Counties in Texas by unemployment rate

Starr County had the highest unemployment rate of 254 counties in March 2026, at 9.6%. Loving County had the lowest, at 0.4%. The median was 3.9% and the figure for Texas was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest9.6Starr County
Lowest0.4Loving County
Median3.9254 counties
Texas4.3History

Top 40 counties, March 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Starr CountyStarr County: 9.6 %9.6Maverick CountyMaverick County: 9.4 %9.4Kenedy CountyKenedy County: 7.5 %7.5Willacy CountyWillacy County: 6.9 %6.9Dimmit CountyDimmit County: 6.8 %6.8Zapata CountyZapata County: 6.8 %6.8Zavala CountyZavala County: 6.8 %6.8Val Verde CountyVal Verde County: 6.6 %6.6Sabine CountySabine County: 6.5 %6.5Cameron CountyCameron County: 6.4 %6.4Newton CountyNewton County: 6 %6Hidalgo CountyHidalgo County: 5.9 %5.9Presidio CountyPresidio County: 5.9 %5.9Jasper CountyJasper County: 5.8 %5.8Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 5.7 %5.7McCulloch CountyMcCulloch County: 5.7 %5.7Sutton CountySutton County: 5.7 %5.7Marion CountyMarion County: 5.5 %5.5Morris CountyMorris County: 5.4 %5.4Tyler CountyTyler County: 5.4 %5.4Jim Wells CountyJim Wells County: 5.3 %5.3Liberty CountyLiberty County: 5.3 %5.3Frio CountyFrio County: 5.2 %5.2Live Oak CountyLive Oak County: 5.2 %5.2Matagorda CountyMatagorda County: 5.2 %5.2McMullen CountyMcMullen County: 5.2 %5.2Eastland CountyEastland County: 5.1 %5.1Goliad CountyGoliad County: 5.1 %5.1Hemphill CountyHemphill County: 5.1 %5.1Refugio CountyRefugio County: 5.1 %5.1Trinity CountyTrinity County: 5.1 %5.1Waller CountyWaller County: 5.1 %5.1Duval CountyDuval County: 5 %5San Jacinto CountySan Jacinto County: 5 %5Garza CountyGarza County: 4.9 %4.9Jack CountyJack County: 4.9 %4.9San Augustine CountySan Augustine County: 4.9 %4.9San Patricio CountySan Patricio County: 4.9 %4.9Shelby CountyShelby County: 4.9 %4.9Chambers CountyChambers County: 4.8 %4.8
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMarch 2026 (%)Change on March 2025
1Starr County9.6+0.2 pts
2Maverick County9.4-1.3 pts
3Kenedy County7.5+0.1 pts
4Willacy County6.9+1.5 pts
5Dimmit County6.8+0.3 pts
5Zapata County6.8-0.4 pts
5Zavala County6.8-0.1 pts
8Val Verde County6.6+1.7 pts
9Sabine County6.5+0.9 pts
10Cameron County6.4+0.2 pts
11Newton County6+0.1 pts
12Hidalgo County5.90 pts
12Presidio County5.9-0.2 pts
14Jasper County5.80 pts
15Jefferson County5.7+0.4 pts
15McCulloch County5.7+1.8 pts
15Sutton County5.7-0.4 pts
18Marion County5.5+0.2 pts
19Morris County5.4+0.5 pts
19Tyler County5.4-0.3 pts
21Jim Wells County5.3+0.3 pts
21Liberty County5.3+0.3 pts
23Frio County5.2-1.5 pts
23Live Oak County5.2+0.6 pts
23Matagorda County5.2-0.3 pts
23McMullen County5.2+0.5 pts
27Eastland County5.1+0.2 pts
27Goliad County5.1+1 pts
27Hemphill County5.1+0.3 pts
27Refugio County5.1+0.4 pts
27Trinity County5.1+0.3 pts
27Waller County5.1+0.2 pts
33Duval County5+0.5 pts
33San Jacinto County50 pts
35Garza County4.9-0.5 pts
35Jack County4.9-0.5 pts
35San Augustine County4.9-0.3 pts
35San Patricio County4.9+0.1 pts
35Shelby County4.9+0.2 pts
40Chambers County4.8+0.4 pts
41Cass County4.7-0.1 pts
41Coryell County4.7+0.1 pts
41Floyd County4.7+0.5 pts
41Jeff Davis County4.7+0.1 pts
41Orange County4.7+0.4 pts
41Red River County4.7+0.3 pts
47Aransas County4.6+0.1 pts
47Bell County4.6+0.2 pts
47Brazoria County4.6+0.3 pts
47DeWitt County4.6-0.1 pts
47Freestone County4.6+0.2 pts
47Grimes County4.6+0.2 pts
47Navarro County4.6+0.2 pts
47Panola County4.6-0.1 pts
47Polk County4.60 pts
47Real County4.6+0.8 pts
47Wood County4.60 pts
58Houston County4.5+0.1 pts
58Motley County4.5+1.1 pts
58Roberts County4.5-0.2 pts
61Angelina County4.4+0.3 pts
61Atascosa County4.4+0.3 pts
61Bee County4.4-0.3 pts
61Gregg County4.4+0.1 pts
61Harris County4.4+0.1 pts
61Henderson County4.4+0.1 pts
61Kinney County4.4-0.1 pts
61Throckmorton County4.4+0.4 pts
69Delta County4.3+0.4 pts
69Fort Bend County4.3+0.2 pts
69Galveston County4.3+0.2 pts
69Harrison County4.3-0.3 pts
69Jim Hogg County4.3-0.3 pts
69La Salle County4.3-0.6 pts
69Lamar County4.3+0.4 pts
69Nacogdoches County4.3+0.1 pts
69Reagan County4.3+0.2 pts
69Uvalde County4.3+0.3 pts
69Webb County4.3-0.4 pts
69Wharton County4.3+0.2 pts
81Anderson County4.2+0.1 pts
81Camp County4.20 pts
81Cherokee County4.2+0.2 pts
81Dawson County4.2+0.1 pts
81El Paso County4.20 pts
81Hamilton County4.2+0.1 pts
81Hardin County4.2-0.1 pts
81Hood County4.20 pts
81Madison County4.2+0.1 pts
81Nueces County4.2+0.2 pts
81Schleicher County4.2-0.2 pts
81Somervell County4.2+0.3 pts
81Upshur County4.20 pts
94Bandera County4.1+0.4 pts
94Brooks County4.1+0.1 pts
94Hale County4.1+0.1 pts
94Hall County4.1-0.1 pts
94Hunt County4.1+0.1 pts
94Kaufman County4.1+0.1 pts
94Kleberg County4.1+0.1 pts
94Limestone County4.1-0.1 pts
94Milam County4.10 pts
94Potter County4.1+0.7 pts
94Rusk County4.1-0.1 pts
94Stephens County4.10 pts
94Terry County4.10 pts
94Walker County4.1+0.1 pts
108Bexar County4+0.2 pts
108Bowie County40 pts
108Dallas County40 pts
108Hutchinson County4-0.1 pts
108Jackson County4-0.1 pts
108Karnes County4-0.1 pts
108Lampasas County40 pts
108Medina County40 pts
108Menard County4+0.9 pts
108Montague County40 pts
108Montgomery County4+0.1 pts
108Swisher County4-0.7 pts
108Van Zandt County4+0.1 pts
108Victoria County4+0.2 pts
108Wichita County4+0.1 pts
123Bailey County3.9-0.3 pts
123Borden County3.9+0.3 pts
123Bosque County3.9-0.1 pts
123Falls County3.9-0.2 pts
123Grayson County3.9+0.2 pts
123Haskell County3.9+0.1 pts
123Kent County3.9-0.8 pts
123Lee County3.9+0.3 pts
123Llano County3.9+0.2 pts
123Pecos County3.9+0.1 pts
123Rains County3.9+0.3 pts
123Robertson County3.9-0.1 pts
123Tarrant County3.9+0.1 pts
123Yoakum County3.9+0.3 pts
137Austin County3.8+0.2 pts
137Collin County3.8+0.1 pts
137Comal County3.8+0.3 pts
137Donley County3.8-0.2 pts
137Ellis County3.8+0.1 pts
137Gray County3.80 pts
137Guadalupe County3.8+0.2 pts
137Hill County3.8+0.1 pts
137Howard County3.8+0.3 pts
137Kimble County3.8+0.3 pts
137McLennan County3.8+0.1 pts
137Nolan County3.8+0.2 pts
137Palo Pinto County3.8-0.1 pts
137San Saba County3.8+0.3 pts
137Titus County3.8+0.4 pts
137Wilbarger County3.8+0.1 pts
137Wilson County3.8+0.3 pts
154Brown County3.7+0.1 pts
154Burnet County3.7+0.2 pts
154Clay County3.7-0.3 pts
154Coleman County3.7+0.3 pts
154Denton County3.7+0.1 pts
154Ector County3.7+0.2 pts
154Fannin County3.70 pts
