Best Web Design in Odessa, TX (2026)

Web Design for Odessa, Texas

Odessa is a West Texas oil city sitting at the heart of the Permian Basin, the largest single source of oil and gas in the United States. Immortalized by 'Friday Night Lights,' it lives and breathes high school football, packing nearly 18,000 fans into Ratliff Stadium for the Permian Panthers. Beyond the derricks, it hides a full-scale Stonehenge replica, one of the country's biggest meteor craters, and the world's largest jackrabbit statue.

AppWT works with Odessa, TX businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Odessa

Also known as. Home of Friday Night Lights.

History. The site was named around 1881, reportedly by railroad workers who thought the flat prairie resembled the steppe country around Odessa in present-day Ukraine, then a famed wheat-shipping center. Odessa was founded in 1886 as a rail-shipping point for livestock and became the seat of Ector County; it incorporated on May 31, 1891. The county held fewer than 1,000 people into the 1920s, remaining ranch country until oil arrived. The discovery of petroleum in Ector County in 1926-1927 transformed Odessa almost overnight; population jumped to about 4,000 by 1930 and 15,000 by 1940.

Local economy. Odessa sits in the center of the oil-rich Permian Basin and developed as a major distribution, processing, and servicing hub for the petrochemical industry. The oil and gas industry and the education sector are the two primary supports of the local economy. Major institutions include the University of Texas Permian Basin (over 5,000 students), Odessa College, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Permian Basin campus. Medical Center Hospital and TTUHSC anchor a growing regional health care sector; Odessa remains a shipping point for the surrounding livestock area. The city's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, making it the 34th-most populous city in Texas.

Culture and community. Odessa is synonymous with high school football through H.G. Bissinger's 1990 book 'Friday Night Lights,' which chronicled the 1988 Permian Panthers and inspired the 2004 film and NBC television series. The Permian High School Panthers have won six Texas state championships and play at Ratliff Stadium, which seats roughly 18,000. The Globe of the Great Southwest, a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre with an adjacent Anne Hathaway cottage, hosts the annual Odessa Shakespeare Festival on the Odessa College campus. The Ellen Noel Art Museum of the Permian Basin, opened in 1985, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, one of only two art museums in Texas with that status. The Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang, formed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1940, serves cowboy-themed barbecue as a goodwill ambassador for the city. The Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo each January opens the regional rodeo season with bareback riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding.

What makes Odessa distinct. Odessa is named after the Black Sea port of Odessa because 19th-century observers thought the West Texas prairie resembled the Ukrainian/Russian wheat steppe. The city hosts both a Stonehenge replica and one of the nation's largest meteor craters, an unusual pairing of a man-made ancient monument and a genuine cosmic impact site. The Presidential Museum and Leadership Library is one of the few museums devoted specifically to the office of the presidency rather than a single president. The eight-foot jackrabbit statue is treated as a local celebrity landmark, a nod to the region's actual abundance of jackrabbits.

A Permian Basin city whose economy centers on oil and natural gas production, paired with a strong high school football culture.

Odessa Landmarks and Local Life

• Globe of the Great Southwest - Replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the Odessa College campus
• Odessa Meteor Crater - Prehistoric impact crater about 550 feet in diameter southwest of the city
• Presidential Museum and Leadership Library - Museum dedicated to the office of the U.S. presidency
• Floyd Gwin Park - City park with sports fields, trails, and a swimming pool
• McKinney Park - City park with a sprayground on West Pool Road

Odessa at a Glance

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023.

• Median household income: About $73,030
• Adults with a bachelor degree or higher: About 18.3%
• Housing: About 59% of housing units are owner-occupied
• Housing: Roughly 64% of homes are single-family houses