Official Federal Data
Ector County, Texas
FIPS 48135 · Odessa, TX · Population 164,654
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$71,536 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.7% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$16.5B ▲
GDP
17.6% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$71,536 ▲
Per Capita
$36,118 ▲
Mean Household
$94,362 ▲
Poverty Rate
16.5% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Ector County$71,536
Texas$78,476
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 30.4%
18-34 · 25.8%
35-54 · 24.7%
55-64 · 9.3%
65+ · 9.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
78.3%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 11.3 pts
17.6%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 18.1 pts
5.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 8.6 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
164,654
Population
80,508
Labor Force
Employed
75,416
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.7% ▲ +0.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
3.2%
Key Takeaways
- Elevated poverty: At 16.5%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 18.1 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Young population: Median age of 31 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction employs 11,990 workers (19.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $115,341.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $16.5B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction averages $115,341 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,735, a 4.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Mining, Quarrying & Oil/Gas Extraction Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
11,858
Cluster Employment
78.89x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Support Activities for Mining
78.89x 10,839
Oil and Gas Extraction
16.90x 1,019
Pipeline Transportation
7.94x 230
Rental and Leasing Services
5.40x 1,591
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
5.28x 3,226
Truck Transportation
3.18x 2,429
Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods
2.82x 4,944
Repair and Maintenance
2.61x 1,966
Machinery Manufacturing
2.33x 1,309
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.05x 1,510
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.14x
Food Manufacturing
128 employed
0.21x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
185 employed
0.23x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
304 employed
0.26x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
353 employed
0.31x
Social Assistance
808 employed
0.32x
Educational Services
532 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Support Activities for Mining concentrates at 78.89x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$200,200 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,259 ▲
Rent/Mo
64.7% ▼
Owner-Occ
6.3% ▼
Vacancy
2.8x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,245/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,269/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,595/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,912/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,213/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,788/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.8x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,788/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
98,378 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min below national avg
25.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
3.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
78.2%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
17.6% ▲
HS Diploma+
78.3% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
79,681/yr
20,117/yr
17,432/yr
11,449/yr
10,913/yr
10,852/yr
8,918/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
15.6%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
27.3%
Service
13.8%
Sales & Office
20.5%
Construction / Maint.
17.2%
Production / Transport
21.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 75,416 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 48,998 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Ector County shows strong potential for support activities for mining attraction, with a 78.89x concentration and 10,839 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across support activities for mining, oil and gas extraction, and pipeline transportation creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Ector County, Texas, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Ector County, Texas?
164,654 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Ector County, Texas?
$71,536 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Ector County, Texas?
3.7% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Ector County, Texas?
$16.5B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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