Lee County has a strong presence in agriculture. The major product, peanuts, is complemented with the production of grains, crops and livestock. Lee County also has a strong mining industry, primarily involved in the extraction of crude oil and natural gas. Mining employment has grown throughout the 1990s with a drop experienced in 1999, which corresponded with a drop throughout the state. However, the industry has been somewhat erratic over the last several years with reduced prices due to increased foreign production prior to 1999, leading to recent foreign production cuts by OPEC nations in the last year. Crude oil production in Lee County dropped 47 percent between 1996 and 1999, while casinghead gas dropped 29 percent. However, natural gas production rebounded in 1999 after significant declines in 1997 and 1998.

Lee County has some geographical similarities with Fayette County to its south. Located between Austin and Houston, with U.S. 290 passing through it, Lee County is too far from these major metropolises for most commuters to live. Also, like Fayette County, Lee County is located at the located crossroads of U.S. 290, connecting Austin and Houston, and U.S. 77, connecting the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with Corpus Christi and the Texas-Mexico border. Lee County's geographical position can serve as a benefit for businesses and industries with markets in these major areas due to the transportation advantages.

In terms of the county's growth, Lee County has experienced a period of slow growth in the last decade. The county, which has the second smallest population in the region, registered a 16 percent population increase between 1990 and 1999, the second lowest rate in the CAHFC area. However, that growth appears to have leveled off within the past three years. A benefit of the limited growth is that the county's infrastructure hasn't been overtaxed as higher-growth counties. While there may have not been much growth population-wise, there also has been minimal growth income-wise, which could prove to be a detriment to the county's residents. During the past five years, as the region has been experiencing increasing economic prosperity, Lee County has not kept up pace with the region as a whole. The county, which had the highest unemployment rate of all the counties in the region in 1999, has the second lowest growth rate in non-governmental jobs between 1990 and 1999. Also, the level of income in the county has not risen significantly. Between 1994 and 1998, Lee County's per capita income grew by only 6.8 percent, the second lowest rate in the region. Lee County's challenge over the next few years will be to increase employment opportunities that will boost the county's per capita income.

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