Gov. Greg Abbott: Texas wins 14th consecutive Governor’s Cup for job growth
Courtesy: Eduardo Leal (Texans for Greg Abbott)
AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott announced at a press conference at the Governor’s Mansion that Texas has won Site Selection magazine’s Governor’s Cup for the 14th consecutive year.
To qualify for the award, projects must involve at least $1 million in investment, the creation of at least 20 new jobs, or at least 20,000 square feet of new space.
2026 Governor's Cup
Big picture view:
Site Selection compiles their rankings annually by tallying qualifying projects from the previous calendar year. The magazine describes the project database as a way for employers, area leaders and citizens to track economic health and the migration of capital and talent.
The Governor’s Cup is awarded annually and does not include federal government projects. Instead, it measures project counts rather than total dollar investment per capita, wage levels or long-term economic outcomes.
The criteria do not differentiate between industries or evaluate a job's quality. Focusing on qualifying thresholds for investment, job creation or facility size.
$75 billion in capital investment and 42,000 new jobs
FILE-In this photo illustration, a person holds a wallet filled with $20 dollar bills. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
By the numbers:
The Governor's Cup award recognizes the state with the most qualifying corporate facility investment projects recorded in Site Selection’s proprietary Conway Projects Database.
According to Site Selection, Texas logged more than 1,400 qualifying projects in 2025, representing more than $75 billion in capital investment and more than 42,000 new jobs. The total accounted for 18% of all qualifying U.S. projects tracked by the publication this year. Illinois ranked second with 680 projects, followed by Ohio with 467 projects.
Texas has won the Governor’s Cup 22 times overall, more than any other state since the award began. The state’s current 14-year consecutive streak dates back to 2012, according to the governor’s office.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Texas’ economic growth, diversification
Courtesy: Eduardo Leal (Texans for Greg Abbott)
What they're saying:
Abbott called the award evidence of the state’s long-term economic strength.
"There is no state that is better-designed or better-positioned economically now and going forward," Abbott said. He credited local and regional economic development organizations for working alongside the state to attract business investment and said Texas’ economic diversification would help sustain growth in both strong and weak economic periods.
Abbott said Texas would continue to prioritize policies aimed at attracting business investment.
"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," he said.
The governor was accompanied by Site Selection's Executive Vice President Ron Starner, along with Secretary of State Jane Nelson and Texas Economic Development & Tourism Executive Director Adriana Cruz.
Starner described Texas’ performance as historic.
"Texas did not just win the Governor’s Cup this time, it obliterated the record book," he said.
Texas top 5 in per-capita rankings
Texas State Capitol building in Austin, Texas. ( Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call / Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
In addition to overall project totals, the publication also ranks states on a per-capita basis. This year, North Dakota led the nation in projects per capita, with 145 qualifying projects across a population of approximately 800,000.
Texas ranked fourth in the per-capita category, behind North Dakota, Illinois and Kansas. Texas’ fourth-place ranking per-capita reflects the impact of its larger population relative to smaller states.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Office of the Texas Governor and Site Selection.