TEXAS SNAPSHOT, NOVEMBER 2010

TEXARKANA

Texarkana is the largest city in the Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas region. It is a thriving metro-center serving 19 counties in four states. A diversified economy is supported by manufacturing, agriculture, medical, transportation, and retail.

The economy in the Texarkana metro area, continues to remain  vibrant and healthy, relative to most other areas of our country.

In a 2009 article by Kiplinger.com, Texarkana ranked second among the 10 metro areas that enjoyed the greatest home price increases over the past year. In perspective, the declining housing market was what pushed so many metro areas throughout the country into the depths of the recession. The article recognized that Texarkana was able to avoid those problems and actually saw an appreciation in housing values during the last year.

The industrial base for the market area is diverse and includes two paper mills, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Christus St. Michael Health System and Red River Army Depot. The Depot has just recently transferred several thousand acres with buildings and infrastructure to the Red River Redevelopment Authority.

Texarkana is the regional medical center for a population of more than 400,000 within a 60-mile radius of the community with two acute care hospitals, two rehabilitation hospitals, a treatment center for disabled adults and children, two dialysis centers, and a diabetes clinic. Special needs of the elderly are filled by full-care nursing homes and retirement and assisted living facilities. Home health services, meals-on-wheels programs, and hospice services are readily available. All medical facilities provide jobs for the area.

Additional job opportunities include the many award-winning public and private schools as well as its two colleges. Texarkana College is a fully accredited comprehensive community college serving approximately 6,000 academic-credit students and over 9,000 non-credit students. Texas A&M University at Texarkana is an upper level university which shares the campus of Texarkana College and provides citizens of the four-state region a convenient and economical opportunity to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees. Texas A&M has opened two new buildings in the past year with construction continuing on additional buildings at the new campus.

Texarkana is located along the Interstate 49 corridor. All Texas routes identified as NAFTA corridors pass through the Texarkana area, which is considered the geographic center of North America, and offer a primary route from Canada to Mexico. With the completion of current construction along Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 59, Texarkana has great potential for future development.

— Jerry Brewer is with NAI American Realty Co. in Texarkana.

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