Texas just won the most flattering part of U.S. News’ annual state report: No. 1 economy in America. The Lone Star State climbed from No. 2 in 2025, powered by job growth, GDP gains, migration and a youthful population — even as it finished only No. 26 overall.
The 2026 Best States rankings, released July 28, put Utah first overall while Texas took the economy crown. U.S. News & World Report says Texas led the nation in job growth and posted some of the strongest scores for GDP growth, net migration and youth population growth.
The numbers behind the bragging are substantial: Texas’ economy reached an estimated $2.9 trillion in 2025. Preliminary Bureau of Economic Analysis figures cited by the Office of the Texas Governor show the state’s inflation-adjusted economy grew 2.5% last year, faster than the nation as a whole; Gov. Greg Abbott credited the result to a skilled workforce and business investment.
Why Texas Keeps Pulling In Business
The state’s pitch is no longer just oil-and-gas. The governor’s economic overview points to a broad business base that includes 57 Fortune 500 headquarters, more than 3.5 million startups and small businesses, major export activity and more than 346 corporate headquarters attracted since 2015.
The No. 1 Economy Comes With Caveats
The ranking is a big economic win, but it is not a clean sweep for Texas. El Paso Times reports that the state ranked No. 48 in opportunity, No. 46 in natural environment, No. 39 in crime and corrections, No. 30 in health care, No. 27 in education and No. 16 in infrastructure, while fiscal stability was a stronger No. 7.
What The Ranking Looks Like From El Paso
For El Paso, the useful question is less whether Texas can win a national ranking and more whether that momentum produces durable opportunity along the border. The Dallas Fed has described El Paso’s economy as highly dependent on international trade, making cross-border commerce and logistics a natural test of whether the state’s broader growth story reaches West Texas.
Recent state data offer at least some reason for optimism: Texas added 82,400 jobs from April 2025 to April 2026, while exports topped $46 billion in March, according to the state’s Texas Economic Snapshot. Those figures help explain the No. 1 economy label — but the harder task is turning headline growth into better access to jobs, schools, health care and opportunity across the state.
