Texas Rocks Job Creation (Maybe That’s Why Californians Are Moving There)

Doubters have been poo-pooing Texas’ economic
growth ever since it shook off the economic recession even as the
rest of the country continues to try to scrape the thing off its
shoes. Yeah, Texas may be creating jobs, they say, but only for
burger-flippers. But data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
shows that those must be some well-paid burger-flippers. Texas,
according to a new paper, outstrips the rest of the country when it
comes to creating not just jobs, but jobs that pay well.

In “Texas
Leads Nation in Creation of Jobs at All Pay Levels,” an article
in the latest issue of Southwest
Economy, Melissa LoPalo and Pia M. Orrenius write:

Texas experienced stronger job growth than the rest of the
nation in all four wage quartiles from 2000 to 2013, even in the
middle two wage quartiles, where growth in the rest of the nation
was negative and zero, respectively (Chart 1). In Texas, the two
upper wage quartiles grew at 28 and 36 percent, respectively, over
the 13-year period, corresponding to average annual rates of 2.1
and 2.7 percent. The 13-year figures for the rest of the nation
were 0 and 13 percent, corresponding to average annual rates of 0
and 1 percent. In sum, the data show Texas has experienced far
greater growth of “good” jobs than the rest of the nation has since
2000.

Texas and California are
frequently cited as two competing economic models for the
country to consider. The Lone Star State is considered the
lower-tax, less red tape contrast to California’s bigger government
model. In terms of how that’s working out, the Washington
Post
recently pointed to census figures showing that, in 2012,
“63,000 people moved from California to Texas, while 43,000 in
Texas moved to California.”

Capital walks as quickly and far as people.
Travis H. Brown, author of How Money
Walks, points to IRS figures that track the flow of wealth
from some states and to others. From 1992 -2010, California was a
net loser of $45.27 billion in adjusted gross income. $6.02 billion
of that went to Texas. Texas, on the other hand, gained $24.94
billion in AGI during those years, with California the top source
for transfers.

Well, investment and people drive economies, and now we’re
seeing more payoff in terms of a boom in jobs—”‘good’ jobs” as
LoPalo and Orrenius put it.

Who knew messing with Texas paid so well?