Money Magazine has named Fort Bend County the No. 5 fastest growing U.S. county in terms of job growth.

The county’s ranking is up from No. 6 last year.

Fort Bend County, which includes parts of Houston, Missouri City and Sugar Land among its towns, saw 55.7 percent job growth from 2000 to 2009.

According to Money, Fort Bend County “takes advantage of all things Houston.”

The county’s public school districts combined account for over 14,000 jobs.

Fort Bend also benefits from Houston’s oil industry. Engineering and energy firms like Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) support the refineries. The county is also the home of micro-electronics giant Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).

Health care is another up-and-coming sector. Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital opened new facilities in the county in 2009.

Also, Missouri City was named one of the nation’s best places to live by the magazine.

With a population of 75,000, the city ranked No. 21 in the magazine’s list of the best places in America.

The magazine based its rankings of the nation’s small cities (with a population of 50,000 to 300,000) on the “optimal combo of job opportunities, fiscal strength, top-notch schools, low crime, good health care, lots to do, and many other factors that help make a town great for raising a family.”