Doing Business
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
Best Business Climate

Business Facilities Magazine, Summer/Fall 2017

#1
Overall Cost of Doing Business

Area Development Magazine Q3 2017

#1
Economic Climate

Forbes, 2016

#1
State for Business (10 Years in a Row)

Chief Executive Magazine, 2016

#1
State for Startup Activity

Kauffman Index, 2016

Key Rankings & Accolades
Houston Business Climate
#1
City for Minority Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur Magazine, June 2017

#5
Markets Poised for Tremendous Growth by 2040

American City Business Journal, October 2016

#3
Metro for Number of Corporate Relocations and Expansions

Site Selection, 2017

#1
Destination for FDI in Texas

State of Texas FDI Report, 2011–2016

#4
Best City for Entrepreneurs

Money-Rates.com, 2016

#6
America’s Best Places to Start a Business

CNBC’s Metro, 2016

#9
World’s Most Future Ready Economies

Dell, 2016

#1
Fastest Growing Cities

Forbes 2016

Global City of the Future

FDI Magazine, March 2017

Top 3 American Cities of the Future

Financial Times, 2017

Key Rankings & Accolades
Global Talent
#1
Best City for College Graduates

Money (as reported by Yahoo Finance) May 11, 2017

#1
City for Retaining

College Graduates EMSI, May 2017

#6
Largest Market for Adding New Tech Jobs

CBRE Scoring Tech Talent, 2017

#1
Best Metro Area for STEM Jobs

WalletHub, January 2015

#2
Engineering City

October 2015

#1
Overall Cost of Doing Business

Area Development, 2016

#2
Top Cities to Find a Job

Career Builder, 2015

#1
Competitive Labor Environment

Area Development, 2016

#1
Access to Capital & Funding

Area Development, 2016

Top 10 City for Attracting Millennials

Mayflower Movers, April 2016

Houston Designated a Global Knowledge Capital

Brookings Institution, 2016

Key Rankings & Accolades
Quality of Life
#2
Best Places to Live in the World

InterNations, November 2016

#2
Best Cities to Raise a Young Family

ValuePenguin.com (as reported by the Houston Business Journal), Feb. 26, 2016

#9
Best Cities in the US for People Under the Age of 35

CNBC, May 23, 2017

#2
Best City in the World to Live According to Expats

Business Insider, 2017

#1
Most Charitable City in the Country

Forbes and Charity Navigator, 2016

#2
America’s Friendliest Cities

Travel + Leisure, December 2016

#2
Best Museum for Families: Children’s Museum of Houston

USA Today 10 Best, 2017

#4
Best Urban Trail: Buffalo Bayou Park

USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Contest, 2015

Key Rankings & Accolades
Global Destination
#7
Best Foodie Destinations in the USA

U.S. News and World Report, 2017

#1
Foodie City in America

American-Sky-UK, 2016

#3
Best Food City in America

Jetsetter, 2016

#9
America’s Most Attractive Cities

Travel + Leisure, 2016

#1
America’s Best Cities for Food Snobs

Travel + Leisure, 2015

#10
America’s Best Music Scenes

Travel + Leisure, 2016

#3
America’s Most Cultured Cities

Travel + Leisure, 2015