Texas ranks among the 5 best states to start a business in 2025

Best for Biz

Texas has returned to the top 5 among best states to start a business. Photo via Getty Images

As one of the largest states in the U.S., it's no surprise Texas is big on business and entrepreneurship. Now the state is earning new praise among WalletHub's 2025 list of "Best & Worst States to Start a Business."

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 4 spot in the report's rankings, proving that Texas is in a much better business shape than it was last year when it earned No. 8 in WalletHub's annual report.

The study compared all 50 states across 25 metrics to determine the best places to start, grow, and find success with a new business. Factors that were considered include the number of startups per capita, job growth rates, financing accessibility measures, labor costs and corporate tax rates.

The three states to outperform Texas in the 2025 report are Florida (No. 1), Georgia (No. 2), and Utah (No. 3). Idaho rounded out the top five.

Across the study's three main categories, Texas performed the best in the "business environment" category, earning No. 1 nationally. This section compares the states based on five-year business survival rates, average business revenues growth and more.

Texas ranked No. 12 in the nationwide comparison of "access to resources" – which covers working age population growth, venture investment amounts per capita and other means – and earned a fair No. 34 in the report's "business costs" ranking.

But Texas can still do better with its business friendliness to reclaim a top-three overall ranking, which the state last earned in 2023.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report that it is imperative for potential new business owners to establish their enterprise in a place that can maximize their ability to succeed.

"Around half of all new businesses don’t survive five years, so the idea of becoming a business owner can be daunting, especially with the current high cost of living," Lupo said. "The best states have low corporate tax rates, strong economies, an abundance of reliable workers, easy access to financing and affordable real estate. On top of that, you’ll need to make sure you start in a place with an engaged customer base, if you’re operating locally."

Houston has also proven to be at the top of the destination list for entrepreneurs who are looking for their next venture.

The top 10 best states to start a new business in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Florida
  • No. 2 – Georgia
  • No. 3 – Utah
  • No. 4 – Texas
  • No. 5 – Idaho
  • No. 6 – Oklahoma
  • No. 7 – Nevada
  • No. 8 – Colorado
  • No. 9 – Arizona
  • No. 10 – Kentucky
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This story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.

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Texas has been known for ages as a business-friendly state, but one recent report suggests it might be falling from grace. Photo via Getty Images

Texas' business friendliness gets mixed reviews from 2 recent reports

lone star standings

It’s a tale of two views of Texas’ business-friendly reputation. For the first time ever, the Lone Star State has fallen out of the top five in CNBC’s annual ranking of the best states to do business. Meanwhile, Texas tops Business Facilities’ new ranking of the best state business climates.

On July 11, CNBC released the 2023 edition of its ranking of the top states for doing business. The ranking puts Texas at No. 6, leaving the Lone Star State out of the top five for the first time since CNBC launched its study in 2007. Texas appeared at No. 5 in 2022 and No. 4 in 2021. The state finished first in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2018.

For the second consecutive year, North Carolina leads the CNBC ranking, thus “solidifying its position as an economic powerhouse,” according to the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

Despite dropping out of the top five, CNBC acknowledges that Texas remains an economic powerhouse.

Texas grabs CNBC’s No. 2 spot, behind Florida, for the best state economy. And the state witnessed year-over-year job growth of four percent through May, the highest rate of any state. Furthermore, Texas ties with California for access to capital, the study says, and snags the No. 2 spot in the workforce category.

Texas’ fall this year includes a slide from No. 15 to No. 24 in the infrastructure category. CNBC mentions the 2021 wintertime collapse of the state’s electric grid in its explanation of the nine-spot drop.

Other knocks against Texas:

  • A decline from No. 21 to No. 35 in the education category.
  • A dip from No. 12 to No. 16 in the cost-of-doing-business category.
  • A plunge from No. 14 to No. 22 for cost of living.
  • A bottom-of-the-barrel ranking in the life, health, and inclusion category, down from No. 49 last year.

In an email to CNBC, an unnamed spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott shrugged off this year’s sixth-place showing.

“People and businesses vote with their feet, and continually they are choosing to move to Texas more than any other state in the country,” the spokesman wrote.

The spokesman cited the state’s national lead in job creation, attracting more than 280 new corporate headquarters since 2015, and its status as a perennial front-runner in economic development projects.

“Texas remains number one because people and businesses are choosing our state over any other for the unmatched competitive advantages we offer: no corporate or personal income taxes, a predictable regulatory climate, and a young, skilled, diverse, and growing workforce,” the spokesman wrote.

While Texas didn’t fare as well in this year’s CNBC study, it can brag about its 2023 designation as Business Facilities magazine’s state with the best business climate. In second place: North Carolina.

