Houston sees growth in coworking space, rises in national ranks for 2023

growing and flexing

Houston's coworking space is growing. Photo courtesy of The Cannon

Houston continues to grow its coworking space across the city — and the progress is notable just between the first and second quarters of 2023, a recent report shows.

When it comes to coworking space growth, Houston saw an increase of 16 percent between June and March of 2023, reports CoworkingCafe. This stat means Houston outpaced the national average, which is 10 percent. Houston, which now has a reported 208 coworking and flex office space facilities, edged out Boston in the overall rankings of cities based on number of coworking spaces.

Houston ranks No. 7 now behind Manhattan, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dallas - Fort Worth, and Atlanta, respectively.

When it came to the amount of space coworkers in Houston have, the Bayou City reported "an equally impressive expansion in terms of square footage," reads the report, "the market logged the highest increase in this metric and ended at more than 4,160,000 square feet of coworking space."

Nationally, coworking space totals 120 million square feet, which is a 6 percent increase between Q1 and Q2 and about 1.74 percent of the total office space nationwide.

While Houston saw growth in its coworking space, half of the top 25 markets for coworking have seen decreases in 2023 so far. Philadelphia, Seattle, the Bay Area, and Denver saw a decreased square footage average, but this trend isn't reflected when it comes to the number of coworking spots, which "likely equates to an increased focus on smaller coworking spaces across the nation," the report finds.

"With falling property values in some cities and rising interest rates, the commercial real estate industry is at a crossroads," says Doug Ressler, business intelligence manager at Yardi Matrix, in the report. "Many companies still aren't certain the number of employees who will be in their physical office space in the near or long term. That has led to firms doing smaller projects with startups, like pilot tests, instead of larger-scale purchases."

In January, Texas coworking company Common Desk announced its sixth Houston-area location. Common Desk also shared that it's expanding in the Ion last December, and that construction is ongoing.

The Cannon, a Houston-based coworking company, its latest locations in Fish Creek and The Woodlands, which is a partnership with Amegy Bank.

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Both the city and state appear on a new report on best places for coworking. Photo via Getty Images

Report: Houston, Texas rank as top locations for coworking space

where to work

Attention all Houston-based remote workers, small business owners, and startups — if you're looking for flexible office space, you're in the right place.

Both the city and state have landed on CoworkingCafe's list of the best places for coworking in the country. With 652 reported coworking spots, Texas ranks as the No. 2 state — behind California 1,188 coworking spots and ahead of Florida's 629 and New York's 589 offices.

Houston ranks as eighth best metro for coworking with 208 coworking facilities. The Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked a few spots ahead of the Bayou City, coming in at No. 5 with 261 coworking spots. Austin also makes the top 2 with a reported 97 coworking spots, earning the No. 19 spot.

Data via coworkingcafe.com

According to the report, the area looked into included 15 cities within the Houston metro. The majority of the coworking properties —154 of the 208 identified — are located in Houston proper. Sugar Land has over 10 coworking spots, with the rest of the properties scattered across the greater Houston area in Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, etc.

Houston has followed the overall trend of increased remote workers, though not to the extreme other cities and states are seeing, according to the study. Per a Statista report, the number of people working in coworking spaces today has more than tripled since 2015. Houston's remote workers increased to 16 percent in 2021 from 4 percent in 2019.

"Even though Houston is already an established working hub with great job opportunities, it is also one of the cities with the lowest change in the share of remote workers," the report reads. "The change, however, still accounts for a notable outcome."

Earlier this year, a Seattle-based human resources company named Karat conducted their own report on the most attractive metros for remote workers within tech. In that 2022 study, Houston ranked No. 6 just ahead of No. 7 Austin. Last year, Houston ranked as No. 2 and Dallas at No. 9, but that North Texas metro fell off the top 10 for 2021. Pittsburgh maintained its top spot on this list year over year.

"Last year we took our first look at the rapidly expanding remote software engineer hiring landscape. As more organizations shifted to remote or hybrid working models we had started to see significantly improving candidate performance outside of the more-established tech hubs," writes Patrick Wu, data analyst at Karat, in a blog post. "Today, as even more top tech companies commit to hiring remote software engineers, we’re taking a look at how this landscape has continued to evolve."

The full ranking of CoworkingCafe's report is below.

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18 Houstonians land on Forbes world's billionaires list for 2025

World's Richest

The world’s richest people are wealthier now than they've ever been, and more billionaires have made it onto the 2025 World's Billionaires List than ever before, according to Forbes. This year, 18 Houston-based billionaires are among the richest people in the world, with hospitality honcho Tilman Fertitta leading as the richest Houstonian.

