Houston is a town that is all business. It is America's leading international seaport. It is home to America's headquarters for space exploration. It builds more oilfield equipment than any place else, by far. It is a financial center and home to 24 Fortune 500 companies. Even medical research has become a big business in Houston. So, too, culture and arts, sports and entertainment, retailing, manufacturing and professional services. As diverse as that list is, they are all financially successful, and contribute to Houston's $308 billion Gross Annual Product, which is larger than Gross Domestic Product of all but 28 countries throughout the world. Houston is truly a powerhouse.

The boom and bust cycle of the oil business didn't always treat Houston kindly. The city went through some 70 years of ups and downs with it's energy-dependent economy until the early 1980s when city business and political leaders banded together and began planning out the city's future with an eye on diversification. Their efforts, still underway today, spread the risk out among many major segments of the economy. While oil and petrochemicals still command the largest segment of the economy--some 47%--Houston sees significant growth in many other sectors. Today, Houston is a major player in aerospace, computer technology, international trade, transportation, biomedical research, education, retailing and manufacturing.

The Greater Houston Partnership, a coalition of Chambers of Commerce throughout the 10-county Houston Metropolitan Area, has guided the changes to the city's economy for more than two decades and has economic planning on the drawing boards through 2015. Today, there are more than 2.4 million people gainfully employed in the Houston Metro area. Unemployment is approximately 5.5%.

The Port of Houston is the largest port for international tonnage in the U.S., and second in total tonnage. The Port, a 25-mile-long complex of waterways, docks and facilities just three hours sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico, produced some $85.6 billion in foreign trade in 2005. It is connected to the rest of the United States by two major railroads and 150 trucking lines. Except for energy and petrochemicals, the Port is one of Houston's biggest economic drivers. More than 3,000 firms, both foreign-owned and domestic, do business through Houston, and there are some 85 foreign countries represented by consular offices in the city. More than 20 foreign banks do business in the city, as well.

The single largest private employer in Houston is Wal-Mart, with some 25,554 employees. Other large employers include Continental Airlines, Exxon Mobil, Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Halliburton, Shell Oil and Methodist Hospital System. The overall largest employer in Houston is the Houston Independent School District with more than 29,000 teachers and staff.

Also working in its favor, Houston has the second lowest cost of living among all major U.S. cities. Cost of living is 39% below the average of all major metropolitan areas, and 28% below the national average. The attractive cost of living, relatively low housing costs and a median income of approximately $43,000 gives the city a huge lift in competing for corporate relocations and new employment. It's a winning combination for both businesses and employees.