Texas hotspots: Mapping the state's economic health, county by county

Andrews County, a small county of just 15,554 residents in West Texas, might be one of the best places to live to in the entire state. Menard County, on the western edge of Central Texas, might be one of the worst.

This, according to an analysis of Texas counties' socio-economic benchmarks conducted by the Austin Business Journal. The Texas Relative Economic Community Health Index, or TRECH, ranks the 254 Texas counties according to their relative rankings in six metrics from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Results including income, affordability and population trends.

Each county was ranked from 1 to 254 in each of the metrics. From there, the rankings were averaged together to give each county a unique TRECH Index score — with Williamson County achieving the highest rank among counties in the greater Austin region.

You can explore each county's ranking in the interactive map embedded below this article {see link since the map will not embed). The counties are colored from red, for a bad TRECH score, to green, for a good TRECH score. Are you viewing this on a mobile device, and cannot see the map? Simply click the "view full site" link at the bottom of the page and all will be revealed.

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/05/11/texas-hotspots-mapping-the-states-economic-health.html?s=print