Economic Development Organizations Key Players In Texas’ Success

24 Feb 2021


News

Texas is becoming a popular state for corporations looking for the optimum business climate, and it’s due in large part to the work of Texas’ more than 700 economic development organizations (EDOs) serving 25 metropolitan areas, more than 40 micropolitan areas and greater than 1,200 incorporated cities in Texas. We like to describe economic development in Texas as a team sport, and these EDOs are key players on that team.

The Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC) is a statewide, privately funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in unique partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism. Our mission is to market Texas to site selectors and CEOs of corporations looking to relocate and/or expand their businesses. TxEDC works directly with our investors to provide strategies and the latest marketing messages and information to maximize economic development success. We’re grateful that Texas has so much to offer these companies and their employees — low taxes, reasonable regulations, great central location, high quality of life, and the second largest skilled workforce in the nation.

But EDOs, which may be privately or publicly funded, are focused on the economic development of a specific geographic region, such as municipalities, counties and other groups defined by regional features. EDOs come in all shapes and sizes, but their focus is typically a “local up” approach to economic development in Texas. Given that interested projects often first contact community EDO representatives, EDOs often make up Texas’ starting lineup.

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