Texas called tops in business projects
Texas has trounced all other states in the country yet again in attracting business relocation and expansion projects, earning the coveted Governor’s Cup distinction for the 12th year in a row.
The trophy, awarded by Site Selection magazine, ranks each state based on how many new corporate facilities are being built and how many current ones are being expanded. To qualify, projects must involve at least $1 million of investment, create a minimum of 20 jobs and add 20,000 new square feet of space.
Texas crushed its competition with 1,254 projects. Its closest competitor, Illinois, had 552. Ohio, California and Georgia rounded out the top five states, with 462, 374 and 318 projects respectively.
It’s the most amount of projects that Texas has had this decade. In 2020, Texas had 781 projects, in 2021 it had 1,123 and in 2022 it had 1,028.
“There’s no state in America that has such a prolific environment of economic development professionals than the state of Texas,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday. “It’s on behalf of the hardworking men and women who work every day to make Texas No. 1 economically and the members of the Legislature.”
Texas also had the biggest increase in construction jobs, with 32,800, a 4.3% jump from 2022.
The state has previously been recognized as having the best business climate in the country, and big moves such as
CoreWeave spending $1.6 billion on a new Plano facility and Google’s $600 million investment in a Red Oak data center contributed to the state’s push in 2023.
Texas recorded nine projects in 2023 totaling more than $1 billion each in investment, according to Site Selection. The magazine has awarded the Governor’s Cup annually since 1988, based on tracking by its Conway Projects Database.
Auto giant General Motors’ $500 million investment in its Arlington plant and McMaster-CarSupply Co.’s $360 million investment in Fort Worth also were big for the state.
Texas is home to 55 Fortune 500 companies, including two dozen in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Among metro areas, DFW ranked as the second most active, with 452 projects. The region narrowly lost out to Chicago, which had 485 projects. Houston placed third with 413, while AustinRound Rock claimed the 10th spot with 96 projects.
Abbott said Texas is keeping up with the state’s growing infrastructure.
“Thanks to our booming economy, Texas is making a historic 10-year, $142 billion investment to strengthen our roadways and build a next-generation transportation network,” Abbott said in an interview with Site Selection.
“This plan not only connects Texans from every corner of our state, it also ensures that Texans and Texas businesses benefit from a robust infrastructure network to continue to thrive for generations to come,” he said.