By Dylan Guest, Vice President, Communications
Estimated reading time: 1.5 minutes
Texas has once again secured its position as the nation’s leader in economic development, earning Site Selection Magazine’s prestigious Governor’s Cup for a record-setting 14th consecutive year. The award recognizes Texas as the top U.S. state for corporate investment projects in 2025, reinforcing the state’s sustained strength in attracting private-sector growth.
With 1,406 qualifying corporate investment projects, Texas more than doubled the total of second-place Illinois and tripled that of third-place Ohio. The milestone reflects continued business confidence in the state’s economic climate, workforce, infrastructure and pro-growth policies.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (DFW) metro accounted for 410 of those projects, demonstrating the region’s continued role as one of Texas’ primary drivers of corporate expansion and relocation activity.
“Texas’ continued success is no accident,” said Dallas Regional Chamber President & CEO Brad Cheves. “The DFW region plays a critical role in that performance year after year, driven by a strong talent pipeline, world-class infrastructure and a business community that moves with speed and confidence. Our region is proud to help drive this sustained success for Texas.”
To qualify for the Governor’s Cup count, a corporate project must meet at least one of three criteria: invest a minimum of $1 million, create at least 20 new jobs or add at least 20,000 square feet of new space.
The DRC was represented at the Governor’s Cup celebration in Austin by Vice President of Economic Development Kevin Shatley, who joined Gov. Greg Abbott and statewide partners in recognizing Texas’ 14th consecutive victory.
“There is no state that is better-designed or better-positioned economically now and going forward,” said Gov. Abbott. “When we have so many of those robust local economic development teams working alongside the State of Texas, that is wind at our back to ensure that we will be leading in projects now and going forward. You can see that we are on a trajectory to ensure our economic diversification is going to inoculate us in good times, as well as bad times, to ensure our economy is still going to grow, still create new jobs, prosperity and opportunities for Texans going forward.”
In addition to the Governor’s Cup data, the DRC tracks corporate location and expansion announcements across the DFW region throughout the year. In 2025, the DRC recorded 87 corporate locations or expansions across 26 regional cities.
Those announcements included:
- 30 headquarters relocations or expansions
- 17 technology companies
- 14 life sciences companies
- 9 projects in southern Dallas County
This activity reflects the depth and diversity of the DFW economy—from corporate headquarters and advanced manufacturing to high-growth technology and life sciences sectors—and reinforces the region’s position as a premier destination for business investment.
To learn more about the DRC’s economic development work, visit our website. For additional data on the Dallas-Fort Worth region’s performance, explore our Economy in Brief, presented by Citi, and DFW Region Facts.