Goals, objectives, strategies and performance measures

Increase employment outside oil and gas extraction and support activities.

Increase the number of establishments in targeted non-energy clusters.

Raise the share of small counties with an active, funded economic development program.

Reduce the swing in regional employment between peak and trough drilling years.

Assist communities in implementing strategies that grow or attract businesses in targeted clusters — energy services, power and renewables, water midstream and reclamation, logistics and warehousing, and healthcare.

Help small communities build micro-clusters around unique local assets rather than competing head-on with Midland and Odessa.

Support business retention and expansion visit programs, so existing employers are the first source of new jobs.

Promote export-oriented and knowledge-based activity that brings revenue into the region.

Maintain the regional plans library and close the documented planning gaps in counties with no published comprehensive or economic development plan.

Coordinate economic recovery and continuity planning with the PBRPC Regional Homeland Security Strategic Implementation Plan and the regional threat and hazard assessment.

Employment by industry sector, region and county.

Current basis: Tracked on the Economic Profile page; five-year trend maintained.

Establishments by industry sector.

Current basis: Tracked annually from County Business Patterns.

Average wages by industry sector.

Current basis: Tracked annually; regional average reported against Texas.

Share of regional employment outside oil and gas extraction and support.

Current basis: New measure for this cycle; baseline set in year one.

Rig count and its annual swing as a volatility indicator.

Current basis: Baker Hughes county rig averages, 2019 through 2026.

Announced projects that reach operation versus those that stall.

Current basis: Tracked in the Recent Economic Developments list, including unrealized announcements.

Increase business startup activity across the region, not only in the two metro counties.

Expand incubator, maker-space and shared work space capacity.

Raise household broadband subscription in every county toward the state rate.

Grow business activity that earns revenue from outside the region.

Support entrepreneurship and small business training in secondary and post-secondary institutions and through the Small Business Development Center network.

Promote development of incubators and shared work space in communities throughout the region, including shared rural facilities.

Support communities in pursuing state and federal broadband deployment funding and in adopting the local permitting and right-of-way practices those programs expect.

Support digital skills and affordability programs so that built capacity converts into household subscription.

Connect regional startups to capital sources, including revolving loan funds and private partners active in the basin.

New establishments per year, region and county.

Current basis: Tracked annually from County Business Patterns.

Incubator and shared work space capacity in the region.

Current basis: Inventory to be compiled in year one; no current regional count is published.

Households with a broadband internet subscription.

Current basis: 86.2% region-wide in 2023, up from 79.7% in 2019 (ACS).

Households with no internet access of any kind.

Current basis: Tracked by county on the Economic Profile page (ACS).

Broadband deployment awards received by regional communities.

Current basis: New measure for this cycle.

Increase the four-year high school graduation rate in every county toward the state rate.

Reduce the gap between the overall graduation rate and the rate for economically disadvantaged students.

Increase the share of adults age 25 and over holding a post-secondary credential.

Increase completions at regional post-secondary institutions, not only enrollment.

Align training capacity with the occupations regional employers are actually hiring for.

Coordinate with regional education service centers and districts to align career and technical pathways with employer demand.

Strengthen the partnership with Workforce Solutions Permian Basin so workforce resources and the targeted occupation list drive economic development decisions.

Support dual credit, apprenticeship and short-term credential programs at Howard, Midland and Odessa colleges and UT Permian Basin.

Support wraparound supports — child care, transportation and advising — that determine whether students finish.

Promote the region's skilled workforce in recruitment materials and to site selectors.

Four-year graduation and dropout rates by county.

Current basis: TEA classes of 2020 through 2024; Texas comparison 90.7% for 2024.

Graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students.

Current basis: Tracked by county on the Education & Workforce page.

Educational attainment, age 25 and over.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS on the Economic Profile page.

Awards conferred by regional post-secondary institutions, by level and program area.

Current basis: About 5,100 awards in 2023-24 across the five in-region IPEDS institutions.

150% completion rates at regional institutions.

Current basis: UTPB 43.0%, Howard 35.7%, Odessa 27.9%, Midland 17.1% (IPEDS 2023).

Regional labor force and unemployment rate.

Current basis: Labor force 264,494 and unemployment 3.8% in August 2025.

Improve mobility for workers commuting between communities in the region.

Maintain the region's advantage in transportation, logistics and natural resource movement.

Support water supply and reuse capacity adequate for population and industrial growth.

Support electric generation and transmission capacity for new industrial load.

Connect communities with state and federal funding agencies and assist with application capacity.

Promote public transportation alternatives and regional connectivity, including rural transit.

Assist communities in accessing resources to improve roadways, rail access and airport capacity.

Coordinate with the Permian Basin MPO, the Midland Odessa Transportation Organization and the PBRPC Rural Transportation Board on plans, projects and TxDOT review.

Support produced-water reclamation and reuse projects that reduce demand on fresh water.

Support transmission and generation planning so that grid capacity does not become the limit on new projects.

Roadway centerline and lane miles by county.

Current basis: TxDOT 2019 and 2025 mileage tracked on the Economic Profile page.

Rail miles and main-line miles in the region.

Current basis: 552.9 total rail miles, 435.4 main line (BTS/FRA).

Public transportation options and ridership.

Current basis: Baseline to be compiled with the Rural Transportation Board.

Mean travel time to work and share commuting 30 minutes or more.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS commute data.

Infrastructure projects funded through state and federal programs.

Current basis: New measure for this cycle.

Increase the supply of housing affordable to the regional workforce.

Increase multi-family and rental availability.

Improve home ownership rates, particularly for first-time buyers.

Improve the condition of existing housing stock in older neighborhoods.

Encourage development of workforce and affordable housing, including employer-supported projects.

Promote multi-family development and the zoning and code changes that allow it.

Encourage revitalization, rehabilitation and beautification programs for existing stock.

Support communities in planning the water, sewer and street infrastructure new residential development requires.

Assist rural communities in accessing state housing finance and community development programs.

Total housing units and multi-family share.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS on the Economic Profile page.

Home ownership rate by county.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS.

Residential building permits issued.

Current basis: Tracked annually from Census building permits.

Median gross rent and share of households cost-burdened.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS.

Median home value relative to median household income.

Current basis: Derived from ACS values already reported on this site.

Improve quality of place assets — parks, downtowns, childcare, arts and recreation — in communities across the region.

Improve residents' own perception of the region as a place to stay.

Increase access to primary, behavioral and specialty healthcare among rural residents.

Increase childcare capacity as a workforce participation measure.

Assist communities in economic development strategies that build on their distinct character rather than a generic template.

Identify successful local initiatives that can be replicated in other communities.

Coordinate regional marketing that highlights each community's assets.

Promote telemedicine and support expansion of rural health centers and clinics.

Support childcare capacity expansion in partnership with Workforce Solutions Permian Basin.

Quality-of-place projects completed in the region.

Current basis: Tracked in the Recent Economic Developments list.

Primary care physician to population ratio by county.

Current basis: Tracked from County Health Rankings.

Share of residents under 65 without health insurance.

Current basis: Tracked annually from ACS.

Net migration and population change by county.

Current basis: Five-year trend maintained on the Economic Profile page.

Licensed childcare capacity relative to working parents.

Current basis: Baseline to be compiled in year one.