NAICS 44-45

Retail Trade in Wichita Falls, TX

Metro Market Score 62.8 (Difficult), ranked #282 of 378 metros. 475 establishments, 7,149 jobs.

Metro Market Score 62.8

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national retail trade average.

Wichita Falls's retail trade sector saw employment decline over the past year (growth trend: 19.8). That contraction, combined with a 62.8 market score, puts this metro in the lower half for market conditions. Understand why the local market is shrinking before committing.

Industry Concentration

75.7

LQ: 1.26

Rank #286 of 378 metros

Wage Competitiveness

28.3

$35,609 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 19.8

Employment growth index

Rank #304 of 378 metros

Wage Pressure

63.7

YoY wage change index

475 Retail Trade Firms in Wichita Falls

475

Establishments

-0.8% YoY

7,149

Total Employment

-2.1% YoY

$35,609

Average Annual Wage

+0.4% YoY

1.26

Location Quotient

Above national avg

Within Texas

#20 of 25

retail trade metros in state

Texas state rank

#17 of 51

for retail trade entry risk

vs State Median

+12.3

worse than median (50.5)

Wichita Falls vs Texas Statewide

How this metro's retail trade market compares to Texas overall. The state ranks #17/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Wichita Falls	TX Statewide
Overall Score	62.8 Difficult	41.6 Moderate
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#282 of 378 metros	#17 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in Wichita Falls

Construction 19.2 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 26.0 Finance and Insurance 40.5 Other Services 45.5

Retail Trade in Other Texas Metros

Laredo 34.6 #22/378 Brownsville-Harlingen 37.2 #33/378 Longview 42.7 #66/378 Midland 43.1 #70/378 Waco 43.5 #75/378 Eagle Pass 45.7 #88/378 College Station-Bryan 46.7 #96/378 Corpus Christi 47.9 #108/378 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 48.7 #117/378 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 48.8 #119/378

+ 14 more metros. View all in Texas →

Retail Trade Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Wichita Falls's 62.8 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Greenville, NC 62.9 #283/378 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 62.9 #284/378 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 62.9 #285/378 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC 62.9 #286/378 Rochester, NY 62.6 #281/378 Minot, ND 62.5 #280/378 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 62.5 #279/378 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL 63.1 #287/378 Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ 63.2 #288/378 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 63.2 #289/378

Retail Trade in States Bordering Texas

State-level entry risk for retail trade in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

New Mexico 39.9 #11/51 Oklahoma 46.3 #35/51 Arkansas 51.8 #44/51 Louisiana 52.3 #46/51

Browse Retail Trade in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for retail trade across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Wichita Falls's retail trade sector, the employment growth component (80.2) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Wichita Falls, TX MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment