We’ve all heard the grim news about hard times, recession and high unemployment across the nation, but the news is much better here in the Lone Star State. According to a recent Forbes Magazine article, eight of the top 20 cities for jobs are located right here in Texas.

San Antonio, the Austin-Round Rock area, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area, the Fort Worth-Arlington area and Dallas-Plano-Irving area are the country’s top five large areas for job growth. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area and Corpus Christi are ranked as two of the best mid-sized areas for jobs and have seen great growth. In fact, the education and health sector jobs in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area have increased by nearly 50 percent since 2003, and Corpus Christi has seen an almost 28 percent increase in the natural resources, mining and construction sectors over the last five years.

But it’s not just large and medium-sized Texas cities that lead the nation in employment opportunities. Odessa, Longview, the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood area, Laredo and the College Station-Bryan area all made the Top 10 on Forbes’ “Best Small Cities for Jobs” list.

This is confirmation that Texas is a great state in which to do business, work and retire. We’re proud that our larger cities offer so many opportunities, but we know rural Texas offers its share of opportunities. That’s why the Texas Department of Agriculture is a strong development partner for our rural communities.

TDA has a long history of supporting rural Texas. Our Texas Capital Fund program has assisted in creating more than 1,200 jobs since 2007, and the GO TEXAN Certified Retirement Community Program helps rural cities make their communities attractive to retirees. Texas estimates that each retiree household contributes about $43,000 to the economy.

You can learn more about TDA’s rural economic development programs by visiting http://www.TexasAgriculture.gov.