Longview Fastest Growing Economy in Ark-La-Tex

With the bad news of learning about Shreveport's shrinking economy, how are the other Ark-La-Tex cities doing economically?

Mostly good news, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors report done in conjunction with IHS. Longview was hands down the fastest growing metropolitan area in the Ark-La-Tex, followed by Tyler, Texarkana, Alexandria, and Shreveport.

Longview ranked 51st out of the 363 metro areas for fastest growing, which is within the top 15% nationally. Longview was also 45th in terms of biggest job gains for a metro area. Longview went from producing $10.7 billion in 2011 to $11.8 billion in 2013.

Tyler ranked 240th in gross metropolitan product growth and 206th in job gains in the metropolitan area nationally. Tyler went from producing $9.2 billion in 2011 to $9.5 billion in 2013.

Texarkana wasn't too far behind Tyler in economic growth, ranking 246th out of 363. The border-crossing metropolitan area ranked 272nd for employment growth. Texarkana was producing $4.6 billion in goods and services in 2011 and rose to $4.9 billion in 2013.

Alexandria saw the the smallest growth in the Ark-La-Tex, ranking 300th in the nation for growth and 328th in employment growth. Alexandria generated $5.6 billion in goods in 2011. That rose to $5.7 billion in 2013.

Shreveport saw the biggest contraction in the nation, the only metro area in the Ark-La-Tex to see economic production decline since 2011. Shreveport also ranked in 354th of 363 metro areas for employment growth since 2011. Shreveport generated $21.5 billion in goods and services in 2011 and $18.2 billion in 2013.

While it's interesting to look at the rankings, what is even more interesting is looking at the amount of economic production each metro area produces per capita.

SHREVEPORT
GMP Rank: 96
MSA Rank: 112
MSA population: 439,811
GMP per capita in 2011: $48,885
GMP per capita in 2013: $41,381

LONGVIEW
GMP Rank: 170
MSA Rank: 198
MSA Population: 214,369
GMP per capita in 2011: $49,913
GMP per capita in 2013: $55,045

TYLER
GMP Rank: 194
MSA Rank: 201
MSA Population: 209,714
GMP per capita in 2011: $43,869
GMP per capita in 2013: $45,300

ALEXANDRIA
GMP Rank: 258
MSA Rank: 260
MSA Population: 153,922
GMP per capita in 2011: $36,382
GMP per capita in 2013: $37,032

TEXARKANA
GMP Rank: 294
MSA Rank: 273
MSA Population: 149,198
GMP per capita in 2011: $30,832
GMP per capita in 2013: $32,842

(Key: GMP = gross metropolitan product [as per the U.S. Conference of Mayors], MSA = metropolitan statistical area. MSA population based on 2010 U.S. Census data)

Longview Fastest Growing Economy in Ark-La-Tex

Read more about issues affecting Shreveport-Bossier’s economic growth: