TCOG to offer household hazardous waste collection event in Sherman
April 11, 2022
Announcement: US Department of Labor to Offer Virtual Prevailing Wage Seminars
April 20, 2022
TCOG to offer household hazardous waste collection event in Sherman
April 11, 2022
Announcement: US Department of Labor to Offer Virtual Prevailing Wage Seminars
April 20, 2022

3. Socio-Economic Indicators

Economic development is an important element in community planning. It is a tool used to foster job creation, increase wages, and expand the local tax base. This chapter examines data as useful factors to indicate economy conditions such as labor force characteristics, employment, wages and income, poverty, and cost of living.

Workforce

Overview

Since Grayson County has the largest population in the region, therefore it also has the largest workforce at 64% (64,799 count). Cooke County holds 19% (19,633 count) of employment and Fannin County holds 17% (16,937 count) in the region.

Employment

Similarly to Workforce, Grayson County’s Employment has the largest at 64% of the region (62,688 count). Cooke County holds 19% (19,023 count) and Fannin County holds 17% (16,460 count) in the region.

Area of Concern: Employment During and After Pandemic

Overall the region’s employment rate before Pandemic vs Pandemic changed 3% (3,035 lost employment), from 97% to 94%. (See table summaries below).

  • Cooke County’s employment rate before Pandemic vs. Pandemic had the highest change at 6% (1,187 lost employment), from 97% to 91%.
  • Fannin County’s employment rate before Pandemic vs. Pandemic had the lowest change at 1.8% (309 lost employment), from 97% to 95%.
  • Grayson County’s employment rate before Pandemic vs. Pandemic had a change of 2.4% (1,539 lost employment), from 97% to 95%.
Table 8: Workforce & Employment Rate in Texoma Region
WorkforcePre-PandemicPandemicDifferent
Cooke19,63319,023 (96.9%)17,836 (90.8%)1,187 (6.0%)
Grayson64,79962,688 (96.7%)61,149 (94.4%)1,539 (2.4%)
Fannin16,93716,460 (97.2%)16,151 (95.4%)309 (1.8%)
Texoma Region101,36998,171 (96.8%)95,136 (93.9%)3,035 (3.0%)
Source: Workforce Solutions Texoma Q12021

Median Household Income

Table 9 below measures social and economic wellbeing, which includes three main factors: (1) Median Household Income, (2) Per Capita Income in past 12 months, and (3) Percent of People in Poverty in the 3 counties compared to the nearest Metropolitan County (Dallas), Texas and US.

  • Overall, the median household income for Cooke County is $60,202 with 12.7% of persons living in poverty; the Fannin County median household income is $54,648 with 13.2% of persons living in poverty (Fannin County is home to a Texas State Veterans Home and a Department of Corrections facility, both of which house a large number of unemployed individuals); the Grayson County median household income is $54,815, with 11.6% of persons living in poverty.
  • Median Household Income of the three counties’ average is $56,555, which is 10% lower than the US’ ($62,843), 8.6% lower than the Texas’ ($61,874) and 5.1% lower than the Dallas County ($59,607).
  • The average per capita income in the past 12 months of the three counties is $28,609, which is 16% lower than the US ($34,103), 8.5% lower than Texas ($31.277) and 12.4% lower than Dallas County ($32,653).
  • The percentage of people in poverty is the highest in Fannin County at 13.2%; next is Cooke County at 12.7%, followed by Grayson County at 11.6%. The average of the three counties is higher than the US at 12.5% vs. 10.5%.

 

Table 9: Social and Economic Indicators

Measures of Social and Economic Well-Being

CookeFanninGraysonAvg 3 CountiesDallas CountyTexasUS
Median HH Income (in 2019 dollars)$60,202$54,648$54,815$56,555$59,607$61,874$62,843
Per Capita Income in Past 12 Months$30,704$27,112$28,011$28,609$32,653$31,277$34,103
Percentage of People in Poverty12.7%13.2%11.6%12.5%14.0%13.6%10.5%
Source: American Community Survey 2019

Similarly, for Per Capita Income in Past 12 Month, (see chart below). Average 3 counties in the region at $28,011 which is lower than Dallas County, ($32,653), Texas ($31,227) and US ($34,103).

