Why Texas Is a Great Place for Your Business

This article is updated annually and was last updated in August 2023.

Are you considering moving your business to Texas? Or are you thinking about investing in commercial property in Texas? You may be wondering what makes Texas a better choice than other states.

In this article, we give you some of the essential facts about Texas in the following sections:

Texas Is Growing

Texas is the Second Most Populous State in the U.S.
Texas is home to 30,500,280 people
Texas had the highest growth rate in the nation (15.9%) between 2010 to 2020
Texas is projected to have a population of over 40 million by 2040

Top 10 Texas Cities by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	Houston	2,264,876
2	San Antonio	1,479,493
3	Dallas	1,259,404
4	Austin	966,292
5	Fort Worth	961,885
6	El Paso	678,049
7	Arlington	390,399
8	Corpus Christi	317,615
9	Plano	291,450
10	Lubbock	267,329

^{Source: World Population Review}

Texas Has Work

Texas boasts a 4.1% unemployment rate
Austin experienced nine straight years of over 3% job growth between 2010 and 2019
Austin is one of the Top 10 Most Resilient Technology Hubs

Job Market Growth by City

Rank	City	Growth
1	DFW	6.9%
2	Houston	6.3%
3	Austin	5.5%
4	Odessa	5.5%
5	San Antonio	4.6%
6	Midland	4.5%

^{Source: Texas Labor Market Review, 2022}

Texans Work Hard

Texas has the second-largest workforce in the U.S. (Esri, 2022)
Austin, Texas was named the Hottest Big City Labor Market
The median age in Texas is 35 years

	Texas	Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA	San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA
2021 Total Population	30,506,523	2,499,236	8,058,326	7,500,883	2,698,487
2021 Median Household Income	$69,529	$89,695	$79,409	$74,548	$68,549
2021 Median Age	35.7	35.2	35.5	35.3	36.5
2021 Working-Age Population (Age 18-64) %	61.04%	63.87%	62.09%	61.66%	60.75%

^{Source: Esri}

Texans are Diverse

Texas is the Second Most Diverse State in the Nation
Texas is home to four of the Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.
Texas ranks fourth for cultural diversity and third for linguistic diversity in the U.S
Over 160 languages are spoken in Texas, and greater than one-third of the state’s population speak a language other than English at home

Texans Are Educated

Austin is one of the 10 Most Educated Cities in America
84.8% of the Texas population over the age of 25 hold a high school diploma or higher, and 31.5% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
Texas is home to 268 colleges and universities, including The University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Christian University, Baylor, and Texas State University
Of these institutions, six are ranked among the top 100 in the nation: Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University, Baylor University, and Texas Christian University

Texas Has a Booming Housing Market

Texas led the country in the number of new building permits by state in 2021
Houston, Texas was named the Busiest Home Construction Market in the U.S.
Texas is home to two of the Best Cities to Buy a House in America: The Woodlands (No. 1) and Plano (No. 8)
Total housing sales in Texas grew 9.5% YOY in 2020

Median Home Prices in Top Texas Cities

Rank	City	Median Price
1	San Antonio	$319,900
2	Houston	$349,900
3	Fort Worth	$374,900
4	Dallas	$467,000
5	Austin	$649,900

^{Source: Realtor.com, 2022}

Texas Is Affordable

The State of Texas levies no state income tax
Texas has one of the lowest local tax burdens in the nation, ranked 30th in taxes paid per capita
Compared to the U.S. as a whole, Texas has a below-average cost of living

Texas Means Business

Texas is the Best State for Business
Texas is the Best State to Start a Business
Texas is home to 53 Fortune 500 companies including Exxon Mobil, AT&T, Valero, Dell, Sysco, American Airlines, USAA, Southwest Airlines, Halliburton, Waste Management, Texas Instruments, and more
Other major employers in Texas include Google, Facebook, Amazon, Boeing, Charles Schwab, Toyota, and many more

Texas Is a Global Economic Force

Texas has a GDP of $1.84 trillion and produces 8% of the United States GDP
In 2020, the Gulf Coast region had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $495.7 billion, about 27.9 percent of Texas’ statewide GDP of $1.8 trillion
Texas is the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas in the nation
In 2021, Texas ranked as the Top Exporting State for the 20th consecutive year, accounting for 20% of the nation’s exports
Texas has the second-largest economy in the nation and the ninth-largest economy in the world

Texas Is Connected

Texas has 380 airports, including 26 commercial airports, making it the second-largest state airport system in the nation
The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the largest in Texas, ranking No. 2 in terms of passengers
Texas is the No. 1 State for Rail Miles
Texas has 19 seaports, including the Port of Houston, which is the No. 1 U.S. port for foreign waterborne cargo
Texas features 33 Foreign Trade Zones
Texas airports provide $94.3 billion of economic output

Texas Entertains

Texas has over twelve major league sports teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Texas Rangers, and San Antonio Spurs
The Texas arts and culture industry has grown more than 30% over the past decade, generating $6.1 billion for the Texas economy and nearly $380 million in state sales tax revenue (Texas Cultural Trust, 2021)
Austin was named the Live Music Capital of the World and Texas is home to big names like Willie Nelson, George Strait, and Beyoncé

Still have questions about Texas? Reach out to our tenant representation team to learn more.