Report Ranks Houston Among Top Global Cities – With One Thing Holding It Back

A new analysis positions the world’s energy capital as an economic dynamo, albeit an imperfect one.

The recently published Oxford Economics World Cities Indexwhich assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the world’s 1,000 largest cities, places Houston at 25th.

Houston ranks well for economy (No. 15) and human capital (No. 18), but ranks poorly for governance (No. 184), environment (No. 271) and quality of life (No. No. 298).

New York City appears first in the index, followed by London; San Jose, California; Tokyo; and Paris. Dallas lands at #18 and Austin at #39.

In its Global Cities Index report, Oxford Economics states that Houston’s status as an “international, vertically integrated hub for the oil and gas sector makes it an economic powerhouse.” Most aspects of the industry – downstream, downstream and upstream – are managed from here, including the major fuel refining and petrochemical sectors.

“And although the city has notable aerospace and logistics sectors and has diversified into other areas such as biomedical research and technology, its fortunes remain closely tied to oil and gas” , adds the report. “As such, its economic stability and growth lags behind other leading cities in the index. »

The report highlights that Houston ranks among the best in the human capital category thanks to the large number of corporate headquarters in the region. The Houston area is home to the headquarters of 26 Fortune 500 companiesincluding ExxonMobil, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Sysco.

Another contributor to Houston’s human capital rankings, according to the report, is the presence of Rice University, the University of Houston and the Texas Medical Center.

“Despite this,” the report says, “it does not have the number of leading universities as other cities and performs only moderately in terms of the education level of its residents.”

Slower-than-expected population growth and an aging population are weakening Houston’s human capital score, the report said.

Meanwhile, Houston’s quality of life score is affected by a high level of income inequality, as well as low life expectancy compared to nearly half of the 1,000 cities on the list, says The report.

Still in the area of ​​quality of life, the report highlights the variety of artistic, cultural and recreational activities in the region. But this is offset by urban sprawl, traffic congestion, an underdeveloped public transport system, poor air quality and high carbon emissions.

Additionally, the report downgrades Houston’s environmental situation due to the risk of hurricanes and flooding.

“Houston is undoubtedly a leading business (center) that plays a key role in supporting the U.S. economy,” the report said, “but given its shortcomings in other categories, it will need to keep up the path of some of its wealthier peers in order to move up in the rankings.