Poverty

Poverty Level

The overall poverty level of each of the three counties is close to the poverty level of the State of Texas. The average of the three counties is at 12.5%, while Texas is at 13.6%. Grayson County has the lowest rate of people in poverty at 11.6% while Cooke County is at 12.7% and Fannin is at 13.2%.

Severe Poverty Level

Severe poverty level is used to measure the highest level of poverty in the area. The federal poverty level (FPL), also known as the ‘poverty line”, is the amount of annualized income earned by a household, under which they would be eligible to receive certain welfare benefits. The severe poverty level is used to measure the deep of poverty in an area compared to the federal poverty line.

In this chart, the severe poverty level of the region is illustrated by 3 ranges: (1) 300% of Poverty Level, (2) 400% of Poverty Level and (3) 500% of Poverty Level.

The average poverty levels of the three counties have been consistently higher than the Texas State and US averages.

Demographic Variables for Poverty

There are several demographic variables that contribute to poverty status such as: Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Educational Attainment. Table next illustrates how poverty is distributed across these categories in Cooke, Grayson and Fannin Counties.

Table 10: Demographic Variables for Poverty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Area of Concern: Causes of Poverty

When viewed across variables, several tracts stand out with high percentages in poverty. In the region, certain characteristics been linked to poverty in each county (below):

  • In Cooke County, Tract 5, 90.2% of children 0-17, in need, 71.9% of female-headed households, and 40.9% of residents with less than high school degrees are in poverty. Tract 6 also has a high percentage (39.0%) of children in poverty, and 81.9% of female-headed households in poverty. In Gainesville (tract 11) (36.7% of children under age 5, 59.3% female-headed households and 52.7% of the minority population (non-white) are living in poverty. In these areas, and all across the region, age, female-headed households and lack of education are all causes of poverty.
  • In Fannin County, among Tract 9504.02 residents, 100% of female-headed households are in poverty; 76.4% in poverty are minority population (non-white); 26.7% of the poor are less than high school graduates and 20% of the poor have incomes under $25,000.
  • In Grayson County throughout all tracts (20, 14, 15, 18.01, 4, 5.01) 68.8%-100% of female-headed households live in poverty. In Sherman (Tract 20), 34.8% children under age 5 are in poverty, 30.9% of high school graduates live in poverty, and 30.7% of families are below poverty level. Denison (tract 4) has 45.5% children under age 5 in poverty, 32.3% of less than high school graduates in poverty, 29.8% of households with income under $25,000, and 27.9% minority population (non-white) in poverty.

Health and Healthcare

When Texoma County Health Rankings are high in Premature and Death! According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County health rankings, Texoma ranks higher in premature deaths than the state. Premature death is defined as years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population. The state of Texas averages 6,600 premature deaths per 100,000 population.

Cooke County ranks 8,300, Grayson County 8,900, and Fannin County is the highest at 9,100. Another unfortunate issue where Texoma outperforms the state is in injury deaths. Statewide the number of deaths due to injury per 100,000 population is 58. In Grayson County is 69, in Cooke County is 80 and worse in Fannin County it is 95.

Mental Health is of particular concern. The region was also higher than the state on average number of mentally unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (2018 data). The state average is 3.8 days, Cooke County is 4.5 days, Grayson County is 4.6, and Fannin is again highest with 4.7. The could be because the region ranks far below the state in access to mental healthcare providers, the ratio of population to mental health providers statewide is 830:1, one mental health care provider for every 830 people. In Grayson County it is 780 to 1, in Fannin County it is 1,010 to 1 and in Cooke County it is almost double the statewide number, at only one mental healthcare provider for every 1,650 people. The number of primary care physicians is also a concern, statewide there is one primary care physician for every 1,640 people, the Texoma region has much fewer. There is only one primary care physician for every 2,160 people in Grayson County, only one primary care
physicians for every 3,120 people in Cooke County and worst of all is Fannin County with only one doctor for every 5,880 in population.

Adding to lack of access to healthcare is question of affordability of healthcare. The uninsured population in Texoma is on par with the state, statewide 20% of the population is uninsured, 20% of the population in Cooke County and 20% of the population in Fannin County are uninsured, only slightly higher in Grayson County with 21%.

