Data / Rankings / Employed residents / Cities in Texas

Cities in Texas by employed residents

Houston, TX had the highest employed residents of 134 cities in 2021, at 1.08 million. Melissa, TX had the lowest, at 8,152. The median was 26,600. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,075,397Houston, TX
Lowest8,152Melissa, TX
Median26,600134 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Houston, TX: 1,075,397 personsHouston, TX1,075,397San Antonio, TX: 659,198 personsSan Antonio, TX659,198Dallas, TX: 645,107 personsDallas, TX645,107Austin, TX: 565,439 personsAustin, TX565,439Fort Worth, TX: 452,424 personsFort Worth, TX452,424El Paso, TX: 289,197 personsEl Paso, TX289,197Arlington, TX: 197,121 personsArlington, TX197,121Plano, TX: 151,921 personsPlano, TX151,921Corpus Christi, TX: 136,938 personsCorpus Christi, TX136,938Irving, TX: 130,859 personsIrving, TX130,859Lubbock, TX: 125,698 personsLubbock, TX125,698Garland, TX: 120,286 personsGarland, TX120,286Frisco, TX: 107,939 personsFrisco, TX107,939McKinney, TX: 103,479 personsMcKinney, TX103,479Laredo, TX: 100,036 personsLaredo, TX100,036Amarillo, TX: 95,838 personsAmarillo, TX95,838Grand Prairie, TX: 95,645 personsGrand Prairie, TX95,645Carrollton, TX: 77,139 personsCarrollton, TX77,139Denton, TX: 76,334 personsDenton, TX76,334Brownsville, TX: 74,881 personsBrownsville, TX74,881Mesquite, TX: 72,618 personsMesquite, TX72,618Lewisville, TX: 71,640 personsLewisville, TX71,640Round Rock, TX: 66,676 personsRound Rock, TX66,676Waco, TX: 63,748 personsWaco, TX63,748Richardson, TX: 63,233 personsRichardson, TX63,233McAllen, TX: 63,124 personsMcAllen, TX63,124Midland, TX: 62,878 personsMidland, TX62,878Pasadena, TX: 61,568 personsPasadena, TX61,568College Station, TX: 60,514 personsCollege Station, TX60,514Pearland, TX: 60,078 personsPearland, TX60,078Killeen, TX: 58,375 personsKilleen, TX58,375League City, TX: 56,022 personsLeague City, TX56,022Abilene, TX: 54,578 personsAbilene, TX54,578Allen, TX: 53,912 personsAllen, TX53,912Odessa, TX: 52,150 personsOdessa, TX52,150Sugar Land, TX: 51,253 personsSugar Land, TX51,253Tyler, TX: 49,141 personsTyler, TX49,141New Braunfels, TX: 48,555 personsNew Braunfels, TX48,555Beaumont, TX: 47,254 personsBeaumont, TX47,254San Angelo, TX: 46,442 personsSan Angelo, TX46,442Houston, TX: 1,075,397 personsHouston, TX1,075,397San Antonio, TX: 659,198 personsSan Antonio, TX659,198Dallas, TX: 645,107 personsDallas, TX645,107Austin, TX: 565,439 personsAustin, TX565,439Fort Worth, TX: 452,424 personsFort Worth, TX452,424El Paso, TX: 289,197 personsEl Paso, TX289,197Arlington, TX: 197,121 personsArlington, TX197,121Plano, TX: 151,921 personsPlano, TX151,921Corpus Christi, TX: 136,938 personsCorpus Christi, TX136,938Irving, TX: 130,859 personsIrving, TX130,859Lubbock, TX: 125,698 personsLubbock, TX125,698Garland, TX: 120,286 personsGarland, TX120,286Frisco, TX: 107,939 personsFrisco, TX107,939McKinney, TX: 103,479 personsMcKinney, TX103,479Laredo, TX: 100,036 personsLaredo, TX100,036Amarillo, TX: 95,838 personsAmarillo, TX95,838Grand Prairie, TX: 95,645 personsGrand Prairie, TX95,645Carrollton, TX: 77,139 personsCarrollton, TX77,139Denton, TX: 76,334 personsDenton, TX76,334Brownsville, TX: 74,881 personsBrownsville, TX74,881Mesquite, TX: 72,618 personsMesquite, TX72,618Lewisville, TX: 71,640 personsLewisville, TX71,640Round Rock, TX: 66,676 personsRound Rock, TX66,676Waco, TX: 63,748 personsWaco, TX63,748Richardson, TX: 63,233 personsRichardson, TX63,233McAllen, TX: 63,124 personsMcAllen, TX63,124Midland, TX: 62,878 personsMidland, TX62,878Pasadena, TX: 61,568 personsPasadena, TX61,568College Station, TX: 60,514 personsCollege Station, TX60,514Pearland, TX: 60,078 personsPearland, TX60,078Killeen, TX: 58,375 personsKilleen, TX58,375League City, TX: 56,022 personsLeague City, TX56,022Abilene, TX: 54,578 personsAbilene, TX54,578Allen, TX: 53,912 personsAllen, TX53,912Odessa, TX: 52,150 personsOdessa, TX52,150Sugar Land, TX: 51,253 personsSugar Land, TX51,253Tyler, TX: 49,141 personsTyler, TX49,141New Braunfels, TX: 48,555 personsNew Braunfels, TX48,555Beaumont, TX: 47,254 personsBeaumont, TX47,254San Angelo, TX: 46,442 personsSan Angelo, TX46,442
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Houston, TX1,075,397+2.7%
2San Antonio, TX659,198+4.8%
3Dallas, TX645,107+3.9%
4Austin, TX565,439+6.8%
5Fort Worth, TX452,424+6%
6El Paso, TX289,197+3.9%
7Arlington, TX197,121+4.2%
8Plano, TX151,921+5.8%
9Corpus Christi, TX136,938+2.7%
10Irving, TX130,859+4%
11Lubbock, TX125,698+5%
12Garland, TX120,286+4.1%
13Frisco, TX107,939+9.3%
14McKinney, TX103,479+8.1%
15Laredo, TX100,036+3.8%
16Amarillo, TX95,838+4.3%
17Grand Prairie, TX95,645+5.4%
18Carrollton, TX77,139+5%
19Denton, TX76,334+9.5%
20Brownsville, TX74,881+6.4%
21Mesquite, TX72,618+3.6%
22Lewisville, TX71,640+5.6%
23Round Rock, TX66,676+9.4%
24Waco, TX63,748+4.8%
25Richardson, TX63,233+4%
26McAllen, TX63,124+6.2%
27Midland, TX62,878+5%
28Pasadena, TX61,568+1.2%
29College Station, TX60,514+7.1%
30Pearland, TX60,078+2.9%
31Killeen, TX58,375+4.7%
32League City, TX56,022+3.8%
33Abilene, TX54,578+4.3%
34Allen, TX53,912+6.4%
35Odessa, TX52,150+2.5%
36Sugar Land, TX51,253+1.9%
37Tyler, TX49,141+4.4%
38New Braunfels, TX48,555+12.2%
39Beaumont, TX47,254-0.3%
40San Angelo, TX46,442+4.5%
41Conroe, TX44,801+7.9%
42Edinburg, TX43,656+7.5%
43Wichita Falls, TX42,405+2.4%
44Flower Mound, TX40,816+6.4%
45Cedar Park, TX40,583+7.5%
46Bryan, TX40,106+6.6%
47San Marcos, TX37,800+8.1%
48Mansfield, TX37,797+6.9%
49Pflugerville, TX36,760+8%
50North Richland Hills, TX36,346+4.4%
51Leander, TX36,035+17.1%
52Missouri City, TX35,821+3.9%
53Baytown, TX35,324+1.8%
54Temple, TX35,300+6.1%
55Longview, TX34,983+1.9%
56Rowlett, TX33,789+6.6%
57Euless, TX33,762+3.5%
58Mission, TX33,697+5.6%
59Pharr, TX31,763+4.9%
60Georgetown, TX31,694+17.4%
61Wylie, TX30,355+7.8%
62Grapevine, TX29,156+4.8%
63Harlingen, TX28,692+6.2%
64DeSoto, TX28,381+4.4%
65Victoria, TX28,020+2.7%
66Kyle, TX27,159+18.2%
67The Colony, TX27,090+6%
68Bedford, TX26,110+3.3%
69Little Elm, TX25,843+13.9%
70Rockwall, TX25,823+9.4%
71Burleson, TX24,694+12.2%
72Cedar Hill, TX23,788+3.8%
73Texas City, TX23,503+6.9%
74Galveston, TX23,373+2.4%
75Coppell, TX22,461+3.5%
76Keller, TX22,149+3.8%
77Waxahachie, TX21,871+10.4%
78Haltom City, TX21,774+4%
79Farmers Branch, TX20,989+4.4%
80Sherman, TX20,874+4.8%
81Hurst, TX20,263+3.9%
82Port Arthur, TX18,712+1.2%
83Midlothian, TX18,673+9.5%
84Schertz, TX18,407+5%
85Lancaster, TX18,250+3.6%
86Rosenberg, TX18,248+5.9%
87Friendswood, TX18,125+2.7%
88Duncanville, TX17,081+3.1%
89Hutto, TX17,037+16.9%
90Huntsville, TX16,739+2%
91La Porte, TX16,337+5.2%
92Weatherford, TX16,282+14%
93Prosper, TX15,833+16.2%
94Weslaco, TX15,720+6.2%
95Socorro, TX15,488+8.7%
96Sachse, TX15,317+12.4%
97Deer Park, TX15,217+1.2%
98Del Rio, TX14,499+6.8%
99Copperas Cove, TX14,445+4.6%
100Cleburne, TX14,403+6.8%
101Cibolo, TX14,377+5.9%
102Nacogdoches, TX14,294+3.4%
103Texarkana, TX14,174+2.9%
104San Juan, TX14,163+5.7%
105Forney, TX14,051+20%
106Seguin, TX13,944+9%
107Harker Heights, TX13,710+3.6%
108Lufkin, TX13,464+3%
109Greenville, TX13,104+9.7%
110Southlake, TX13,063+4%
111Converse, TX12,983+6.8%
112Lake Jackson, TX12,812+2%
113Balch Springs, TX12,495+3.3%
114Alvin, TX12,292+4.5%
115Colleyville, TX12,133+4.2%
116Celina, TX11,945+40.6%
117Saginaw, TX11,843+4.5%
118Corsicana, TX10,834+4.1%
119Eagle Pass, TX10,680+1.7%
120Paris, TX10,615+6.6%
121Princeton, TX10,505+20.2%
122Kingsville, TX10,476+2.3%
123University Park, TX10,432+4.2%
124Anna, TX10,417+21.9%
125Denison, TX10,323+4.8%
126Katy, TX10,254+9.1%
127Fate, TX10,225+19.6%
128Kerrville, TX10,073+4.6%
129Fulshear, TX9,929+46%
130Belton, TX9,765+4.6%
131Big Spring, TX9,612+2.3%
132San Benito, TX8,595+5.3%
133Royse City, TX8,294+22.3%
134Melissa, TX8,152+24.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents who did any work for pay or profit in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from a job, 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, whatever the place of work, and someone with two jobs counts once. 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: employment (measure 05), 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: employment (measure 05), annual average (Cities in Texas by employed residents, 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: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Texas by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Cities in Texas by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/texas-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, Cities in Texas by employed residents, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Texas by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/texas-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), 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: employment (measure 05), annual average: Cities in Texas by employed residents, 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/employed-residents/texas-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/texas-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Texas by employed residents using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employed_residents","level":"municipality","within":"Texas","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employed_residents&level=municipality&within=Texas&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

Houston, TX, with 1.08 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

Melissa, TX, with 8,152 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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Employed residents: other rankings

Cities in Texas: more rankings