According to the latest statistics from the US Census Bureau, more people are moving to Houston than any other metropolitan area in the country. After adding 126,720 people between July 2024 and July 2025, the Greater Houston area now has a population of 7.9 million.
This growth is creating jobs for contractors in the region. Total construction starts are forecast to rise 6% year over year in 2026 after seeing a 3% decline in 2025, Dodge Data & Analytics says.
Non-residential starts, which include hospitals and schools, are forecast to rise 11.7% in 2026, while residential starts grow 9%.
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows that the Houston area added 11,200 construction jobs, or 4%, between February 2025 and February 2026, the most of any U.S. metro area during that time period.
“The consensus is that there are really big projects that need a lot of construction workers — data centers and healthcare seem to be the biggest, though K-12 and higher aren’t far behind,” Hancock says. “Most of this work is already on the books, so subscribers are careful when bidding on new work.”
Big tech is also making substantial investment in Houston, from Apple’s 250,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility to Foxconn’s $450 million AI server production facility and Inventec’s $250 million manufacturing plant, according to a Greater Houston Partnership report by the end of 2025.
“And, as usual, there are concerns about escalating material prices and an aging workforce. Filling those jobs with skilled labor also remains a big challenge,” says Hancock.
On the city’s west side, at Beltway 8 and I-10, Shadowdale’s historic grain elevators are at the center of a new 17-acre development, which broke ground on a five-story, 346-unit high-end apartment community in March. Arch-Con Corp. is leading the construction of Moody National’s Silo Springs, which is the first part of a 10-year, multi-phase, mixed-use development.
However, “megaprojects in the Panhandle and Louisiana are taking our largest contractors out of the local market and putting pressure on local labor availability,” Halphen adds. “This is also putting pressure on local wages, as contractors have to compete with big payoffs that are taking workers out of the city.”
To ensure adequate bid coverage and labor availability, Manhattan relies on incumbent subcontractor relationships. In addition, subcontractors are increasingly selective about the contractors they work with, choosing companies that are safe, reliable and focused on creating mutually successful projects, he notes.
While non-building starts are expected to be down slightly by 3.7%, major infrastructure works are still in the works. Houston’s third loop is another step closer to completion, for example.
On April 30, the Texas Transportation Commission awarded Ferrovial a $1.47 billion contract to build one of the final stretches of Grand Parkway/SH 99, the 15-mile Segment B-1. Construction will begin in late summer and be completed in 2032.
“There are very big projects that need a lot of construction workers.” —Tamara Hancock, Executive Director,
American Subcontractors Association-Houston Chapter
After decades of ups and downs, Texas’ much-debated high-speed rail project appears to be taking baby steps forward. Demolition began in May at the long-abandoned Northwest Mall to make way for a hub station for the line that would take passengers from Houston to Dallas in just 90 minutes.
Construction has also begun on Phase 1 of the $2 billion transformation of the George R. Brown Convention Center. The project includes a 700,000-square-meter expansion called GRB South and a 100,000-square-meter pedestrian plaza connecting the convention center to the nearby Toyota Center.
Phase 1 is expected to be completed by mid-2028, with the entire campus expected to follow in 2038.
Despite the amount of work being done, market volatility and price uncertainty still weigh heavily on local businesses. That means customers are getting in touch sooner than ever before, Halphen adds. Benchmarking old projects is no longer reliable, he continues, noting that Manhattan is constantly updating cost models for its clients, taking into account real-time market conditions.
“Long rigging has become an essential discussion during or in some cases before conceptual design begins,” says Halphen. “Get experts involved early [and] advising on delivery times for items such as steel or electrical equipment has become essential for our customers.”
He adds: “We are also much more involved in helping our design partners specify products that are available regionally and in some cases hyperlocally. This is helping to avoid tariff impacts and shipping challenges.”
