<\/p>\n
Astros fans shop for World Series championship apparel at Academy Sports & Outdoors, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Houston.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
The Academy Sports + Outdoors in Houston’s Meyerland neighborhood, photographed on Dec. 20, 2022.<\/p>\n
Erica Grieder\/Photo by Erica Grieder<\/p>\n
A student finds a pair of shoes she likes during a \u201cKicks for Class\u201d event at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Houston on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. The event was sponored by Communities in School, Heil Law Firm, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Whataburger.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Kingston Rucker, 11, high fives Spring Woods employee Karina Rodriguez after he found the pair of shoes he likes at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Houston on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. The event was sponored by Communities in School, Heil Law Firm, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Whataburger.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
About 30 of the highest-paid executives<\/a> in the Houston region earned 100 times more than the median employee at their company, according to a recent analysis by the Houston Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n For one company, the gap was far larger: Katy-based retailer Academy Sports & Outdoors had a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 423-to-1 in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under federal law, most public companies are required to disclose the ratio between the compensation received by their CEO compared to their median worker. The Chronicle analyzed these pay ratios at public companies whose CEOs ranked among the region\u2019s highest-paid executives last year<\/a>. Among the 100 highest-paid executives, the median compensation was $11 million in 2025, according to the Chronicle analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Academy calculated the gross wages earned by all workers employed by the company as of Jan. 31, 2026 \u2013 other than CEO Steve Lawrence \u2013 including full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, according to its annual Securities and Exchange Commission report. Among this group, the company found, the median worker was a full-time team member working in one of its stores, who earned $22,584 in 2025. Meanwhile, Lawrence earned compensation of about $9.5 million in 2025, the company reported, ranking as the No. 55 highest-paid executive in the region.<\/p>\n RELATED: Houston’s 100 highest-paid executives, ranked: See who tops the list\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Hewlett Packard Enterprise, based in Spring, had the second-largest pay ratio gap, the analysis found. The median worker brought in about $74,000 in 2025, while CEO Antonio Fabio Neri earned about $23 million, making him the region\u2019s No. 5 highest-paid executive and giving the company a pay ratio of 316-to-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Baker Hughes ranked just below Hewlett Packard with a pay ratio of 310-to-1. CEO Lorenzo Simonelli earned $21 million in 2025, the 10th highest pay package in the region, while the median worker at the company earned about $69,000. Service Corp. International had the fourth highest pay ratio, 297-to-1. Its median employee earned relatively modest compensation of about $44,500, while CEO Thomas Luke Ryan earned $13 million in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some Houston companies reported a vast gap between the compensation of their CEOs and workers, even though their employees made much more than typical Houston workers.<\/p>\n The median Exxon Mobil employee, for example, earned about $183,000 in 2025. That is\u00a0a comfortable salary by regional standards<\/a>: the median household income in Texas and the Houston area is about $80,000, according to the Census Bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Exxon CEO Darren Woods was the region\u2019s second-highest paid executive last year, with a compensation package worth about $33 million, giving Exxon a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 181-to-1.<\/p>\n Oil giant Chevron, similarly, had a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 175-to-1. CEO Michael Wirth ranked as the region\u2019s third-highest paid executive last year, with a compensation package worth about $27 million, while the median worker at the company had compensation of about $153,000.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n