Houston company crowned No. 1 large employer in Texas by Fortune Magazine, joining 21 local firms on list

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These Houston employers reign supreme when it comes to the best workplaces. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Houstonians looking for their next employment opportunity might want to consider these 22 Houston-based companies that were just named the best workplaces in Texas by Fortune Magazine and Great Place to Work.

David Weekley Homes was named the No. 1 large employer in Texas, with workers celebrating that their company goes "above and beyond in almost every way possible" and values trust more than anything else.

"They trust you to get your work done and you never feel guilty about having to leave early for a medical appointment, or to pick your kid up from school," the report says. "They trust you to get your work done while maintaining a normal personal life."

The report also speaks highly of the construction company's 401K matching plan, and that workers can become owners in the company after two years of employment.

The remaining Houston companies that make up the top three best large Texas employers include information technology providers Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (No. 2), and real estate investors Camden Property Trust (No. 3).

Also earning a spot in the top 10 is Hilcorp Energy Company (No. 8).

Speaking on Camden Property Trust, employees in the report say their leaders have developed a "one-of-a-kind" workplace culture, similar to a large family.

"Our celebrations, conferences, meetings feel like a family reunion," the report says. "Our leaders truly care about each and every single person and make decisions with everyone's best interest in mind."

The Best Workplaces in Texas award, which saw some of the same companies on the 2022 list, is the only one of its kind in the U.S. that "selects winners based on how fairly employees are treated," according to a press release. The companies are evaluated based on how well they treat their employees across several factors, including race, gender, age, disability status, and more.

The other Houston-based companies that made it onto Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Texas 2023 include Transwestern (No. 12), Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc. (No. 14), and KBR (No. 24).

Furthermore, 17 additional Houston employers made it onto Fortune's Best Small and Medium Workplaces in Texas ranking. While Dallas companies dominate the top three, Houston's continuing education and learning center Continued made it into No. 4.

"[Continued] provide[s] so many benefits to better our home and work-life balance," the report says. "There is also a great focus on appreciating diversity and inclusion."The other Houston employers that earned spots on Fortune's Best Small and Medium Workplaces in Texas 2023 report are:

  • No. 12 – Hilltop Residential
  • No. 13 – WizeHire
  • No. 14 – Republic State Mortgage Co.
  • No. 16 – E.A.G. Business Holdings, Incorporated
  • No. 23 – Venterra Realty
  • No. 26 – Optimum Consultancy Services
  • No. 39 – 9th Wonder
  • No. 40 – Entelligence
  • No. 52 – Detechtion Technologies
  • No. 53 – Tricon Energy
  • No. 57 – Eagle Point Solutions
  • No. 64 – Hatch Agency Real Estate
  • No. 66 – Simucase
  • No. 69 – Crestwood Equity Partners

Just outside Houston, Cypress-based Specialized Assessment and Consulting ranked No. 31 and TK Trailer Parts in Madisonville ranked No. 65 in the small and medium workplace report.The full list of 2023's best workplaces in Texas can be found on greatplacetowork.com.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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The Houston area boasts some top-tier employers. Photo by Getty Images

These Houston businesses punch in among Texas' best employers, report says

workin' it

A slew of Houston-area companies may soon see a surge of inquiries and resumes, thanks to a new ranking.

Great Place to Work, which helps employers improve their workplace culture, and Fortune magazine teamed up to select the Best Companies to Work For in 2022 in two categories: small and midsize employers, and large employers.

In the new report, powerhouse Houston-based builder/developer David Weekley Homes tops the list of the top 20 large employers in Texas — a big jump from its No. 20 spot last year.

“We are incredibly honored to be recognized as the top company on the Best Workplaces in Texas list,” said Robert Hefner, vice president of Human Resources for David Weekley Homes, in a statement. “We’re very proud to offer an amazing workplace culture as well as competitive benefits and perks for our team, which inspires them to delight our customers.”

Powerhouse business IT firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise follows on the large employer list at No. 2, followed by apartment owner and operator Camden Property Trust at No. 3. Mortgage lender Cornerstone Home Lending, commercial real estate company Transwestern, and community college system Lone Star College also land on the prestigious list.

