Kelly Hancock
Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Kelly Hancock
Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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Kelly Hancock
Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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UPPER EAST REGION

The 23-county Upper East region encompasses about 15,400 square miles in the northeast corner of Texas, stretching from the Arkansas and Louisiana borders in the east to Cedar Creek Reservoir in the west.

METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS:

Longview, Texarkana, Tyler

MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS:

Athens, Jacksonville, Mount Pleasant, Palestine, Paris, Sulphur Springs


UPPER EAST REGION
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, 2023

$67.3
BILLION

2.6% OF TEXAS’ GDP

Population Growth,
2014 to 2024


THE UPPER EAST REGION’S POPULATION ROSE 6.6% BETWEEN 2014 AND 2024.

Van Zandt and Rains counties saw the greatest percentage gains at 23.7% and 21%, respectively.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

IN 2023, 86.9% OF THE REGION HAD AT LEAST A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND 21.4% HAD EARNED A BACHELOR’S DEGREE.

Demographics

Population Change by Age Group,
2014 to 2024

COMPONENTS OF ANNUAL POPULATION CHANGE, 2014 to 2024

Population Data
COMPONENTS OF ANNUAL POPULATION CHANGE, 2014 to 2024
Year Natural Increase Net International Migration Net Domestic Migration
2014 2,472 1,145 1,979
2015 1,972 993 1,770
2016 2,079 986 2,539
2017 1,362 656 4,823
2018 333 437 6,754
2019 948 406 4,987
2020 225 383 6,539
2021 −3,746 426 13,866
2022 −3,514 1,744 12,824
2023 −804 2,137 14,706
2024 −639 2,672 8,519

Jobs and Wages

ABOUT 440,000 PEOPLE WERE EMPLOYED IN THE REGION IN 2024, UP 5.3% FROM 2014.

AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGES IN THE REGION WERE $55,575 IN 2024.

Industry

Industries often aggregate based on unique regional characteristics, such as natural resources or worker skill sets, which give the region a comparative advantage.

  • MOTOR VEHICLE BODY AND TRAILER MANUFACTURING,
  • SUPPORT ACTIVITIES FOR MINING,
  • RAIL TRANSPORTATION AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES,
  • AND POULTRY AND EGG PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES

are seven to eight times more concentrated in the Upper East region than anywhere else in the U.S.


FIND MORE DATA ON ALL THE REGIONS OF TEXAS AT:

COMPTROLLER.TEXAS.GOV/ECONOMY/ECONOMIC-DATA/REGIONS/

Data current as of September 2025
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; JobsEQ; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

comptroller seal

KELLY HANCOCK
ACTING COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS