Texas has dethroned California as the state with the most Fortune 500 companies. <\/p>\n
The Fortune 500 list ranks the largest U.S. companies by revenue. This year, 57 of the top companies are headquartered in Texas, compared with California\u2019s 56. It\u2019s a reversal from two years ago when the Golden State had the pole position. <\/p>\n
The Lone Star State was quick to claim the victory. <\/p>\n
\u201cTexas is the undisputed headquarters of headquarters,\u201d Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release responding to the ranking,<\/a> which was announced Wednesday. \u201cThe world\u2019s leading businesses invest with confidence in Texas because of our welcoming business climate, predictable regulatory environment, and skilled and growing workforce. People and businesses are choosing Texas because Texas works.\u201d<\/p>\n California\u2019s corporate haters say they try to avoid the state\u2019s high costs<\/a>, income taxes and strict regulations, but the western state is still a top money maker. <\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia dominates on nearly every other measure: its Fortune 500 companies are the most profitable ($647 billion), most valuable ($20 trillion), and employ more people than any other state (2.8 million workers),\u201d Fortune said in a news release.<\/p>\n Indeed, despite the naysayers<\/a>, Californian companies have been leading the world<\/a> in developing artificial intelligence technology as well as the latest in space and defense tech. <\/p>\n The state is home to nearly 400 \u201cunicorns,\u201d or billion-dollar startups \u2014 more than any other state, according to CB Insights. It also gobbled up nearly two-thirds of U.S. venture capital last year, with San Francisco Bay Area startups such as OpenAI leading the way, according to the business information platform Crunchbase.<\/p>\n Texas and California have been in a tug-of-war for the crown. In 2024<\/a>, after a decade, California bagged the top spot with 57 companies on the list, while Texas and New York tied in second with 52 companies each. <\/p>\n Healthcare giant McKesson, and oil companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron, were the top three Texas companies on the list. Apple, Alphabet, and Nvidia took the top positions in California.<\/p>\n Tesla, which relocated to Austin from Palo Alto in 2021, ranked 43rd on the list. Other major Fortune 500 companies that left California included Oracle<\/a>, Charles Schwab and Chevron.<\/p>\n California\u2019s population exodus has yet to fully recover from the pandemic times in 2020. The state\u2019s high cost of living and regulatory environment are often cited as reasons for residents opting to move.<\/p>\n More recently, California\u2019s proposal for a one-time tax on billionaires<\/a> prompted some, including Peter Thiel and Larry Page, to open new offices outside the state.<\/p>\n