(Lubbock, TX) Although Lubbock is only the 11th-largest city in the Lone Star State, with roughly 300,000 metro-area residents, it’s known as The Hub City because it’s the largest urban area in the Texas region known as the South Plains. Thus, its economic significance is greater than its sheer size would indicate. It’s the home of the Buddy Holly Center – which honors the Lubbock native and “Father of Rock Roll” – and Texas Tech Univ.; both make tourism an important cog in the local economy.