Texas attracts dozens of company headquarters to the state annually, with at least 314 businesses moving their main office to Texas from other states between 2015-2024, data from the governor’s office shows.
What’s happening
Chevron, an oil and gas company, moved its home base from northern California to Houston last year, citing a need to “enable better collaboration and engagement” with its employees and business partners. Caterpillar Inc., which manufactures construction and mining equipment, moved to Irving from Illinois in 2022, which then-CEO Jim Umpleby said would “support Caterpillar’s strategy for profitable growth.”
The Lone Star State saw the largest influx of companies in 2021, with 79 businesses relocating to Texas that year, per state data. Among those companies was Tesla, with CEO Elon Musk citing housing prices and a lack of space as driving factors in the company’s 2021 move from California to Austin.
State officials and experts said Texas’ economic incentives and light regulatory environment are key reasons why companies brought their operations to the state in recent years.
“Texas wants companies to move here, and [company leaders] know that,” Megan Mauro, interim president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, told Community Impact. “Our legislative policy is really impacted by the voices of employers here.”
The Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office was still compiling 2025 relocation data as of press time, a spokesperson for the governor said.
Zooming in
State data shows that at least 24 companies moved their headquarters to Texas in 2024, with more than half landing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Two companies relocated from other countries, with data center developer Hive Digital Technologies bringing its home base from Canada to San Antonio and pharmaceutical company IntraBio Inc. moving its headquarters from the United Kingdom to Austin.
Other businesses came to Texas from the following states:
11 from CaliforniaTwo from IllinoisTwo from MassachusettsOne from ArizonaOne from ColoradoOne from ConnecticutOne from New JerseyOne from VirginiaOne from North CarolinaOne from FloridaTexas was home to over 1,400 project announcements in 2025, the governor’s office reported. This includes relocations, new business openings and expansions.
On March 2, Texas received Site Selection Magazine’s Governor’s Cup, awarded to the state that attracts the most job-creating projects, for the 14th consecutive year.
“The crown jewel of economic development work is landing good jobs for your citizens, and nobody does that better than Texas,” said Ron Starner, the magazine’s executive vice president.
More details
Texas offers various grants, tax breaks and other financial incentives to businesses based in the state.
Since 2024, state leaders have invested nearly $400 million in semiconductor projects across the state under the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Meanwhile, manufacturing, research and development companies can apply for an up to 75% reduction in the taxes they pay to local school districts under the state’s Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program. Houston-based NRG Energy moved forward with a natural gas power plant project in mid-February after being granted a tax break under the JETI program, Community Impact reported.
“When [businesses] want to make a decision about where they should locate, they need to know that the climate they’re going into is not a climate that’s hostile, that’s going to be imposing more taxes and regulations that make it more difficult to operate,” Gov. Greg Abbott said March 2. “Texas has clearly established the most business-friendly climate of any state.”
One more thing
In November, Texas voters amended the state Constitution to raise a tax exemption on businesses’ personal property, such as equipment, furniture and vehicles, from $2,500 to $125,000. While the tax cut applies to companies of all sizes, experts said Texas’ 3.5 million small businesses would feel the effects the most.
The average Texas small-business owner could save about $2,500-$3,500 per year under the expanded exemption, Community Impact reported.