Fertitta, 67, ranked No. 220 overall with an estimated net worth of $11.3 billion, which steadily increased from his 2024 net worth of $9.4 billion.

In addition to owning the Houston Rockets, the busy billionaire owns Texas-based hospitality and entertainment corporation Landry's, and he authored a book about business leadership in 2019. He most recently was nominated as the new United States ambassador to Italy by President Donald Trump.

Ranking 248th overall is oil and gas chairmanRichard Kinder. Forbes estimates his net worth at $10.6 billion, up from $8.1 billion in 2024.

Kinder cofounded pipeline giant Kinder Morgan in 1997, and stepped down as CEO in 2015, though he still retains his seat as chairman of the board. The company is the largest energy infrastructure firm in the U.S., Forbes says, and it owns 79,000 miles of pipeline.

New to the 2025 list is Perry Homes executive chair Kathy Britton, whose company has built over 65,000 homes across the U.S., according to Forbes. Her late father, Bob Perry, founded Perry Homes in 1967. Britton ranked No. 1408 with an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion.

Mercedes-Benz mega-dealer Joe Agresti is another newbie to the list, ranking No. 2790 with a net worth of $1.1 billion. He owns Dream Motor Group with former football coach Nick Saban.

14 additional Houston-area billionaires that made Forbes 2025 world’s richest list are:

  • Houston pipeline heir Randa Duncan Williams: ranked No. 307 with an estimated net worth of $9.3 billion, up from $7.7 billion in 2024. Fellow pipeline heirs Dannine Avara and Milane Frantz tie for 311th nationally. Each has an estimated net worth of $9.2 billion, up from $7.6 billion. Scott Duncan ranks No. 329 with a $9 billion estimated net worth, up from $7.6 billion in 2024.
  • Houston oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand: ties for No. 411; $7.7 billion, down from $12.6 billion
  • Toyota mega-dealer Dan Friedkin: ties for No. 411; $7.7 billion, up from $6.4 billion
  • Houston Texans owner Janice McNair and family: No. 561, $6.2 billion, up from $5.6 billion
  • Energy exploration chief exec George Bishop: No. 717, $5 billion, up from $3.2 billion (based in The Woodlands)
  • Westlake Corporation co-owners Albert Chao, James Chao and their families:tied for No. 902, $4 billion, down from $4.9 billion
  • Hedge fund honcho John Arnold: No. 1266, $2.9 billion, down from $3.3 billion
  • Houston Astros owner Jim Crane: No. 1513, $2.4 billion, unchanged from 2024
  • Former Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander: tied for No. 1850, $1.9 billion, unchanged from 2024
  • Frontier Airlines chairman William Franke: No. 2623, $1.2 billion, down from $1.3 billion

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin-based billionaire Elon Musk topped Forbes' list as the world's richest person in 2025. The Tesla and SpaceX founder knocked French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault down to second place this year.

Forbes declared Musk the first person to reach the $300 billion status. His current net worth stands at $342 billion, which is a staggering $147 billion more than his 2024 net worth.

"It’s another record-breaking year for the world’s richest people, despite financial uncertainty for many and geopolitical tensions on the rise," said Forbes senior editor of wealth Chase Peterson-Withorn. "And, from Elon Musk to Howard Lutnick and the other billionaires taking over the U.S. government, they’re growing more and more powerful."

In Dallas-Fort Worth, Walmart heiress Alice Walton became the wealthiest woman in the world in 2025. Forbes declared Walton's net worth at $101 billion, which is $28.7 billion more than her 2024 net worth of $72.3 billion. She is now one of 15 individuals to claim 12-figure fortunes, also known as the "$100 Billion Club."

State-of-the-art innovation hub opens in Houston Energy Corridor

flagship facility

French multinational company Schneider Electric has opened a new 10,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art Energy Innovation Center in Houston.

The new facility is located in Houston’s Energy Corridor and is designed to “foster increased collaboration and technological advancements across the entire value chain,” according to a news release from the company. The new Houston location joins Schneider's existing innovation hubs in Paris, Singapore and Bangalore.

The venue will serve as a training center for process control engineers, production superintendents, manufacturing managers, technical leads and plant operations personnel. It can simulate various real-world scenarios in refineries, combined-cycle power plants, ethylene plants, recovery boilers and chemical reactors.