Meanwhile, four of Texas’ top 20 small and midsize employers to work for are right here in the Houston area. They are: mortgage provider Republic State Mortgage, online education hub Continued, oil and gas consulting firm E.A.G. Services, and AI-based e-commerce firm PROS.

Here’s the list of the top 20 small and midsize employers on the list of the Best Companies to Work For:

  1. Credera, Addison
  2. Bestow, life insurance company, Dallas
  3. Publishing Concepts, collector of oral histories, Dallas
  4. Pariveda Solutions, business and technology consulting firm, Dallas
  5. 49 Financial, financial planning provider, Austin
  6. Highland Homes, homebuilder, Plano
  7. AIM, provider of special education services, San Antonio
  8. Republic State Mortgage, mortgage provider, Houston
  9. Continued, provider of online continuing education, Houston
  10. Freese and Nichols, engineering, planning, and consulting firm, Fort Worth
  11. OJO Labs, home search platform, Austin
  12. Dialexa, digital product consulting firm, Dallas
  13. Granite Properties, commercial real estate developer, investor, and manager, Plano
  14. E.A.G. Services, oil and gas consulting firm, Houston
  15. Ontic Technologies, producer of “protective intelligence” software, Austin
  16. PROS, provider of AI-based software for e-commerce, Houston
  17. Scribe Media, book publisher, Austin
  18. Embark, business advisory firm, Dallas
  19. ProPath, operator of pathology practices, Dallas
  20. CerpassRX, pharmacy benefits manager, The Colony

Here’s the list of the top 20 large employers in Texas, according to Great Place to Work and Fortune:

  1. David Weekley Homes, homebuilder, Houston
  2. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, provider of business IT, Spring
  3. Camden Property Trust, apartment owner and operator, Houston
  4. Texas Health Resources, healthcare system, Arlington
  5. Vizient, healthcare consulting firm, Irving
  6. Ryan LLC, tax services and consulting firm, Dallas
  7. Hilcorp Energy, energy exploration and production company, Houston
  8. PrimeLending, a Plains Capital Company, mortgage lender, Dallas
  9. Cornerstone Home Lending, mortgage lender, Houston
  10. Transwestern, commercial real estate company, Houston
  11. Dell Technologies, seller of personal computers, network servers, data storage services, and software, Round Rock
  12. NuStar Energy, pipeline and terminal operator, San Antonio
  13. Mr. Cooper (Nationstar Mortgage), mortgage lender, Coppell
  14. Lone Star College, community college system, Houston
  15. USAA, financial services provider, San Antonio
  16. Sailpoint, provider of identity security software, Austin
  17. Enhabit Home Health & Hospice, home health and hospice provider, Dallas
  18. Epicor Software, provider of software for business process management, Austin
  19. Hilti, provider of tools and technology for construction companies, Plano
  20. Alcon Laboratories, producer of eye care products, Fort Worth

Great Place to Work selected the Best Companies to Work For in 2022 based on feedback from employee surveys and data from Great Place to Work-certified employers.

“As workers struggle with the Great Resignation, burnout, and COVID disruptions, these exceptional companies offer workplace experiences as strong as prior to the pandemic,” says company CEO Michael Bush.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Here's what workplaces young professionals are the most happy. Photo via Getty Images

These 10 Houston companies rank among best U.S. employers for young professionals

workplace praise

Ten businesses in the Greater Houston area are clocking in among the country's best employers for millennials, according to a new report.

The Best Workplaces for Millennials list is published annually by Fortune magazine and compiled by Great Place to Work, a company that focuses on improving workplace culture.

Looking at the 10 Houston-area employers, mega developer David Weekley homes takes the top spot. The company appears at No. 12 on the list of large employers.

"It's an honor to once again be recognized as a top company for working millennials," said Robert Hefner, David Weekly vice president of human resources, in a statement. "We are very proud to offer a rewarding workplace culture as well as competitive benefits and amazing perks to draw this group of young talent to our award-winning team."