These data show expanding healthcare in the region is a great need, expanding mental health care in the region of special note. Access to doctors and healthcare is worse in rural communities, necessitating driving long distances for healthcare. Lack of access to healthcare affects not only health and quality of life but also workforce readiness and the economy.

The region also has high adult obesity and lack of access to exercise opportunities. Adult obesity statewide is 31%, the only county in the region below that is Cooke County at 24%. Fannin County adult obesity is 32%, Grayson County is highest at 38%. 81% of Texans say they have access to exercise opportunities, whereas
only 67% of Grayson County residents do, 52% of Cooke County resident say they do, and worst of all is Fannin County where only 39% of residents have access to exercise opportunities. This shows an opportunity for parks and trails development across the region. Grayson County has seen success pairing real estate development with nearby parks development, as in the Texoma Health Foundation Park in Denison, where a 66- acre park with walking trails, playgrounds, sporting fields and open space for outdoor physical activity, is surrounded by new real estate development.

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings
and Roadmaps 2013-2019.

 

Crime

Overall Crime

Crime Grade’s crime map shows the safest places in the region in green. The most dangerous areas in the region are in red, with moderately safe areas in yellow. Crime rates on the map are weighted by the type and severity of the crime.

Cooke County

  • Overall Crime Grade: B
  • Violent Crime Grade B-
  • Property Crime Grade: B
  • Other Crime Grade: C-

Grayson County

  • Overall Crime Grade: B
  • Violent Crime Grade B-
  • Property Crime Grade: B
  • Other Crime Grade: C-

Fannin County

  • Overall Crime Grade: B-
  • Violent Crime Grade B
  • Property Crime Grade: C+
  • Other Crime Grade: B

Economic Development: Industry Diversity

Cooke County

Gainesville, TX is home to multiple industries and supply chains primarily in the energy/oil and gas and advanced manufacturing sectors. The workforce education development at the primary and postsecondary education levels create a skilled talent pool for employers to draw from in Gainesville and neighboring communities in Cooke County.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy, many Gainesville area businesses were either shut down or temporarily ceased operations. Gainesville’s largest employer, which manufactures seats for airlines, suffered the largest loss in operations and employment due to the impacts on the aerospace/aviation and travel industries, respectively. The simultaneous decline in oil and gas prices in the first quarter of 2020 also contributed to unemployment and decreased operations.

These two significant events and their respective impacts on the Gainesville and Cooke County area highlight the need and urgency for industry diversity. Gainesville has identified five targeted sectors in addition to advanced manufacturing and energy for recruitment and growth that will complement the existing supply chains and workforce in the area but will also bring new opportunity: agriculture/food production, corporate headquarters, logistics, plastics manufacturing and warehousing/ distribution. Gainesville has also identified the need for additional skills development focusing on transferable skills.

Source: Audrey Schroyer, Executive Director, Gainesville EDC, 2021

Grayson County

Grayson County has a robust and diverse industrial ecosystem, serving many industries including the aviation, food manufacturing, and semiconductor industries. This has put Grayson County in an ideal position to weather economic hardships in any specific industry. Additionally, Grayson County has become a regional target for Industrial Investments due to its proximity and thoroughfare connections to the greater DFW Metroplex area. Texas Instruments has recently announced a 14 Billion dollar expansion project to their
semiconductor manufacturing facility that is anticipated to attract 3,200 Jobs over the next 5 years.

The sudden expansion in Industrial interest coupled with the residual effects of the COVID 19 Pandemic has created a hardship in acquiring and retaining employees with several industries/companies competing for the same labor force, with many companies offering wages significantly above the county average, but this has not alleviated the challenge in recruiting and retaining employees.

Food Distribution and Cold Storage has become growing trend in the County with some municipalities turning down $100 million dollar+ projects due to a lack of facilities and or infrastructure available today for these uses.

