Rankings & Accolades

Houston receives national and international acclaim from a variety of sources for our vibrant business climate and quality of life. Below are some of the most recent accolades.

Key Rankings & Accolades
Texas Business Climate
#1
Commercial Real Estate Development

NAIOP Commercial  Real Estate Development Association 2018

#1
Best State for Women Entrepreneurs

WalletHub 2019

#1
Job Creation by Foreign Direct Investment

IBM Global Location Report 2018

#1
Growth Prospects

Forbes 2018

#1
State for Business, 14 Consecutive Years

Chief Executive Magazine 2018

Key Rankings & Accolades
Houston Business Climate
#1
Nation's Best Cities for Millennials

The Langston Co. 2019

#1
Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.

WalletHub 2019

#1
Top Metros Where Young Adults are Moving

The Brookings Institution 2019

#1
Best Energy- and Resource-Based Think Tanks in the World

Rice University, Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2019

#1
Best City for Expats

InterNations 2018

#1
Top Metro for Construction Job Growth (December 2017-December 2018)

Associated General Contractors of America 2019

#1
Best Markets to Purchase Multifamily Assets

Tex-X 2019

#2
Best U.S. Metro Areas for STEM Workers

American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center 2019

#2
Top Emerging Life Sciences Cluster
#2
Top U.S. Metros for Job Growth (October 2018-October 2019)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2019

#2
Metros With Most Corporate Headquarters

Business Facilties Magazine 2019

Key Rankings & Accolades
Global Talent
32.4%
Houstonians With a College Degree, Higher than U.S. and Texas

American Community Survey 2017, Most Current Data Available July 2019

3.0 Million
Number of Workers in Metro Houston (March 2021)
62,200
Number of New Jobs

in 12 Months Ending decEMBER 2019, Texas Workforce Commission (REVISED MARCH 2020)

#2
Cost of Living in Top 10 U.S. Cities Hiring for Jobs

Refinery29 2018

#2
Cost of Living: Cities Where Paychecks Go Far

Center for Opportunity Urbanism 2018

#2
Top Housing Markets

Metro Study 2019

#2
Least Expensive Real Estate Markets

Property Shark 2018

#3
15 Best Big Cities for New Grads

OnlineDegrees.com 2019

#4
Best Cities for Women in Tech

Smart Asset 2019

#5
Cities of the Future in North America

fDI Intelligence 2019

#5
Top 10 Ecosystems With Largest Share of Female Founders

Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019

Key Rankings & Accolades
Quality of Life
25.8%
Cost of Living Below Top 20 U.S. Metro's Average

Council for Community and Economic Research 2019

19 Musuems
Houston Museum District

Divided Into Four Walkable Zones, Greater Houston Partnership 2019

>500
Institutions Devoted to the Performing and Visual Arts, Science and History

Greater Houston Partnership 2018

40.6%
Downtown Employees Use Transit, Shared Ride, Walk or Bike to Work
#1
Best Hospitals in America

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, U.S. News & World Report 2019

#2
Top Cities to Go and Eat

Food & Wine 2019

#2
America's Favorite Cities: Big Cities

Food + Leisure 2019

$295,000
Median Home Sales Price
Key Rankings & Accolades
Global Destination
$120.7 Billion
Top U.S. Exporting Metro

International Trade Administration

33.3 Million
Passengers Handled by Houston Airport System
90
International Consulates

third-largest consular corps in U.S. 2019  

220
International Trading Partner Countries

WISER trade & U.S. Census bureau, foreign trade divisioN 2018

#1
2020 Airport of the Year, George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Transportation Security Administration, December 2020

#1
Best Seaport in North America

Asia cargo news 2018

#1
Largest U.S. State Transportation Network

Markets Insider 2019

#4
Alpha, Beta and Gamma Cities

Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute 2019

#5
The 20 Best Places to Travel in 2020

Harper’s Bazaar Magazine 2019