Midland and Odessa have emerged as dynamic metropolitans in Heartland Forward's latest Most Dynamic Metropolitans (MDM) report. The rankings, which were reported in a release from Heartland Forward, utilizes data to pinpoint and showcase industry trends that have impacted economic growth over the past year and the preceding five years.
Out of 25 ranked cities, Midland ranked #2 while Odessa ranked #14.
Odessa was considered one out of the three metropolitan areas that most improved in this year's index. Odessa’s improvement is “evidence of the strength of oil and gas production and industrial manufacturing respectively” to its area, according to the release.
Ranking growth was observed not only in Odessa, but also in Midland. Improvement is attributed to the oil and gas-centric communities that are diversifying into other energy sources and building out their communities to be sustainable over the longer term. The areas exhibit “resilience and longer-term economic growth trajectories.”
The MDM report ranks 382 metros based on ten key metrics, including area growth, young-firm prevalence, employment, education, and income trends over the past year and previous five years.
"The MDM report gives our leaders data they can use to make smart, long-term decisions around economic growth,” said President and CEO of Heartland Forward Ross DeVol in the release. “We applaud the mayors and their development teams who work to build these healthy communities and encourage sustainable growth. Their efforts are reflected in their rankings in this year's edition of the index."