In that survey, 97 percent of staffers called David Weekley Homes a great place to work. The home builder previously ranked at number 26 on the 2020 list.

Joining David Weekly on the list are these large, mid-size, and small Houston-area companies:

Large employers:

  • Camden Property Trust, No. 32
  • Hilcorp, No. 37
  • Cornerstone Home Lending, No. 38
  • Transwestern, No. 65
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise, No. 95

Small and mid-sized employers:

  • Continued, No. 33
  • Venterra Realty, No. 49
  • Republic State Mortgage, No. 90
  • E.A.G. Services, No. 91

Here's how employers in Texas' other major metro areas fared.

Dallas

  • Plano-based Granite: No. 6
  • Addison-based Credera, No. 36
  • Dallas-based Pariveda Solutions, No. 76
  • Dallas-based Embark, No. 97
  • Dallas-based PrimeLending lands at No. 29
  • Dallas-based Ryan LLC at No. 35.

Austin

Large employers:

  • Round Rock-based Dell Technologies, No. 75

Small and mid-sized employers:

  • Austin-based OJO Labs, No. 51
  • Austin-based SailPoint, No. 60
  • Austin-based Sedera Health, No. 69
  • Austin-based The Zebra, No. 86

San Antonio

Large employers:

  • San Antonio-based NuStar Energy, No. 91
  • San Antonio-based USAA, No. 98

"The Best Workplaces for Millennials treat their employees like people, not just employees," says Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "These companies foster caring and respect for one another, at every level of the organization. The result is millennial employees who say they look forward to coming to work and — as our research says — are 50 times more likely to stay a long time."

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

A coworking company and a real estate firm have been tapped by The Ion. Courtesy of Rice University

Rising Houston innovation hub announces real estate partners

eye on the ion

Last week, Rice Management Co. announced the latest partners for The Ion. A Houston-based real estate management firm and a Dallas-based coworking company have signed onto the project.

Texas coworking company Common Desk, which recently opened a new space in Houston's east downtown, was tapped to develop and manage The Ion's more than 58,000 square feet of experiential, flexible office space on the second floor of the building.

"For a project as special as The Ion, it was important that we selected a flexible office space operator that understood the building's ethos as a space for collaboration and innovation," says Ryan LeVasseur, managing director of Direct Real Estate at RMC, in a news release. "From the moment we met with the Common Desk team, it was clear they represented the right balance of sophistication and excitement and shared a commitment to creating a sense of community."

Additionally, Common Desk will be responsible for a coffee bar and maintaining a vibrant and engaging space for tenants, startups, and community members.

"We're thrilled to be a part of this prestigious project and are looking forward to offering individuals, small businesses, and high-growth companies the chance to experience the unique programming and innovative spirit of the building," says Dawson Williams, head of real estate at Common Desk, in the release. "We're excited to be a strategic gateway to helping Houstonians experience all The Ion has to offer."

RMC tapped Transwestern to oversee property management for all of The Ion through its building, tenant, vendor, compliance, client, and administrative services.

"Very few companies have Transwestern's breadth of experience and proven success of managing high-quality, talent-attracting workplaces," LeVasseur says in the release. "Add to that the company's deep roots in Houston, and we're confident we're working with the best team to ensure a flawless, attractive, activated, and efficiently operated hub for the growth of Houston's innovation ecosystem."

Based in Houston, Transwestern has over 400 properties locally across office, multifamily, health care, and other industries.

"Transwestern is excited to work alongside Rice Management Corporation as property and facilities manager for The Ion, while contributing to its mission of innovation, collaboration and inclusion," says Kevin Roberts, Southwest President at Transwestern, in the release. "As Transwestern continues to elevate our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are proud to stand alongside The Ion in supporting minority and women-owned businesses in enabling innovation that will shape the future of Houston."

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Rice lands $15M U.S. Army award to launch next-gen wireless research center

defense funding

The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Rice University $15 million to establish a new center for next-generation sensing and communications.

The five-year research center—dubbed the Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging and Communications (CLASSIC)—will unite researchers from universities and national laboratories to develop advanced antenna technologies for future wireless systems. Edward Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice, will lead the center that “combines expertise in wireless networking, antennas, radar, artificial intelligence, circuits and physics to address growing demands on wireless systems,” according to Rice.