Fannin County

In addition to the legacy agri-business farm & ranch segment (VPG – Coop, McCraw Oil Co., Lone Star Reel) already located within Fannin County the private sector continues to further diversify with industries ranging from viticulture (Homestead Winery) to manufactured housing (Clayton-Bonham, a division of Clayton Homes, and ASFModular) from government and healthcare (Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans’ Center – by far the largest employer in Bonham & Fannin County) to highly sophisticated manufacturing (Northlake Controls, TransCable, Renlita, Kelso Technologies and Tongrun International) to the newly announced Lugarti, Inc (reptilian pet accessories and feed) in the process establishing their own manufacturing and customer service call center in Bonham. Construction trades jobs of every stripe have been hard at work with the creation of the first surface water reservoir to be built in Texas in over 30 years (16,600+ acre ~ Bois D’ Arc Lake and ancillary pipeline, water treatment plant, dam and associated infrastructure) the multi-million dollar Fannin County Courthouse restoration, TXDoT widening of US Hwy 82 to 4-lane divided eastward to Honey Grove and the joint OKDoT-TXDoT ‘new’ Sowell Bluff State Hwy 78 Red River Bridge. They are almost certainly to remain in high demand with the next phase of the project eastward to the Lamar County line and into Paris to follow. TXDoT in partnership with Collin County is widening to 4-lane divided TX Hwy 121 as a high-speed traffic corridor directly into the DFW Metroplex. Lake Ralph Hall has been permitted, financed, and will soon be letting construction contracts for this new surface water reservoir near Ladonia in southeastern Fannin County.

Workforce (size, availability and in some occupations skill-level) and workforce priced housing are truly limiting factors impacting pace of growth and the ability of the retail and customer service sectors to keep pace with upward spiraling wages.

Economic Development: Industry Diversity

The business climate for small businesses in Cooke, Fannin and Grayson counties is strong, following the overall positive outlook for the State of Texas. Located north of the Dallas-Ft. Worth region, growth from the metroplex is rapidly moving into the area. Inflow from Oklahoma for retail shopping, restaurants, medical care and leisure activities remains active. Current interest in local and independent business support over national brands is a positive factor for those considering small business operations.

Census date (2019) shows the total number of businesses in the TCOG area as 4,083 establishments with employees and 17,155 non-employee establishments. Additionally, there are significantly fewer minority and women owned businesses than nonminority and male owned business.

COVID closures were challenging, but data compiled by Intuit/QuickBooks involving over 1,000,000 small businesses indicates that small businesses in every state but Hawaii actually moved ahead of their pre-pandemic performance by March 2021.

Data also indicated that businesses in large urban areas experienced greater loss than those in rural areas.

Area of Concern: Small Businesses and the Pandemic

Many business practices instituted to survive through the 2020 pandemic are expected to continue into the future thus replacing or expanding expectations of employees and customers. Changes predicted to impact future small business operations include the following:

  • Remote work environments became common in 2020. Early indications are that many employees found working from home very productive and satisfying and want to continue that practice.
  • Sudden job losses associated with the pandemic motivated many to establish or increase efforts to grow existing small or home-based businesses to provide supplemental income or increase self-sufficiency.
  • Younger generations consistently report a strong desire toward business ownership. Increasing numbers of retired individuals are starting small businesses to supplement retirement income.
  • Strong local support for independent local business owners is growing and is expected to continue that growth trend in coming years.

The Texoma area is experiencing growth in the following areas which is expected to continue and likely increase in the coming years:

  • Destination tourism. With the abundance of natural and man-made lakes in the area, this industry is poised to grow rapidly. Related growth is currently being seen in support areas such as RV parks, leisure activity venues, coffee houses and support services for lake/boating/outdoor adventures.
  • Local product production. The area is historically agricultural, and a strong base is likely to remain in agri-business opportunities as well as opportunities for small business creation to provide support services for large agri-business operations. Although land prices are increasing in the area, large tracts for production are still available at reasonable cost. Numbers of local producers of honey, produce and beef as well as manufacturers of craft beer and wine are expected to continue to increase.
  • Because the area is a hub for medical care and has a high proportion of elderly residents, personal support services and home care will likely continue to offer growth opportunities for small business in the area.

Small businesses will not be without challenges moving into the next five years. Reliable and affordable highspeed internet is still limited in many rural areas which hinders online business activities.

  • Local seed funding for micro business and startups is lacking, particularly for women and minority entrepreneurs. An increasing need for online business operation will be a major change for many small local businesses. Many entrepreneurs lack the desire as well as technology and skills to successfully operate online.

Source: Karen D. Stidham, Ph.D. Director of Grayson Small Business
Development Center (SBDC) 2021