The Texas Triangle

The other day I was talking with my friends, Kevin and Wayne at Loadtex and they kept referring to the “Texas Triangle.” Being a Yankee from the great state of Michigan, I had never heard of the Texas Triangle, so I asked what it was.

Even though I hoped the Texas Triangle was a football formation or a cowboy thing, I also mentally prepared myself for it to be some ridiculous, country line dancing thing. It turns out it was none of those things.

The Texas Triangle is a Place – A Really Big and Busy Place

The Texas Triangle refers to an area of Texas that is roughly bordered by Dallas, Houston and San Antonio / Austin (when you are Texas you get to call 4 points a triangle). The region is connected by Interstate 45, Interstate 10 and Interstate 35. The area contains almost 18 million people, which is about 75% of all Texans.

5 Reasons You Should Care About the Texas Triangle

1. The Texas Triangle is Big and Getting Bigger

The triangle, sometimes called “Texaplex,” (movie theater complex?) already has a population larger than 46 states and is the fastest growing region in one of the fastest growing states. By 2050, the area is expected to grow to 35 million people according to a study by the Regional Plan Association.

Austin and San Antonio are both big and booming, but the area between them, the Greater San Marcos area is the fastest growing corridor in the USA. Greater San Marcos, is poised to become another huge Texas metropolitan area and I bet most Americans never heard of it – including me.

2. Room to Grow in Texas

Texas is huge, which means there is plenty of room for the Texas Triangle to grow. Texas is the second largest state in terms of land mass with only Alaska being larger, yet most of the population is already living in the Texas Triangle. The Texas Triangle is about the geographic size of Georgia and has the population of Florida, yet it is only about 25% of Texas’s land mass.

The things that made the Texas Triangle such a draw for businesses and people will most likely apply to the areas close to the triangle.

When it comes to big cities, Texas already has 12 of the 100 largest cities in terms of population.

Biggest Cities in Texas by Population:

#4 Houston – 2.2 MM (part of Texas Triangle)

#7 San Antonio – 1.5 MM (part of Texas Triangle)

#9 Dallas – 1.3 MM (part of the Texas Triangle)

#11 Austin – 950 K (part of Texas Triangle)

#16 Fort Worth – 850 K (part of Texas Triangle)

#20 El Paso – 685 K (Border crossing location)

#48 Arlington – 392 K

#58 Corpus Christi – 325 K

#69 Plano – 287 K

#80 Laredo 257 K (Border crossing location)

#83 Lubbock 257 K

#95 Garland 234 K

 3. Texas is Business Friendly, Warm and Affordable

Texas consistently ranks as one of the top states for business and Americans are moving to the Lonestar State more than any other state. States that lost the most peeps to Texas include California, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and New York.

Texas has pretty nice weather. Generally speaking, Texas is way too hot in the summer, but they don’t have a winter, which seems like a nice trade-off for many Northerners who are tired of winter. Note: Texans will argue that they have winter, but it sure doesn’t look like winter to those of us who live in the Midwest and Northeast.

Texas is a very affordable place to live which is a nice draw for people living in expensive coastal states on both the East and West Coast.

4. Cali has Silicon Valley and Texas has Silicon Hills

Texas is sometimes associated with low tech, low wage jobs, but that perception is increasingly outdated. The Texas Triangle has its very own version of Silicon Valley located in the greater Austin area. Austin is home to a world-class research university (University of Texas), a vibrant music scene, a growing list of venture capital firms and hundreds of tech companies. Tech companies are choosing Austin over the Silicon Valley, which is expensive, crowded and located in California, which is one of the least friendly states for business. Silicon Valley is still the undisputed king of technology innovation; however, expect the Silicon Hills to provide some stiff competition in the future.

5. The Texas Triangle Benefits from USA – Mexico Trade

Trade with Mexico grew 6% last year and Mexico is the United States’ 3rd largest trade partner. Much of the goods bought and sold move through Texas, which has the 3 of the 5 biggest customs districts in the USA – #1 Laredo, #2 El Paso and #5 Houston. The Texas Triangle has grown from all this trade and will continue to grow as the trade increases between the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Orginal Article: https://www.thelogisticsoflogistics.com/the-texas-triangle/