“The strength and sustained momentum of the Texas economy made the state a clear choice for [No. 1] in this year’s rankings,” Anne Cosgrove, editorial director of Business Facilities, says in a June 26 statement. “Taking the top spot this year is based not only on the impressive capital investment and job creation numbers, but also for diversity of industries, robust infrastructure, and a business-friendly regulatory and tax climate.”

Abbott took the opportunity to publicize the No. 1 ranking from Business Facilities.

“When businesses succeed, so do Texans — and our business climate ensures that Texas continues to offer world-class educational opportunities, good-paying careers to support families, and endless possibilities to prosper,” Abbott says in a news release.

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Houston robotics co. unveils new robot that can handle extreme temperatures

Hot New Robot

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc.'s newest tank inspection robot is commercially available and certified to operate at extreme temperatures.

The new robot, known as the SR-3HT, can operate from 14°F to 131°F, representing a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio. According to the company, its previous temperature range reached 32°F to 104°F.

The new robot has received the NEC/CEC Class I Division 2 (C1D2) certification from FM Approvals, allowing it to operate safely in hazardous locations and to perform on-stream inspections of aboveground storage tanks containing products stored at elevated temperatures.

“Our engineering team developed the SR-3HT in response to significant client demand in both the U.S. and international markets. We frequently encounter higher temperatures due to both elevated process temperatures and high ambient temperatures, especially in the hotter regions of the world, such as the Middle East," David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, said in a news release. "The SR-3HT employs both active and passive cooling technology, greatly expanding our operating envelope. A great job done (again) by our engineers delivering world-leading technology in record time.”

The company's SR-3 submersible robot and Side Launcher received certifications earlier this year. They became commercially available in 2023, after completing initial milestone testing in partnership with ExxonMobil, according to Square Robot.

The company closed a $13 million series B round in December, which it said it would put toward international expansion in Europe and the Middle East.

Square Robot launched its Houston office in 2019. Its autonomous, submersible robots are used for storage tank inspections and eliminate the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston's Ion District to expand with new research and tech space, The Arc

coming soon

Houston's Ion District is set to expand with the addition of a nearly 200,000-square-foot research and technology facility, The Arc at the Ion District.

Rice Real Estate Company and Lincoln Property Company are expected to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility in Q2 2026 with a completion target set for Q1 2028, according to a news release.

Rice University, the new facility's lead tenant, will occupy almost 30,000 square feet of office and lab space in The Arc, which will share a plaza with the Ion and is intended to "extend the district’s success as a hub for innovative ideas and collaboration." Rice research at The Arc will focus on energy, artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and computational engineering, according to the release.

“The Arc will offer Rice the opportunity to deepen its commitment to fostering world-changing innovation by bringing our leading minds and breakthrough discoveries into direct engagement with Houston’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said in the release. “Working side by side with industry experts and actual end users at the Ion District uniquely positions our faculty and students to form partnerships and collaborations that might not be possible elsewhere.”

Developers of the project are targeting LEED Gold certification by incorporating smart building automation and energy-saving features into The Arc's design. Tenants will have the opportunity to lease flexible floor plans ranging from 28,000 to 31,000 square feet with 15-foot-high ceilings. The property will also feature a gym, an amenity lounge, conference and meeting spaces, outdoor plazas, underground parking and on-site retail and dining.

Preleasing has begun for organizations interested in joining Rice in the building.

“The Arc at the Ion District will be more than a building—it will be a catalyst for the partnerships, innovations and discoveries that will define Houston’s future in science and technology,” Ken Jett, president of Rice Real Estate Company, added in the release. “By expanding our urban innovation ecosystem, The Arc will attract leading organizations and talent to Houston, further strengthening our city’s position as a hub for scientific and entrepreneurial progress.”

Intel Corp. and Rice University sign research access agreement

innovation access

Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer has signed a subscription agreement with California-based Intel Corp., giving the global company access to Rice’s research portfolio and the opportunity to license select patented innovations.

“By partnering with Intel, we are creating opportunities for our research to make a tangible impact in the technology sector,” Patricia Stepp, assistant vice president for technology transfer, said in a news release.

Intel will pay Rice an annual subscription fee to secure the option to evaluate specified Rice-patented technologies, according to the agreement. If Intel chooses to exercise its option rights, it can obtain a license for each selected technology at a fee.

Rice has been a hub for innovation and technology with initiatives like the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, an accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university’s health and medical technology; RBL LLC, a biotech venture studio in the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park dedicated to commercializing lifesaving medical technologies from the Launch Pad; and Rice Nexus, an AI-focused "innovation factory" at the Ion.

The university has also inked partnerships with other tech giants in recent months. Rice's OpenStax, a provider of affordable instructional technologies and one of the world’s largest publishers of open educational resources, partnered with Microsoft this summer. Google Public Sector has also teamed up with Rice to launch the Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

“This agreement exemplifies Rice University’s dedication to fostering innovation and accelerating the commercialization of groundbreaking research,” Stepp added in the news release.

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