For the 13th straight year and led by a strong Dallas-Fort Worth economy, Texas has claimed Site Selection Magazine’s prestigious Governor’s Cup, recognizing Texas as the nation’s epicenter for private-sector investment in 2024.
Site Selection noted 1,368 corporate investment projects in Texas—more than doubling second-place Illinois and surpassing last year’s total by 114—as Texas continues its commanding economic leadership, the magazine said.
Site Selection said that the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area alone generated 489 of these projects.
“Texas continues to lead the nation in economic development, and the Dallas-Fort Worth region remains at the forefront of our state’s remarkable achievement,” Dallas Regional Chamber President and CEO Dale Petroskey said in a statement. “As the top-performing metro in Texas, the DFW region’s contribution to the state’s success reflects the strength and vitality of our business ecosystem.”
DFW had 36% of Texas’ total projects
Dallas-Fort Worth added 37 projects over its 2023 count, contributing to Texas’ 9% year-over-year rise in corporate investment projects, the magazine said. DFW’s claim to 36% of Texas’ total projects—the lion’s share—underscores DFW’s pivotal leadership role in driving the state’s economic engine, Site Selection said.
“This recognition is a testament to our community of economic development professionals who work collaboratively across city and county lines for the good of our region,” Petroskey said. “Their dedication to attracting and retaining corporate investment not only creates jobs and opportunities for Texans and their families but also reinforces Dallas-Fort Worth’s position as the top economic engine for continued prosperity in our great state.”
Dallas named top city for headquarters
This ranking, which is objective and data-based, comes after site selection consultants named Dallas the top city for headquarters in a Site Selection Magazine survey.
To qualify for the count of projects for the Governor’s Cup, a corporate project must do at least one of three things: invest at least $1 million, create a minimum of 20 jobs, or add 20,000 new square feet of space.
The Dallas Regional Chamber said the each year, it tracks newsworthy corporate location announcements, which yields a smaller but still high-impact number. In 2024, DFW recorded 97 corporate announcements in the region, up from 67 in 2023 and passing the previous one-year high of 94 in 2021.
DRC said that 15 regional cities had multiple announcements, and 31 cities had at least one. The announcements spanned 32 different industries, the chamber said..
“Achieving this robust, region-wide prosperity and industry diversity is invaluable to our present and future economic prosperity,” DRC SVP of Economic Development Mike Rosa said in a statement. “We’re in a great position with many opportunities for 2025. The relationships and work we enjoyed with our community economic development allies and state partners in 2024 positioned DFW—and Texas—at the top.”
DRC said that of the announcements it tracked last year, 24 were made by international companies, representing 12 countries. Canada, Mexico, and Germany were leading source countries.
2024 missions to Northeast Asia and South Asia
Last year, the DRC joined Gov. Greg Abbott on two international missions covering India, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
On March 6, DRC VP of Economic Development Kevin Shatley represented the chamber at tje Governor’s Mansion in Austin to join Abbott’s celebration of the Governor’s Cup win.
“We genuinely partner with the businesses that come here and grow here because of a simple mathematical formula and that is when those businesses succeed, Texas succeeds,” Abbott said at the event. “We added more new jobs last year than any other state, and we have exceeded that for three years in a row. Texas also added more than 314 corporate headquarters since 2015, making our state the headquarters of headquarters. Texas truly is the land of economic freedom.”
In an interview with Site Selection, Abbott said he sees great things ahead because of what the state offers to businesses.
“The CEOs I meet with tell me quite simply that Texas offers them the freedom to succeed. Texas welcomes more and more businesses each day seeking to relocate to our great state. Texas is the headquarters of headquarters,” Abbott said. “Some of the world’s biggest brands are here in Texas, with 52 Fortune 500 corporate headquarters and more than 3 million small businesses that employ nearly half of all working Texans. Industry leaders are also choosing Texas to incorporate their businesses, particularly those specializing in tech and innovation.”
Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.
R E A D N E X T
-
North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch. Here are our editors' picks. Plus, you'll find more selections to "save the date."
-
The Dallas Public Library's J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in downtown Dallas—one of America's largest—was built in 1982 across from Dallas City Hall, and many agree it could use an overhaul. That especially includes library officials and consultants they brought in for a report on the building's future, among other needed investments in the city's library system.
-
TACA will recognize Gayle Halperin and Jim Nugent as the 2025 Silver Cup Award recipients at a luncheon on May 7. Here's how their individual contributions have left a lasting mark on Dallas’s arts scene, from dance leadership to arts advocacy.
-
UT Dallas researcher Dr. Walter Voit transformed Minecraft’s 170-million-player universe into an advanced virtual training ground—for students and for AI agents tested by DARPA. His team’s Polycraft World uses gameplay to turn classroom theory into real-world expertise, covering topics from synthetic organic chemistry to nuclear plants to semiconductor facilities. Their new startup company, Pedegree Studios, has licensed the core technologies from the university to create a scalable digital pipeline for education and workforce development.
-
Combining cutting-edge research and real-world applications, the UT Dallas professor transforms public health with innovations in detection technology, including “a check engine light” for the human body. In collaboration with EnLiSense, the company she cofounded, Dr. Prasad combines chemistry with software and hardware to bring the technology to life as market-ready devices.