“The challenges we’re tackling require advances that span physics, hardware, communications and computing," Knightly said in a news release. “By combining those strengths in a single center, we can accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies that would not be possible through individual efforts alone.”

Joining Knightly will be Ashutosh Sabharwal of Rice, Sensen Li of the University of Texas at Austin, Hou-Tong Chen of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Danijela Cabric of UCLA, Josep M. Jornet and Tommaso Melodia of Northeastern University, Daniel M. Mittleman of Brown University, and Willie Padilla of Duke University.

Industry partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel, Keysight, Lockheed Martin, MITRE, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm and Raytheon.

CLASSIC researchers will investigate how large-scale antenna arrays (ELSAAs) can expand the capabilities of wireless systems where technology is limited.

ELSAAs use thousands of coordinated antenna elements to direct radio waves. Researchers aim to develop ways to use the technology to help maintain steady communication when signals are blocked or disrupted and to detect and generate detailed images of concealed objects.

Along with ELSAAs, the center will work to develop sensing techniques for threat detection, study wireless jamming and build resilient high-speed wireless networks. Researchers will ultimately validate the technology in labs and via drone-based field trials.

CLASSIC will also work on developing an AI-driven modeling framework that will simulate complex electromagnetic environments in real time.

“This award demonstrates Rice’s leadership in tackling complex national research challenges through collaboration across disciplines and institutions,” David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice, added in the release.

UH scores $18M NIH grant for chronic disease research

research funding

The University of Houston has received a coveted $18.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a program to address the root causes of chronic disease.

Only 22 institutions nationwide receive this NIH award, and the 5-year process aligns with the newly established UH Health’s mission to expand healthcare innovations in Texas and beyond. The initiative will be housed in the UH Population Health department.

"This generous funding allows us to directly confront the root causes of chronic illness that place a heavy burden on so many families," Dr. Jonathan McCullers, vice president for health affairs at UH, said in a news release. "With the recent launch of UH Health, we have an unprecedented opportunity to translate scientific discovery into healthier outcomes for our communities by bringing together experts from across the university to improve health where it matters most.”

Through the program, UH researchers from different areas of expertise will work together to address the challenges of chronic illness by looking at biological, social and behavioral factors.

According to the university, chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, strokes and others are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in the U.S. They account for 90 percent of the nation’s $5.3 trillion in annual healthcare spending.

Bettina Beech, chief of population health and translational science at UH, serves as principal investigator for the program.

“Chronic disease management largely happens during the 8,700 hours each year that people are not visiting their healthcare provider,” Beech added in the news release. “While healthcare is indispensable, it only accounts for 20 percent of how health is created — genetics accounts for another 10 percent, and the other 70 percent is determined by behavior, social conditions and environment.”

With the funds from the grant, UH will also be able to expand research infrastructure, add to community partnerships, support complementary research, and invest in early-career investigators, according to the news release. UH also aims to develop solutions that could help ease the economic burden of chronic disease.

Report: Where Texas ranks among best and worst states to live in 2026

Texas Talk

After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved slightly on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Here's how Texas fared in other nationwide rankings in the study:

  • No. 27 – Income Growth
  • No. 30 – Housing Costs
  • No. 39 – Percentage of Population in Poverty
  • No. 42 – Percentage of Adults in Fair or Poor Health
  • No. 46 – Homeownership Rate
  • No. 49 – Percentage of Population Aged 25 and Older with a High School Diploma or Higher
  • No. 48 – Average Weekly Work Hours
  • No. 50 – Percentage of Insured Population

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

At the very bottom of the report is New Mexico, ranking 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom five.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – Idaho
  • No. 2 – New Jersey
  • No. 3 – Wisconsin
  • No. 4 – Massachusetts
  • No. 5 – New Hampshire
  • No. 6 – Wyoming
  • No. 7 – Utah
  • No. 8 – Minnesota
  • No. 9 – Pennsylvania
  • No. 10 – Florida
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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