NAICS 23

Construction in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

Metro Market Score 69.4 (Difficult), ranked #326 of 342 metros. 12,529 establishments, 228,160 jobs.

Metro Market Score 69.4

Favorable 0-35

Moderate 35-48

Challenging 48-60

Difficult 60+

Difficult

ⓘ Lower is better. Relative to national construction average.

💰High-Cost Market

Market conditions for construction in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands are tougher than average. The 69.4 market score reflects a combination of high labor costs, mixed growth signals, and an already crowded field. Rank: #326 of 342 metros.

Industry Concentration

83.6

LQ: 1.34

Rank #286 of 342 metros

Wage Competitiveness

96.2

$91,420 avg wage

Growth Trend

↓ 41.5

Employment growth index

Rank #201 of 342 metros

Wage Pressure

34.7

YoY wage change index

12,529 Construction Firms in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands

12,529

Establishments

-0.5% YoY

228,160

Total Employment

+0.7% YoY

$91,420

Average Annual Wage

+4.8% YoY

1.34

Location Quotient

Above national avg

Within Texas

#21 of 22

construction metros in state

Texas state rank

#29 of 51

for construction entry risk

vs State Median

+25.0

worse than median (44.4)

Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands vs Texas Statewide

How this metro's construction market compares to Texas overall. The state ranks #29/51 for entry risk.

Measure	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands	TX Statewide
Overall Score	69.4 Difficult	46.3 Elevated
Score Type	Metro Market Score	Entry Risk Score
Rank	#326 of 342 metros	#29 of 51 states

Metro and state scores use different methodologies (metro has 4 QCEW-based metrics; state adds BDS survival and momentum data). Direct score comparisons are approximate.

Other Industries in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands

Retail Trade 48.7 Finance and Insurance 75.3 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 76.2

Construction in Other Texas Metros

Brownsville-Harlingen 15.4 #5/342 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 16.4 #6/342 Wichita Falls 19.2 #9/342 Eagle Pass 25.7 #19/342 Laredo 29.5 #36/342 Longview 33.5 #59/342 College Station-Bryan 34.2 #62/342 Waco 39.8 #107/342 Tyler 41.2 #115/342 Killeen-Temple 42.8 #126/342

+ 11 more metros. View all in Texas →

Construction Metros With Similar Conditions

Metros within 5 points of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands's 69.4 score. Useful when comparing markets with comparable entry profiles.

Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 69.5 #327/342 Appleton, WI 69.6 #328/342 Bozeman, MT 69.9 #329/342 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 68.6 #325/342 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 68.4 #324/342 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV 70.5 #330/342 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 68.3 #323/342 Worcester, MA 70.7 #331/342 Kahului-Wailuku, HI 68.1 #322/342 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 68.0 #321/342

Construction in States Bordering Texas

State-level entry risk for construction in adjacent states. Use this to weigh cross-border options.

Arkansas 34.3 #8/51 New Mexico 47.4 #31/51 Oklahoma 52.2 #39/51 Louisiana 53.6 #41/51

Browse Construction in Other States

State-level entry risk reports for construction across all 51 markets, sorted by rank.

About Metro Market Score: A weighted composite of industry concentration (25%), wage competitiveness (25%), wage pressure (20%), and employment growth trend (30%). Lower scores indicate more favorable conditions. For Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands's construction sector, the wage competitiveness component (96.2) has the strongest pull on the composite. Metro scores use QCEW data only (no BDS survival data at metro level). Read full methodology →

Data Sources

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSA-level establishment counts, employment, wages, and location quotients for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX MSA area.

Data period: 2024. Last updated: April 2026.

Metro Market Assessment