Houston Leading the Way

by | May 19, 2008 | Community Circle, Observations

Last week I attended several of the Houston Business Journal’s Celebrate!Enterprise events.

The Houston Growth Summit, featuring Joel Kotkin, author of The City, and a panel with Mike Inselmann, President of American MetroStudy Corp and Barton Smith, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston, was especially informative.

The short synopsis is that Houston is a great place to work and live. This of course is not a surprise to those of us who do live and work here!

Kotkin touched on many interesting points during his presentation. 

Houston has seen a 20.1% growth in professional and business service employment between 2000 and 2007. Compare that to -5.7% in Boston and -1.1% in New York City. The global business community recognizes that Houston is a great place to do business.

Our growth in total employment from 2000-2007 is 13.4%, the second highest in the nation, after Phoenix. With organizations like the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Technology Center, companies have the resources to be successful here. 

Another interesting point to note is the ratio of home price growth versus annual average pay growth. Between 2005 and 2005, Houston’s was 1.38. Compared to LA’s 8.27, our housing prices really can’t be beat.

It’s encouraging to hear these figures. We’re not seeing the same type of economic climate that other major U.S. cities are facing right now. Through Opportunity Houston, we’re seeing an investment in Houston as a player in the global marketplace. Right now, Houston’s a good place to be, and I can’t wait to find out where we’re headed.

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