FILE-In this photo illustration, a person holds a wallet filled with $20 dollar bills. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas - Everything’s bigger in Texas, but is that true when it comes to wages? Turns out, it varies quite a bit by county, and some areas have seen wages rise faster than others.
What we know:
A study conducted by SmartAsset took a look at 252 of Texas’ 254 counties to determine where workers’ wages have increased the most over the last five years.
Two regions stand out
Workers within counties in the High Plains and West Texas regions have been some of the most fortunate, the study found. Nine of the 15 top counties for a five-year change in weekly wages were in those two regions.
Workers earn the most in this county
That includes Coke County, which was revealed to be the county with the highest average weekly wage in Texas for 2026. The 3,412 residents of the small county in West Texas earn an average of $2,408 a week, according to the study. That’s up from an average weekly wage of $1,206 in 2021.
The 10 fastest-growing jobs in America over the next decade
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released a report projecting how the U.S. workforce will grow from 2025 to 2035 and what professions will see the largest increases in jobs as the economy evolves.
Big picture view:
Researchers noted that average wages can swing sharply with small employment bases, and in Coke County, growth has likely been driven by the Aviator Wind farm, which began operations in 2020.
Other counties in the High Plains and West Texas regions that saw significant wage growth over the past five years include Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Concho, Dickens, Glasscock, Lamb and Sterling.
Wage growth in larger counties
When looking at counties with a larger population, Travis County stood out. Workers in Travis County make an average of $2,152 a week – the highest average weekly wage of any Texas county with a population of at least 100,000.
Meanwhile, Ellis County has seen the most wage growth of any county with a population of at least 100,000, the study found. The average weekly wage for Ellis County workers went from $739 in 2021 to $1,167 in 2026.
Ellis County has also become the site of more than a dozen planned or operational data centers in recent years, according to Data Center Map. This includes two major Google facilities.
Dig deeper:
The type of job can also have an impact. According to SmartAsset, geoscientists and commercial pilots tend to make more in Texas than other parts of the United States, while editors and home health aides make less.
To see the full study and a list of counties and their individual wage growth, click here.
The Source: The information in this article comes from a study conducted by SmartAsset