Lubbock anchors the South Plains of West Texas, roughly 300 miles west of Dallas-Fort Worth and 120 miles south of Amarillo. The city extends from the Depot District and Tech Terrace near Texas Tech University east toward Slaton and north to Shallowater, with major corridors along the Loop 289 beltway connecting neighborhoods like Monterey, Westwind, and Shadow Hills. Texas Tech University and its medical school drive much of the local economy alongside agriculture, healthcare systems like Covenant and UMC, and wind energy operations that serve the surrounding cotton-growing region. The population swells during the academic year and peaks again during harvest season when the area processes a significant portion of the nation's cotton crop.