It includes an interactive control room and artificial Intelligence applications that “highlight the future of industrial automation,” according to the release.

"Digitalization is significantly enhancing the global competitiveness of the U.S. through continuous innovation and increased investment into next-generation technology," Aamir Paul, Schneider Electric's President of North America Operations, said in the release.

Texas has over 4,100 Schneider Electric employees, the most among U.S. states, and has facilities in El Paso, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and other areas.

"This flagship facility in the Energy Capital of the World underscores our commitment to driving the future of software-defined automation for our customers in Houston and beyond,” Paul added in the release. “With this announcement, we are excited to continue supporting the nation's ambitions around competitive, efficient and cost-effective manufacturing."

Schneider Electric says the new Houston facility is part of its expansion plans in the U.S. The company plans to invest over $700 million in its U.S. operations through 2027, which also includes an expansion at its El Paso campus.

The company also announced plans to invest in solar and battery storage systems developed, built, and operated by Houston-based ENGIE North America last year. Read more here.

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This story first appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

9 can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for April

where to be

Two new conferences will launch while another longtime business competition celebrates its 25th anniversary this month in Houston. Plus, there are networking opportunities, family tech events and more.

Here are the Houston business and innovation events you can't miss in April and how to register. Please note: this article might be updated to add more events.

​Ion Block Party: Art Crawl

Network and socialize with other tech enthusiasts and business-minded individuals while taking in the new gallery at Community Artists’ Collective and experiencing the immersive dome at Omnispace360. See work by Joel Zika, who will showcase his digital sculptures through augmented reality screens, and other public art around the Ion while also enjoying food and drink.

This event is Thursday, April 3, from 4-7 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

​CLA Presents: Raising Capital over Happy Hour

Gain a better understanding of the capital-raising process and various funding opportunities at this educational happy hour. Keith Davidson, the market leader for CLA in Dallas and former CFO of ICS, will present.

This event is Thursday, April 10, from 4-6 p.m. at The Cannon. Click here to register.

Rice Business Plan Competition 

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship will host the 25th annual Rice Business Plan Competition this month. Forty-two student-led teams from around the world, including one team from Rice, will present their plans before more than 300 angel, venture capital, and corporate investors to compete for more than $1 million in prizes.

This event is April 10-12. Stream the Elevator Pitch Competition and Final Round here.

RSVF Annual Conference

The Rice Student Venture Fund will host its first-ever Annual Conference to celebrate the university's entrepreneurial spirit and the rising generation of student-led innovation. The conference will include live startup demos, an RSVF fund update, a keynote fireside chat, a builder-investor panel and networking. RSVF welcomes students, alumni, investors, faculty and staff, and innovators and community members of the broader tech scene.

This event is Monday, April 14, from 4-8 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

​TEX-E Conference

TEX-E will host its inaugural conference this month under the theme "Energy & Entrepreneurship: Navigating the Future of Climate Tech." The half-day conference will feature a keynote from Artemis Energy Partners CEO Bobby Tudor as well as panels with other energy and tech leaders from NRG, Microsoft, GE Vernova and TEB Tech.

This event is Tuesday, April 15, from 1-4:30 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series 

Hear from Dr. Jonathan Rogg, Chief Quality Officer and Vice President of Operations at Houston Methodist Hospital and a a practicing emergency medicine physician, at the latest Houston Methodist Leadership Speaker Series. Rogg will present "Leadership from the Bedside to the Boardroom."

This event is on Wednesday, April 23, from 4:45-6 p.m. at the Ion. Click here to register.

Ion Family STEAM Day– Let's Build a Tripwire Alarm

STEAM on Demand will host a hands-on, family-friendly engineering lesson for young ones on the Ion Forum Stairs. Kids will learn to create and test their own working alarm system. The event is geared toward those ages 7 to 14.

This event is Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ion. Click here to register.

 Greentown Houston Fourth Anniversary Transition On Tap

Climatetech incubator Greentown Labs will celebrate its fourth anniversary with a special edition of its signature networking event, Transition On Tap. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and friends of climatetech are invited to attend.

This event is Tuesday, April 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Greentown Labs. Click here to register.

Integrate Space Technology Into Your Small Biz

The SBA Houston District Office and the UH Technology Bridge will host a collaborative event designed to help small businesses leverage space technology for prototype development. Attendees will also hear from industry experts on resources and gain access free technical engineering assistance to help accelerate their businesses.

This event is Wednesday, April 30, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at UH Technology Bridge Innovation Center. Click here to reserve your spot.

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