Texas Wins 12th Gold Shovel Award For Outstanding Job Creation, Business Investment

TEXAS, June 18 - June 18, 2025 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott today celebrated Texas being recognized with the state's 12th Gold Shovel Award by Area Development magazine for outstanding achievement in job creation and capital investment in 2024. Texas has now been recognized with a Gold or Silver Shovel in each of the 20 years of the award program.  

“Texas again wins gold for attracting job-creating business investments thanks to having the best business climate and fastest-growing skilled workforce in America,” said Governor Abbott. “Innovative industry leaders invest with certainty in Texas because Texas moves at the speed of business. I thank Area Development magazine for this recognition, and I congratulate our local, regional, and statewide economic development partners for this achievement. We will build on this momentum to attract continued business investment and create thousands of good-paying jobs for a stronger, more prosperous Texas than ever before."

Area Development recognized Texas with a Gold Shovel Award for more than $10.6 billion in high-value expansion and location projects in 2024. The magazine also acknowledged 12 high-value projects for creating more than 11,000 Texas jobs in total.

Manufacturing Projects of the Year:

• Delta Electronics, Inc., a $452 million capital investment creating 1,500 jobs in Plano
• QYK Brands, a $400 million capital investment creating 1,000 jobs in The Woodlands

Non-Manufacturing Project of the Year:

• Amazon, a $200 million capital investment creating 1,000 jobs in Cleburne

Other recognized projects:

• ECL, an $8 billion investment creating 250 jobs in Houston
• FREYR Battery (now T1 Energy), a $340 million investment creating 1,300 jobs in Wilmer
• Crystal Window & Door Systems, a $121 million investment creating 504 jobs in Mansfield
• Raising Cane’s, a $48 million investment creating 1,020 jobs in Plano
• VanTran, a $30 million investment creating 700 jobs in Waco
• Flex Ltd., a $19 million investment creating 1,200 jobs in Round Rock
• Salcomp, a $3 million investment creating 660 jobs in Arlington
• BillionToOne, creating 1,000 jobs in Austin
• Guidehouse, creating 1,000 jobs in San Antonio

Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. The rankings are based on a combination of weighted factors, including the number of new jobs to be created in relation to the state’s population, the combined dollar amount of the company investments, the number of new facilities, and the diversity of industry represented.

Read the full Area Development rankings.