Western Blue Chip Current Update
July 18, 2025
The states included in the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
UTAH, IDAHO & TEXAS LEAD U.S. IN RATE OF HOUSING UNIT CHANGE: 2020-2024
Despite headwinds from high mortgage rates, labor shortages, and building cost increases, the nation continued to add housing between 2020-2024, according to the latest cumulative estimates of housing unit change from the U. S. Census Bureau. The number of housing units increased by 6.3 million units and changed by 4.5% during the period. At the state level, Utah, Idaho and Texas added housing units at the fastest pace, ranking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively among all 50 states (see table). Percent changes for Utah (11.5%) and Idaho (10.7%) were more than double the national growth rate.
Housing Unit Change in Western States, 2020-2024
| Change in Housing Units | Percent Change | U.S. Rank by Percent Change | |
| Utah | 131,923 | 11.5% | 1 |
| Idaho | 80,817 | 10.7% | 2 |
| Texas | 1,027,970 | 8.9% | 3 |
| Colorado | 185,011 | 7.4% | 8 |
| Arizona | 217,654 | 7.1% | 9 |
| Nevada | 84,944 | 6.6% | 11 |
| Washington | 198,677 | 6.2% | 12 |
| Montana | 24,870 | 4.8% | 15 |
| Oregon | 83,187 | 4.6% | 16 |
| Wyoming | 9,935 | 3.7% | 21 |
| New Mexico | 33,301 | 3.5% | 22 |
| California | 485,763 | 3.4% | 27 |
| United States | 6,271,975 | 4.5% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, NST-EST2024-HU-CUMCHG, May 2025
Figures for U.S. Rank do not include District of Columbia
Other Western states in the top 10 included Colorado (8th) and Arizona (9th). Nevada (11th), Washington (12th), Montana (15th, and Oregon (16th) placed in the top 20, and all grew faster than the national average of 4.5%. The slowest housing change among the Western states was in California (3.4%), although the Golden State ranked 3rd in the absolute number of new units (485,763) behind Texas (1.0 million units) and Florida (764,559).
Arizona had placed among the top ten states for percentage gains in employment in every year from 2016 – 2023, and the Grand Canyon State was first-ranked in 2019. The recent revised employment growth for Arizona in 2024 placed the state at 16th, with gains at the national average of 1.3%.
Similarly, Texas ranked 10th in 2024 after ranking 2nd in 2022 (behind Nevada) and 3rd in 2023. Oregon slipped to 48th in the job growth rankings in 2024, down from 27th in 2023. Oregon and California were the slowest growing Western states in 2024. Their nonfarm employment increased by 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
SPOTLIGHT ON TEXAS
“The Texas economy has remained relatively resilient, but is showing some signs of strain. Energy markets remain at levels that discourage short-term investments, and tariff and immigration policies have a disproportionate effect on the state. Texas also has the highest uninsured rates in the U.S. by far, and the new budget bill will only exacerbate this issue. The state is continuing to see industrial expansion and new locations and is emerging as a major center for bioscience, data centers, AI, and other growth segments. Assuming that adequate investments are forthcoming in education, power, water, and other key infrastructure, long-term prospects are quite promising.”
Ray Perryman, President and CEO, The Perryman Group
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