154Fayette County3.7-0.1 pts
154Hockley County3.7+0.1 pts
154Shackelford County3.7+0.5 pts
154Smith County3.70 pts
154Sterling County3.7+0.4 pts
154Wheeler County3.7+0.5 pts
167Blanco County3.6+0.3 pts
167Calhoun County3.6+0.5 pts
167Colorado County3.60 pts
167Concho County3.6+0.2 pts
167Crosby County3.6-0.7 pts
167Deaf Smith County3.6+0.4 pts
167Hansford County3.6+0.4 pts
167Johnson County3.60 pts
167Leon County3.6+0.1 pts
167Reeves County3.6+0.1 pts
177Caldwell County3.50 pts
177Cochran County3.5-0.5 pts
177Dickens County3.5-0.5 pts
177Gonzales County3.5+0.1 pts
177Hudspeth County3.5-0.1 pts
177Irion County3.5+0.3 pts
177Lynn County3.5+0.3 pts
177Mason County3.5+0.1 pts
177Rockwall County3.50 pts
177Scurry County3.50 pts
177Terrell County3.5+0.4 pts
177Ward County3.5+0.1 pts
177Washington County3.5-0.3 pts
177Williamson County3.5+0.1 pts
177Wise County3.5-0.1 pts
192Archer County3.4-0.2 pts
192Bastrop County3.4-0.1 pts
192Culberson County3.4-0.6 pts
192Fisher County3.4+0.6 pts
192Franklin County3.4+0.1 pts
192Hays County3.4+0.1 pts
192Kendall County3.4+0.1 pts
192Kerr County3.4+0.1 pts
192Oldham County3.4+0.1 pts
192Travis County3.4+0.1 pts
202Briscoe County3.3-0.2 pts
202Burleson County3.3-0.1 pts
202Collingsworth County3.3+0.1 pts
202Cooke County3.3+0.1 pts
202Jones County3.3-0.2 pts
202Lamb County3.3-0.1 pts
202Lavaca County3.3+0.2 pts
202Lubbock County3.30 pts
202Mills County3.3+0.3 pts
202Parker County3.30 pts
212Brazos County3.2-0.1 pts
212Comanche County3.2+0.3 pts
212Edwards County3.20 pts
212Hardeman County3.2+0.3 pts
212Hopkins County3.20 pts
212Knox County3.2-0.1 pts
212Mitchell County3.2+0.1 pts
212Taylor County3.2-0.1 pts
212Tom Green County3.2+0.1 pts
212Winkler County3.2+0.2 pts
212Young County3.2-0.3 pts
223Andrews County3.1+0.3 pts
223Callahan County3.1-0.1 pts
223Erath County3.1-0.2 pts
223Foard County3.10 pts
223Gillespie County3.1+0.1 pts
223Runnels County3.1-0.1 pts
229Carson County3+0.2 pts
229King County3+1.1 pts
229Midland County3+0.1 pts
229Moore County3+0.2 pts
229Sherman County3+0.3 pts
234Armstrong County2.9+0.2 pts
234Crockett County2.9-0.6 pts
234Gaines County2.90 pts
234Hartley County2.9+0.1 pts
234Ochiltree County2.9-0.2 pts
234Randall County2.90 pts
240Lipscomb County2.8-0.2 pts
240Martin County2.8-0.2 pts
242Baylor County2.7-0.2 pts
242Castro County2.7+0.1 pts
242Childress County2.7+0.3 pts
242Coke County2.7-0.6 pts
242Crane County2.7+0.2 pts
242Parmer County2.7-0.2 pts
248Brewster County2.6-0.1 pts
248Dallam County2.6-0.1 pts
250Glasscock County2.5-0.3 pts

Showing the top 250 of 254. The CSV download has every row.

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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 Counties in Texas by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Texas","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Texas&limit=10

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

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Starr County, with 9.6% in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Loving County, with 0.4% in March 2026.

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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Texas: more rankings