Houston vs. Dallas Economy
 

Can anyone tell me how these two economies compare?
I know that Houston is much larger than Dallas, but most revenue is by sector. Is there any source of information that will give me the big picture?
(I am using this info in a presentation).

If anyone knows or could point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it!

The Dallas Federal Reserve website can provide some infomration about the region. http://www.dallasfed.org/

Also try the Texas Comptroller's office. http://www.window.state.tx.us/

The Texas A&M Real Estate Center aslo prepares analyses of local economies. http://recenter.tamu.edu/ The following is a link to their mopst recent report on the Texas economy. http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/

Other places to look include the Department of Labor and the Texas Workforce Commission. You also might try each area's chamber of commerce. In Houston, it is the Greater Houston Partnership. http://www.houston.org/

As for general economies, Dallas is more financial, high tech and telecomm; Houston is energy, medical, manufacturing and trade. Both areas are professional services centers (i.e., accounting and law). Unemployment in both areas has increased over the past year, with Dallas having a slightly higher unemployment rate. Home prices have been escalating above the national rate for the past decade as a result of lower interest rates and lower than normal prices from the eighties oil depression here.

Like Florida, we don't have an income tax. Sales taxes and property taxes are primary sources of state and local revenues. Property taxes in both regons have risen dramatically due to increases in property values and will probably increase further as the state tries to find ways to fund its deficit. You are probably seeing the same situation in Florida.

Hope this helps. Email me if you need anything else.

LDLee - that is extremely helpful information - you sure know your state!
Thank you very much for responding.

As one of those who's been impacted by the cutbacks in telecomm, the Dallas economy has been on a downhill slide in the past two years. It seems that every morning when I read the business section of the Dallas Morning News, there's yet another story about cutbacks and layoffs. Just this morning, there's a story about downsizing at Daiseytek as well as the turmoil going on with TXU Corp.