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#2 of 5 metro counties by unemployment rate, August 2026

Hays County

Hays County's unemployment rate was 3.9% in August 2026, 0.0 percentage points level with the Austin metro rate of 3.9% for the same month, across a civilian labor force of 170K. Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.

Population

Population is not published in the data this page was built from.

Reference period not carried in this data feed — U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, via FRED (series Census county population series).

Civilian labor force

Civilian labor force: 169,955 (August 2026)

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Not seasonally adjusted.

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate: 3.9% (August 2026)

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Not seasonally adjusted.

Unemployment rate
3.9%
0.0 pp vs the Austin metro, August 2026
August 2026 · BLS LAUS
Civilian labor force
170K
+0.6% year over year
August 2026 · BLS LAUS
Active TDLR projects
1,256
134 registered in the last 6 months
Non-closed filings on record
Declared project value
$6.46B
Average $5.1M
Cost declared on the filing, not market value

Employment trend

Every published observation we hold for this county

Hays County unemployment rate

County unemployment rate ran 3.8% in August 2025 and 3.9% in August 2026 — up 0.1 percentage points across 12 observations. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series).

The vertical axis starts at 3.1%, not zero, so the variation is visible. Read the axis labels before reading the slope.

Show the 12 observations behind this chart
County unemployment rate, August 2025 to August 2026. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series).
PeriodPercent of labor force
August 20253.8%
September 20253.7%
November 20253.6%
December 20253.2%
January 20263.8%
February 20263.8%
March 20263.4%
April 20263.3%
May 20263.6%
June 20264.1%
July 20264.0%
August 20263.9%
August 2025August 2026

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Not seasonally adjusted.

Hays County civilian labor force

County civilian labor force ran 168,871 in August 2025 and 169,955 in August 2026 — up 0.6% across 12 observations. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series).

Show the 12 observations behind this chart
County civilian labor force, August 2025 to August 2026. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series).
PeriodCount
August 2025168,871
September 2025169,833
November 2025169,807
December 2025169,592
January 2026168,763
February 2026169,361
March 2026168,838
April 2026169,111
May 2026169,702
June 2026170,256
July 2026170,281
August 2026169,955
August 2025August 2026

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Not seasonally adjusted.

Hays sits above the metro rate

At 3.9% in August 2026, Hays County is 0.0 percentage points level with the Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown metro rate of 3.9% for the same month. Hays accounts for 10.9% of the metro's civilian labor force.

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Not seasonally adjusted.

Construction pipeline

Non-closed TDLR project filings in Hays County

1,256
Total projects
771
New construction
485
Renovations
134
Registered in 6 months

Counts and values come from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project filings held in our database. “Value” is the cost declared on the filing, not an appraisal or a market figure, and this feed does not publish an as-of date, so we do not state one.

Search all Hays County projects at TDLR

Recent projects

The 5 most recently registered TDLR filings we hold for this county.

Austin 311 requests at Hays County addresses

These are service requests filed with City of Austin 311 at addresses this dataset places in Hays County — not Hays County’s own service record. Most of Hays County is served by other cities' own systems, so this is a partial view: only the part of the county inside Austin's service area appears at all. The requests below come from 6 ZIP codes in the county.

303
Requests on record, all time (Jul 2014 – Oct 2026)
164
Filed in the last 12 months
2
Still open or in progress
  • Most-filed request type, last 12 months: Garbage, with 42 requests.
  • Median time from filing to close, last 12 months: 25 hours — the same figure as every request Austin 311 closed in that window, which is what you would expect where this county supplies most of the caseload.

Source: City of Austin Open Data Portal, dataset xwdj-i9he, synced daily. Requests opened Jul 2014 – Oct 2026. A 311 request records that somebody reported something, not that the condition was verified or fixed — and request volume reflects how much an area calls the city as much as what is happening in it.

All Austin 311 requests, by type and ZIP

Hays County on the map

Hays County highlighted among the five metro counties.

Hays County covers approximately 680 square miles, the 4th largest by area of the five metro counties. Calculated from the county's published boundary polygon — an approximation for this map, not a surveyed figure. Boundaries: Texas StratMap county polygons, via the Texas Open Data Portal, simplified for display.

Against the Austin metro

Metro unemployment rate
3.9%
Metro labor force
1.6M
Hays's share of it
10.9%

The metro labor-force figure reaches this page without an observation date, so we cannot show that it describes the same month as the county figure and do not claim it does.

As of — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series AUST448URN). Not seasonally adjusted.

Cities in this sample

From the 10 most recent filings above — a sample, not a county total.

  • Buda1$61.2M
  • Kyle5$29.9M
  • San Marcos3$6.3M
  • Dripping Springs1$500K

The other metro counties

Unemployment rate, August 2026 · BLS LAUS via FRED

Explore more Central Texas data

Sources and vintages

  • Unemployment & labor force: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED (series LAUS county series). Newest observation on this page: August 2026.
  • Construction projects: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project filings. This feed carries no as-of date, so none is shown.
  • Population: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, via FRED (series Census county population series). No estimate published.
  • County boundary map: Texas StratMap county polygons, via the Texas Open Data Portal (dataset m3yf-ffwm), simplified for display. Area figures are calculated from that polygon, not an official survey measurement.
  • This page does not claim its own “last updated” date. Federal labor statistics are published weeks after the month they describe, so the date that matters is the reference month above, not when the page was rebuilt.

Hays County economy: frequently asked questions

What is the unemployment rate in Hays County?

Hays County's unemployment rate was 3.9% in August 2026, the most recent month in the data we hold for the county. That is 0.0 percentage points level with the Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown metro rate of 3.9%, which describes the same month — we compare the two reference months before comparing the rates, and say nothing if they differ. Both figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics programme, retrieved through FRED, and neither is seasonally adjusted.

What is the population of Hays County?

A population figure for Hays County is not in the data this page was built from.

How large is Hays County by area?

Hays County covers approximately 680 square miles, the 4th largest by area of the five counties in the Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown metro. That figure is calculated from the county's published boundary polygon (Texas StratMap county polygons, via the Texas Open Data Portal), which makes it an approximation rather than a surveyed measurement.

How current is Hays County unemployment data?

The newest observation on this page is August 2026. County unemployment comes from the BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics programme, which publishes each month several weeks after the month itself ends — so the most recent figure available is always some weeks behind today's date. We show the reference month rather than the date this page was rebuilt, because the reference month is the one that describes the county.

How large is the Hays County labor force?

Hays County's civilian labor force was 169,955 in August 2026, which is 10.9% of the Austin metro's labor force. The labor force counts everyone employed plus everyone actively looking for work. Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, via FRED.

Where does Hays County economic data come from?

Unemployment and labor-force figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics programme, retrieved through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's FRED service. Population estimates come from the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, also via FRED. Construction activity comes from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation project filings, where the value shown is the cost declared on the filing rather than an appraisal. The county boundary map uses Texas StratMap county polygons from the Texas Open Data Portal. Every figure on this page names the month or period it refers to; where a period is not published, we say so instead of guessing.