MIDLAND, Texas – The city of Midland is expected to have another strong fiscal year.
That’s according to the Kenan Institute’s American Growth Project, which ranked Midland first on a list of 100 midsize cities in terms of potential gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
Midland was one of five Texas cities with overall growth projections, along with Amarillo, Lubbock, Killeen and El Paso.
Meanwhile, Midland finished higher than other cities like Albany, Santa Barbara, and Fort Collins.
“I believe their growth projections consist of job creation and the region’s gross domestic product,” said Sara Harris, chief executive officer of Midland Development Corporation. “This is mainly based on the energy industry; We have seen a significant uptick in activity and the oil and gas sector due to higher price increases for commodities.”
High contributions from the oil and gas industry combined with spikes in energy prices have priced Midland’s GDP at 9.4% for 2022.
While that GDP growth rate is expected to slow to 6.7% in 2023, it’s still four percent ahead of second-place Amarillo’s 2.5% GDP growth rate.
The driving force behind this growth is rising West Texas Intermediate oil prices and general natural gas price increases leading to a boom in the energy sector.
“This is leading to increased activity in the energy sector with more jobs and more hiring, leading to higher capital expenditures by these oil companies,” Harris said. “With energy making up the majority of Midland’s economy, economic activity directly drives economic growth in the city.”
For more information on the Kenan Institution’s findings, see the full report on their website.
Comments are closed.