Faulkner HR Solutions Launches Texas Small Government Workforce Survey

A statewide study will benchmark staffing, turnover, and HR capacity in Texas cities, counties, and special districts under 100 employees. Data collection is open now through mid-October 2026.

San Antonio, Texas - September 9, 2026

Faulkner HR Solutions has opened data collection for the 2026 Texas Small Government Workforce Survey, a statewide study of staffing, turnover, and human resources (HR) capacity in Texas cities, counties, and special districts. The study gives particular attention to organizations with fewer than 100 employees, and the survey is open now through mid-October 2026.

Texas is governed in large part by small organizations: cities of a few thousand residents, rural counties, and thousands of special districts that deliver water, emergency services, and utilities. Most operate without a dedicated HR department, and personnel work often falls to a city secretary, county auditor, or general manager alongside other duties. When these organizations set pay, plan for retirements, or decide whether it is time to hire dedicated HR help, they typically have no benchmark data from employers their own size.

National research suggests what is at stake. In MissionSquare Research Institute's 2025 national workforce survey, 61 percent of state and local governments reported having no succession planning process in place, even as nearly half expected the largest wave of retirements was still ahead. Little of that national data, however, is reported separately for the smallest public employers, which is the gap this study is built to close.

The inaugural survey asks 40 questions and takes about 10 to 12 minutes to complete. It covers staffing levels and structure, turnover and vacancies, and who actually performs the HR work inside the organization. Exact figures are welcome, good-faith estimates are acceptable wherever records are not close at hand, and every question that needs it offers a "don't know" option.

Responses are confidential and reported only in aggregate. No organization or individual is named in any publication without written permission, results based on fewer than five responses are suppressed, and contact details are optional and are never sold or shared with third parties.

Participants who provide an email address at the end of the survey receive the full findings two weeks before public release, along with a one-page comparison of their organization against peers of similar size and type. Complete results will be published in the Texas Small Government Workforce Report after data collection closes.

City managers and administrators, mayors of smaller cities, county judges and auditors, district general managers, and the staff who handle personnel matters day to day are all encouraged to respond; one response per organization is requested. Officials who want their type and size of organization fairly represented in the findings are encouraged to participate early and to pass the survey along to peers in neighboring jurisdictions.

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