26 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week

Welcome to this week's issue of What Economic Developers Need to Know This Week, where we explore the evolving dynamics of our economy.

Note: I've been traveling this week, so shorter than normal issue incoming.

This week we have 26 tools, stories, graphics, charts and videos that I think you'll find informative, useful, inspiring, and perhaps even humorous. Some are economic development related directly, and some only indirectly. 🤔

If you're wondering what to do with the info in this newsletter, send something to your board members. It will make you look good!

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Learn More

1) Greetings from the Texas Economic Development Council's Annual Conference!

If you're trying to find me, I'll be at the end of the vendor hall hanging out at the Day One Experts booth. Come say hi! (I should also mention that I have a goatee at the moment.)

2) Economic Development and Developers in the News # 218 - Econ dev news from 71 economic development executives and organizations in 19 states.

4) How to Explain What You Do: So People Actually Get It - It’s Not You. It’s Your Introduction.

5) Podcast 196: AI and the Future of Economic Development with Dane Carlson - All AI is not "AI slop"

6) 10 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week - The stories Dane thinks you need to see. October 23, 2025 edition.

7) Podcast 195: Lessons from One of America’s Great Neighborhoods with 3CDC's Joe Rudemiller - How to Fix a Neighborhood Without Bulldozing It

8) If you prefer to watch my talk from the UEDA:

9) How does adult literacy vary by state?

10) This is the worst the jobs market has looked (outside of a recession) in 50 years:

11) The housing market is already terrible. A.I. is making it even worse: While digital staging is nothing new to real estate, bot-made listings are forcing homebuyers and professionals to ask themselves if this is a straight-up deceptive practice.

12) When you shut the door on remote work, seasoned talent turns away.

13) Share of people born in a state who are still living there as of 2021:

14) Is the economy good or bad? Depends. Two seemingly contradictory things can be true at the same time, markets can hit all-time highs in the face of policy decisions that are risky, but have worthy goals, while simultaneously seeming increasingly reckless, or raising the possibility of a recession, market crash, or worse.

15) Soybeans are the US's largest agricultural export, worth $24.5 billion last year.

16) Premiums for employer-provided health insurance plans reached nearly $27,000 this year, and are expected to rise even more in 2026 as the cost of healthcare in America continues to tick up.

17) Total US apple production, by variety:

18) Where electricity rates are highest (and lowest):

19) SNAP households by U.S. House District: