Texas clocks in as 5th hardest-working state in U.S., survey says

LAUDING TEXAS’ LABOR FORCE

We work hard for the money in Houston. Photo by Hinterhaus Productions/Getty

n the 1980s, disco queen Donna Summer sang the praises of a blue-collar woman in the hit tune “She Works Hard for the Money.” If the song were to be updated for this decade, it might morph into an ode to the hardworking women and men of Texas.

A new ranking from personal finance website WalletHub puts Texas at No. 5 among the hardest-working states. The Lone Star State repeated its fifth-place showing from last year. In the 2022 study, Texas is preceded by North Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The slackers, it appears, are in bottom-ranked New Mexico.

WalletHub evaluated each state based on 10 metrics. In the Labor Day-timed study, Texas earned an especially high mark for the average number of hours worked per week (ranked fourth).In July 2022, nearly 14.6 million people were part of the state’s civilian workforce (which excludes active-duty military personnel), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That month, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 4 percent.

In a news release touting the July 2022 job numbers for Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott highlighted the state’s “young, skilled, diverse, and growing workforce.”

“Texas jobs are booming, and more Texans are working than ever before as we again break all previous records for total jobs,” Abbott says. “Despite the economic challenges job creators are facing across the nation, businesses are investing with confidence in the Lone Star State because we’ve built a framework that allows free enterprise to flourish and hardworking Texans to succeed.”

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this article originally ran on CultureMap.

Workers in the Lone Star State put in more hours and take less vacation time than most of America. Photo by gguy44/Getty Images

New report proves Texans work harder than almost anyone else in U.S.

SERIOUSLY, TAKE A BREAK

Texans don't just work hard, they work harder than almost anyone else in the nation, according to a new study.

Just in time for Labor Day, WalletHub has revealed the hardest-working states for 2019, and Texas lands at No. 4, meaning only three states — North Dakota, Alaska, and South Dakota — work harder. To determine the ranking, the personal finance site reviewed a host of factors, from average workweek, commute time, and leisure time to employment rates and the share of workers with multiple jobs.

In Texas, where 96 percent of the labor force has a job, workers stay on the clock an average of 40 hours a week. While that might seem pretty standard, somehow, that makes us the state with the fourth-longest workweek.

And those hardworking Texans could use a break. Surprisingly, 29 percent of the state's workers don't use all of their vacation time. One contributing factor could be the state's high percentage of engaged workers (35 percent), described in the study as "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace."

As we know, work doesn't just start and end at your desk. WalletHub also measured workers' commute times, volunteer hours, and leisure time, which it categorized as indirect work factors.

In Texas, workers regularly travel about 26 minutes one way for their jobs, and despite their long workweeks, they make time to volunteer for 27 hours each year on average. In regards to work-life balance, Texans set aside almost six hours a day for leisure time. That may sound ample, but workers in 19 other states spend even more time relaxing.

This isn't the only recent study to call attention to how much time Texans spend on the clock.

A recent report from mobile technology company Kisi named Houston, where workers clock 43.7 hours a week, the second most overworked city in the U.S., second only to Washington, D.C. Austin also shot to the top of the list, with workers laboring 43.5 hours a week, followed by San Antonio (43.1 hours) and Dallas (42.9 hours).

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Sandbox VR brings new gaming center to Houston's tech-savvy population

Get In The Game

Sandbox VR, a futuristic, full-body virtual reality gaming experience, has announced it will enter the Houston market this month, opening its first local gaming center on January 23.

"Houston's reputation as a hub for innovation and technology makes it a perfect fit for Sandbox VR," said Steve Zhao, CEO and founder of Sandbox VR, in a statement. "The city's diverse, tech-savvy population and strong entertainment culture create an ideal environment for our immersive VR experiences. LOL Entertainment continues to exceed our expectations as a partner, and we're excited to bring our cutting-edge virtual reality gaming to Texas's largest city."

The new gaming center opens Friday, January 23 at 797 Sorella Court in CityCentre.

One of the games that stands out is the Stranger Things: Catalyst game, based on the blockbuster Netflix television series. Groups of one to six players will be dropped into the sinister Hawkins Lab and the mysterious Upside Down to fight Demogorgons and other monsters. The game features Matthew Modine reprising his role as Dr. Martin "Papa" Brenner, who imbues players with psychic powers.

Other games include the supernatural pirate title The Curse of Davy Jones and other Netflix tie-ins based on Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon and Squid Game. Sandbox VR offers fully-immersive group play activities that range from combat to puzzle solving for a variety of age groups.

The opening of Sandbox VR is another part of the expansion of LOL Entertainment, who touts itself as one of the pre-eminent hosts of immersive and gaming experiences in the U.S. Sandbox VR will be their first entry into the Houston market, with another immersive group adventure game, Time Mission, set to open at the the Marq'E Entertainment District later this year.

“Bringing Sandbox VR to CityCentre Houston is a big milestone for LOL Entertainment, for Sandbox VR, and for this market,” said Rob Cooper, CEO of LOL Entertainment. “Houston is a fast-growing, experience-driven city, and we’re excited to give locals and visitors a truly immersive, social gaming destination that you can’t replicate anywhere.”

Presale tickets for the grand opening of Sandbox VR are available here. Standard pricing is $55-$65 per event, but Sandbox VR is running a special for 30 percent off with code OPEN30 for those who purchase before Thursday, January 22. Presale buyers are also entered into a drawing for free Sandbox VR for one year.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Baylor College of Medicine names Minnesota med school dean as new president, CEO ​

new leader

Dr. Jakub Tolar, dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School, is taking over as president, CEO and executive dean of Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine on July 1.

Tolar—who’s also vice president for clinical affairs at the University of Minnesota and a university professor—will succeed Dr. Paul Klotman as head of BCM. Klotman is retiring June 30 after leading Texas’ top-ranked medical school since 2010.

In tandem with medical facilities such as Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor trains nearly half of the doctors who work at Texas Medical Center. In addition, Baylor is home to the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Texas Heart Institute.

The hunt for a new leader at Baylor yielded 179 candidates. The medical school’s search firm interviewed 44 candidates, and the pool was narrowed to 10 contenders who were interviewed by the Board of Trustees’ search committee. The full board then interviewed the four finalists, including Tolar.

Greg Brenneman, chair of Baylor’s board and the search committee, says Tolar is “highly accomplished” in the core elements of the medical school’s mission: research, patient care, education and community service.

“Baylor is phenomenal. Baylor is a superpower in academic medicine,” Tolar, a native of the Czech Republic, says in a YouTube video filmed at the medical school. “And everything comes together here because science saves lives. That is the superpower.”

Tolar’s medical specialties include pediatric blood and bone marrow transplants. His research, which he’ll continue at Baylor, focuses on developing cellular therapies for rare genetic disorders. In the research arena, he’s known for his care of patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a severe genetic skin disorder.

In a news release, Tolar praises Baylor’s “achievements and foundation,” as well as the school’s potential to advance medicine and health care in “new and impactful ways.”

The Baylor College of Medicine employs more than 9,300 full-time faculty and staff. For the 2025-26 academic year, nearly 1,800 students are enrolled in the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and School of Health Professions. Its M.D. program operates campuses in Houston and Temple.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024, Baylor recorded $2.72 billion in operating revenue and $2.76 billion in operating expenses.

The college was founded in 1900 in Dallas and relocated to Houston in 1943. It was affiliated with Baylor University in Waco from 1903 to 1969.

$50 million for Houston ibogaine research tops innovation news to know

News to know

Editor's note: The Houston innovation scene is entering 2026 with fresh funding for startups and major grants for innovative health treatments and neurological research. Here are the five most-read InnovationMap stories to start the new year, published Jan. 1-15, 2026:

1. Houston hospitals win $50M grant for ibogaine addiction treatment research

UTHealth Houston and UTMB will lead IMPACT, an initiative working toward ibogaine-based treatments for addiction and neurological issues. Photo via Pexels.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has awarded $50 million to UTHealth Houston in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB Health) to co-lead a multicenter research trial to evaluate the effect of ibogaine, a powerful psychoactive compound, on patients suffering from addiction, traumatic brain injury and other behavioral health conditions. The funding will establish a two-year initiative—known as Ibogaine Medicine for PTSD, Addiction, and Cognitive Trauma (IMPACT)—and a consortium of Texas health institutions focused on clinical trials and working toward potential FDA-approved treatments. Continue reading.

2. Rice scientist earns $600K NSF award to study distractions in digital age

Kirsten Adam, a Rice psychologist, is studying how the brain refocuses in the age of screens, instant gratification and other lingering distractions. Photo via Pexels.

Rice University psychologist Kirsten Adam has received a $600,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award to research how visual distractions like phone notifications, flashing alerts, crowded screens and busy workspaces can negatively impact focus—and how the brain works to try to regain it. Adam’s work will aim to clarify how the brain refocuses in the age of screens, instant gratification and other lingering distractions. The funding will also be used to train graduate students in advanced cognitive neuroscience methods, expand access to electroencephalography (EEG) and for public data sharing. Continue reading.

3. TMC launches new biotech partnership with Republic of Korea

The Texas Medical Center and KBIOHealth have launched the TMC Republic of Korea BioBridge. Photo via LinkedIn.

Houston's Texas Medical Center has launched its new TMC Republic of Korea BioBridge. The new partnership brings together the TMC with the Osong Medical Innovation Foundation, or KBIOHealth. The Biobridge aims to support the commercialization of Korean biotech and life science startups in the U.S., foster clinical research, and boost collaboration in the public, private and academic sectors. Continue reading.

4. CPRIT CEO: Houston’s $2B in funding is transforming cancer research and prevention

Kristen Doyle, CEO of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Photo courtesy CPRIT.

With its plethora of prestigious health care organizations like the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UTHealth Houston, and the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston sits at the heart of cancer research and prevention in Texas. Of course, it takes piles of cash to support Houston’s status as the state’s hub for cancer research and prevention. Much of that money comes from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Data supplied by CPRIT shows organizations in Harris County gained $2.3 billion in institute funding from 2009 through 2025, or nearly $145 million per year. That represents almost 60 percent of the roughly $4 billion that CPRIT has granted to Texas institutions over a 16-year period. Continue reading.

5. 14 Houston startups starting 2026 with fresh funding

From groundbreaking energy leaders to growing space startups, here's who secured funding in the last six months of 2025. Photo via Getty Images

Houston startups closed out the last half of 2025 with major funding news. Here are 14 Houston companies—from groundbreaking energy leaders to growing space startups—that secured funding in the last six months of the year, according to reporting by InnovationMap and our sister site EnergyCapitalHTX.com. Continue reading.

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