The economy is improving in places like Texas, but a closer look indicates that cities are taking off while rural areas are lagging behind.
Job growth is up in Texas, but the effects have been concentrated in the state’s largest cities: Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. "No state — not even California, long held up as the embodiment of America’s widening geographic inequality — has seen a larger post-recession divergence between its elite cities and everywhere else," writes Jim Tankersley.
It is a trend that is playing out across the country, where urban areas are drawing in educated workers and professional industries as poorer, rural areas languish. "Research from the [Economic Innovation Group] found that from 2008 to 2016, the most prosperous ZIP codes in Texas — heavily concentrated in those star metro areas — accounted for more than two-thirds of the state’s net growth in jobs and business establishments," notes Tankersley.
He explores developments in Longview, a town in the eastern part of Texas. Longview has gained only about 1,800 jobs in the last decade, and in recent years it has seen a net loss of businesses. City officials want to offer amenities that will attract young professionals—like parks, trails, and breweries—but they realize the challenges.
“Ms. [Vicki D.] Jones’s and others’ hope is that Longview can sell a particular type of young worker on a mix of the values they grew up with, with just enough of the big-city amenities to make a smaller town attractive,” says Tankersley.
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