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Lubbock, TX
Lubbock
MSA: Lubbock, TX
Best places ranking: #12 among midsize metro areas
Population: 270,610
Located in the heart of west Texas, Lubbock is known as the "Hub City" for its central role in the region's economy and educational and health care systems. It hosts the National Cowboy Festival, is home to the National Ranching Heritage Center, and boasts a low cost of living.

But despite its small-town feel, the city is eager to grow. Although many of Lubbock's new businesses are created locally, one agricultural technology entrepreneur credited his warm welcome to the city's recognition of the success Austin and Dallas have had building economies around the tech sector.

Bolstered by a growing medical sector, a robust agricultural industry -- the Lubbock area is Texas' leading cotton producer -- and an educational system, including Texas Tech University, that offers new businesses research and funding resources, Lubbock's economy is diverse enough to shelter it from the worst of the recession. The city also benefits from a conservative banking industry, a steady housing market and one of the state's lowest unemployment rates. -Tina Peng
Launch Toolbox:
Resources for getting started in Lubbock, TX

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Local smallbiz lenders

  • First Baird Bancshares
  • Happy Bancshares
  • Southwest Bank
  • Superior Financial Group
  • Plains Bancorp
See all local lenders

Lubbock Business Statistics
Employer establishments with 1-49 employees
(2007)		 6,571 11,214
Small business growth rate
(2004-2007)		 2.6% 5.0%
State business tax climate ranking
(out of 50 states)		 7 N/A
Percentage of population with bachelor's degree
(ages 25-34)		 30.9% 26.9%
Violent crime
(rate per 100,000 inhabitants, 2007)		 795.5 478.8
Property crime
(rate per 100,000 inhabitants, 2007)		 4,957.6 3,562.2
Population growth
(2003-2008)		 4.5% 5.73%
Per-capita income
(2007)		 $30,234 $35,547
Per-capita income growth
(2002-2007)		 23.7% 24.0%
GDP (in millions)
(2006)		 $8,389 $18,559
GDP growth
(2001-2006)		 30% 32%
Average hourly wage
(2008)		 $16.41 $18.69
Housing foreclosure rate
(first half of 2009, 1 per every X housing units)		 644 286
Median rent
(2009, for a 2-bedroom housing unit)		 $752 $848
Housing price-to-income (HPI) ratio
(first quarter of 2009)		 1.3% 1.9%
Long-term HPI ratio
(20-year average, 1984-2004)		 1.3% 1.8%
HPI deviation from long-term average
 -3.2% 0.0%

All statistics are for the full Metropolitan Statistical Area. For a complete list of data sources, see "How we picked the Best Places."

From the November 2009 issue
Why I Launched Here
"Many of our employees are in the 25-35 age range. They're enthusiastic, energetic people. Many of them are in the early stages of starting a family, and they know there are excellent educational opportunities here. " -Polly Vann
Best Places Winners
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The factors that matter most to me are:
 Affordable wages  Few foreclosures
 Educated workers  Low housing costs
 Low crime  High local incomes
 A growing economy  Population growth
 Growing small business population

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How we picked the Best Places
This year we partnered with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to find the 50 most business-friendly communities in America.

With help from Robert Fairlie, an economist and leading scholar of entrepreneurship at the University of California, Santa Cruz, we developed a methodology and sifted through such data on factors such as per capita income, hourly wages, workforce quality, crime rates, taxes and foreclosures. More

Comments? E-mail the editors
Data partners

This package was produced in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Foreclosure data provided by RealtyTrac.

Housing price-to-income data provided by Moody's Economy.com.