4.2%
36Sugar Land, TX54,305+0.4%
37Tyler, TX51,828+2.6%
38Beaumont, TX51,524-2.6%
39New Braunfels, TX50,682+9.9%
40San Angelo, TX48,699+2.8%
41Conroe, TX47,406+5.4%
42Edinburg, TX46,707+4.6%
43Wichita Falls, TX44,746+0.9%
44Flower Mound, TX42,434+4.4%
45Cedar Park, TX42,307+5.2%
46Bryan, TX42,141+5%
47Mansfield, TX39,675+5%
48Baytown, TX39,526-2.2%
49San Marcos, TX39,513+5%
50Pflugerville, TX38,768+5.4%
51Missouri City, TX38,371+1.2%
52North Richland Hills, TX38,221+2.2%
53Longview, TX37,453-0.2%
54Leander, TX37,452+15%
55Temple, TX37,146+4.7%
56Mission, TX36,868+2.4%
57Euless, TX35,619+0.5%
58Rowlett, TX35,553+4.4%
59Pharr, TX34,862+1.5%
60Georgetown, TX33,378+14.9%
61Wylie, TX31,683+5.6%
62Harlingen, TX30,637+4.1%
63DeSoto, TX30,508+2.3%
64Grapevine, TX30,478+2.3%
65Victoria, TX29,902+0.3%
66The Colony, TX28,435+2.9%
67Kyle, TX28,343+15.1%
68Bedford, TX27,635+0.6%
69Little Elm, TX27,105+10.9%
70Rockwall, TX26,979+7.5%
71Burleson, TX25,928+9.7%
72Cedar Hill, TX25,604+1.6%
73Texas City, TX25,443+3.5%
74Galveston, TX24,923-1.2%
75Coppell, TX23,515+1.6%
76Keller, TX23,083+2.2%
77Haltom City, TX22,981+2.1%
78Waxahachie, TX22,903+8.4%
79Farmers Branch, TX22,099+2.3%
80Sherman, TX21,880+3.4%
81Port Arthur, TX21,549-1.9%
82Hurst, TX21,355+1.6%
83Lancaster, TX19,888+1.4%
84Midlothian, TX19,462+7.8%
85Rosenberg, TX19,428+3.6%
86Schertz, TX19,350+3.3%
87Friendswood, TX19,126+1.1%
88Duncanville, TX18,340+0.4%
89Hutto, TX17,761+14.4%
90La Porte, TX17,640+2.3%
91Huntsville, TX17,638+1.1%
92Weslaco, TX17,336+4%
93Weatherford, TX16,962+11.5%
94Prosper, TX16,611+14.2%
95Socorro, TX16,522+6.1%
96Deer Park, TX16,358-1%
97Sachse, TX15,964+10%
98San Juan, TX15,842+1.8%
99Del Rio, TX15,519+3.8%
100Copperas Cove, TX15,219+3.2%
101Cleburne, TX15,133+4.7%
102Nacogdoches, TX15,132+2.5%
103Texarkana, TX15,120+0.7%
104Cibolo, TX15,101+4.3%
105Forney, TX14,919+16.9%
106Seguin, TX14,616+6.5%
107Harker Heights, TX14,446+2.4%
108Lufkin, TX14,401+1.6%
109Converse, TX13,874+4.3%
110Lake Jackson, TX13,850-0.2%
111Greenville, TX13,824+7.9%
112Southlake, TX13,659+2.8%
113Balch Springs, TX13,251+1.9%
114Alvin, TX13,224+2.5%
115Colleyville, TX12,668+3%
116Saginaw, TX12,455+2.6%
117Eagle Pass, TX12,427-2.2%
118Celina, TX12,284+39.3%
119Corsicana, TX11,478+2.7%
120Paris, TX11,360+5.4%
121Kingsville, TX11,249+0.6%
122Princeton, TX11,027+17.8%
123Denison, TX10,911+3.2%
124University Park, TX10,910+4.1%
125Anna, TX10,909+19.3%
126Katy, TX10,841+7.1%
127Fate, TX10,569+17.9%
128Kerrville, TX10,556+3.3%
129Fulshear, TX10,308+45.5%
130Big Spring, TX10,265+0.3%
131Belton, TX10,209+3.8%
132San Benito, TX9,682+4.6%
133Royse City, TX8,719+19.3%
134Melissa, TX8,454+22.7%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_texas_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/texas-cities?period=2021.
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 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Melissa, TX, with 8,454 in 2021.

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