The city of Midland is the county seat of Midland County with a small portion of the city reaching into Martin County. It is situated on the Southern Plains and presently has a population of approximately 111,146. It is the main city of the Midland Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of July 1 the year 2009, The Odessa-Midland, Texas Combined Statistical Area had a population of around 266,941. The residents of the city refer to themselves as Midlanders.
In the year 1881, the city of Midland was founded as a settlement near the middle along the Pacific Railroad between Fort Worth and El Paso. Midway was the initial name of the city, but was later changed due to another Texas city having the same name. The city of Midland is the childhood home of former President George W. Bush and the hometown of the former First Lady Laura Bush.
Originally, the city of Midland was a ranching and farming community. Nonetheless, the economy of Midland underwent a huge transformation in the year 1923, when oil was discovered within the Permian Basin.
Midland has numerous attractions located nearby, such as: the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Midland County Museum, the Big Spring State Park, Confederate Air Force and American Airpower Heritage Museum as well as Museum of the Southwest Complex.
There are several amazing parks located in Midland, such as Trinity Park, Tolbert Park, CJ Kelly Park, Doug Russell Park, Halff Park and Fasken Park. Also, there are several interesting museums with a thorough description of the area's history, such as the Midland County Historical Museum and the Museum of the Southwest. There is also the American Airpower Heritage Museum, which is home to over 50,000 artifacts from WWII. World class shopping is available at The Midland Park Shopping Centre.
Situated within Midland is the administrative and management head office for the gas and oil industry of the Permian Basin, which is the biggest oil producing area in the state of Texas. The country's energy industry is heavily influenced by the Permian Basin.
There are several gas and oil related businesses in the city of Midland, including legal, finance, data processing, accounting, marketing and engineering. The economy is also supplemented by ranching and agriculture industries.
Midland has lots of occupations requiring a college or university degree, including registered nurses, manufacturing and wholesale sales reps, geoscientists, petroleum engineers, financial mangers, financial analysts, engineering managers and family, school and child social workers. The biggest employers in Midland are involved in healthcare, mining, accommodation and food services, educational services, professional, and technical and scientific services.