Tom Green Fares Better than State in Income, Education and Poverty Rates

Tom Green County is above average, reveals a recent report released by the Center for Public Policy Priorities titled The State of Texas Children 2015.

The report, which analyzes data collected on a broad spectrum of areas including poverty, education, income and other indicators, shows progress in Tom Green and other west Texas counties, with overall well-being rates above the state averages.

On the whole, Tom Green fared better than Taylor and Lubbock counties, dropping only behind Midland and Ector counties economically, while pulling ahead in education.

Below is a breakdown of how Tom Green fared in three categories as compared to Midland, Ector, Lubbock and Taylor counties, as well as the state as a whole.

Poverty Rates

Eight of the top 10 Texas counties with the highest rates of child poverty in 2013 lie on the border; only Crosby, #8, and Menard, #10, are located in the interior of Texas.

The state average rate of child poverty for kids aged 0-17 years old is 25 percent. Some 154 counties lie above that average, either marginally or vastly, however Tom Green falls below the average at 22.4 percent.

Compared to other west Texas counties, Tom Green’s child poverty rate falls in the middle, pushing ahead of Midland, 21.9 percent, and Ector, 15.8 percent, but falling behind both Taylor, 24.9 percent and Lubbock, 25.2 percent.

In 2013, the county’s overall poverty rate was also lower than the state average at 14.5 percent, as compared to 17.5 percent for Texas.

Interestingly, Tom Green fared better overall than oil-heavy Ector County in 2013, who reported a poverty rate of 15.3 percent for the population as compared to Tom Green’s 14.5 percent.

Once again, Midland boasted a comparatively low overall rate at 10.5 percent of the population living in poverty, while Taylor County reported 17 percent and Lubbock reported 17.8 percent.

Income and Unemployment

From 2011 to 2013, the median income in Tom Green County has increased by roughly $2,000 per year, while the state’s median income has increased at approximately half that rate, or at $1,000 per year.

Tom Green County is still behind the state median income level of $51,714, and in 2013 the county’s median income was $45,405.

Those with the highest median income levels tend to surround major metropolitan areas and their suburbs, however several relatively small west Texas towns with heavy oil industries also ranked fairly high.

Midland County, #8 for the state, boasted a median income of $71,151 in 2013, trailed by Glasscock County at #14 with $65,789 and Irion County at #33 with $58,826. Tom Green came in at #107 out of the state’s 254 counties.

On the employment front west Texas cities excelled, many reporting unemployment rates far below the state average of 6.3 percent.

Nearby Reagan County had the fourth lowest rate in the state at 2.9 percent, while Sterling and Sutton counties reported 3 percent and Ector and Irion reported 4 percent unemployment in 2013.

Tom Green County again beat the state average at 5.1 percent unemployment, ranking 85^th out of 254 Texas counties.

Education

When it comes to completing high school, Tom Green County students came out not only ahead of the state, but also ahead of other west Texas counties at a graduation rate of 90 percent in 2013 as compared to Texas’ 88 percent.

Next in line was Lubbock, who tied the state at 88 percent, followed by Taylor County at 86 percent, Midland at 81 percent and Ector at 71 percent of students completing high school through graduation.

Interestingly, while Tom Green excelled as compared to other west Texas counties, it came in at number 204 out of 253 counties in the state for the highest graduation rate (not all counties reported percentages).

Most of the state’s denser counties also ranked fairly low on the list, while sparsely populated counties such as Coke, Glasscock and Menard all reported 100 percent graduation rates.

Ector County came in at 251^st; trailed by only Real and Erath counties, whose combined populations are less than half of Ector’s.

Percentages for those who dropped out or got their GED appear to have been falsely reported online, as the numbers for each county are the same in both categories.