Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX MSA — October 2026
Killeen's jobless rate holds a point above Texas, unmoved by state's rebound
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood's 5.4% unemployment rate in July sat a full point above Texas's 4.4% and 1.3 points above the national 4.1%, even as Registered Nurse and HVAC Technician pay posted some of the metro's sharpest gains.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 5.4% — vs 4.4% Texas, 4.1% national (July 2026)
- Texas labor force growth: 3,600 net new — Statewide over past 12 months, near stall
- Metro job growth, 2019-2024: 4.4% — 193,719 to 202,234 jobs across five years
- Texas 12-month job growth: 1.1% — vs 0.3% national rate
Key takeaways
Metro unemployment gap with the state is widening.
July's 5.4% metro rate sits a full point above Texas's 4.4% and well above the 4.1% national figure, a gap that has persisted even as statewide job growth outpaces the nation. Commerce and economic development leaders should treat this divergence as evidence the metro's recovery trajectory is decoupled from broader Texas momentum.
Healthcare and skilled trades carry the metro's wage story.
Registered Nurse pay rose moderately to a $94,121 metro median and HVAC Technician pay rose significantly to $62,466, both outperforming broader metro wage stagnation seen in retail and clerical roles. That divergence is consistent with where private capital and consumer demand are concentrating locally, offering a clearer read on business climate than the unemployment headline alone.
Military demographics blunt the usual labor-market signals.
With senior-level service members composing roughly a quarter of the metro's population, standard labor force participation and wage-pressure indicators behave differently here than in civilian-dominated metros. Economists and chamber leaders should weight federal installation activity alongside private payroll counts when assessing metro health.
Wage softness in logistics and construction trades warrants a watch.
CDL Truck Driver pay fell moderately to $77,000 and Construction Laborer pay fell moderately to $37,440 locally, even as national figures held stable or rose. That local-national divergence may suggest softening demand in goods-movement and building trades specific to the metro.
Median advertised pay by role — Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,880 | $27,043 | $31,927 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,400 | $30,592 | $30,592 | Significant increase | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,530 | $34,320 | $36,766 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $55,966 | $77,000 | $88,000 | Moderate decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $28,837 | $31,575 | $33,749 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $32,346 | $37,440 | $37,893 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $59,956 | $71,345 | $78,000 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,160 | $35,360 | $38,480 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $28,343 | $33,059 | $35,360 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $24,435 | $28,080 | $37,050 | Significant decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $29,653 | $35,360 | $39,520 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,200 | $36,379 | $39,145 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $50,960 | $62,466 | $72,000 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,504 | $94,121 | $101,878 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $121,921 | $155,298 | $170,301 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $118,490 | $150,725 | $158,245 | Significant increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $56,906 | $70,000 | $79,452 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $71,449 | $79,464 | $84,554 | Significant decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $40,740 | $57,119 | $62,076 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $35,125 | $64,999 | $65,472 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $82,583 | $98,295 | Moderate decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,118 | $55,357 | $63,125 | Moderate increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $44,000 | $66,759 | $87,587 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $48,368 | $70,873 | $85,260 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,836 | $81,268 | $85,992 | Moderate increase | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $62,560 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $48,031 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $37,568 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $63,960 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $70,793 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $44,497 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $42,378 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $56,585 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,079 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,841 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood's unemployment rate stood at 5.4% in July (latest official BLS metro figure), a full point above the Texas rate of 4.4% and 1.3 points above the national 4.1%, reflecting the metro's dependence on a single dominant institution: Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), the nation's second-largest military installation by population. Statewide labor force growth has nearly stalled — just 3,600 net new participants over the past year — a demographic headwind compounded locally by a workforce where roughly a quarter of residents are senior-level service members, a population less responsive to typical civilian wage signals.
What it means
Elevated unemployment alongside a structurally shallow labor force pool signals a metro economy insulated from national hiring cycles; commerce leaders should read local conditions through the lens of federal and military spending stability as the primary driver of metro activity. Advertised pay gains in healthcare (Registered Nurse up moderately to $94,121) and skilled trades (HVAC Technician up significantly to $62,466) point to where private investment is finding traction despite the soft headline unemployment figure. Current conditions suggest monitoring Fort Cavazos-linked spending and federal budget signals as a leading indicator for metro-wide commercial activity, given the installation's outsized role in local labor supply and demand.
Looking ahead
Data gap to monitor: BLS metro-level unemployment data for Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood runs through July with a structural one-to-two month lag; watch for the August-September release via FRED series KILL648UR, which will show whether the 5.4% rate has moved toward or further from the state's 4.4%.
Federal policy exposure: Federal employment nationally sits near 1966-era lows amid deferred resignations and early retirements; given Fort Cavazos' scale, any shift in defense appropriations or federal civilian staffing merits close tracking as a leading indicator for metro labor conditions.
Early indicator: Statewide manufacturing added 4,700 jobs in September on oil/gas and AI-infrastructure construction activity; watch whether any of that momentum extends to Bell County's industrial base or remains concentrated in other Texas regions.
Worth watching: Texas labor force growth has nearly stalled (3,600 net new participants statewide over 12 months); local chambers and workforce boards should track whether the metro's participation rate holds up better or worse than the state trend as fresh data arrives.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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