The decision on the part of ExxonMobil shareholders to move the oil giant’s corporate headquarters to Texas, means that the Lone Star State has become the American economy’s “center of gravity.”
So says The Economist magazine in reporting on the corporation’s decision to sever its long-standing ties with New Jersey in favor of basing operations in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston.
In an announcement, the corporation said it would now officially be called the ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation, instead of the ExxonMobil Corporation of New Jersey. The corporation’s actions, remarks the site Simply Wall Street, “marks the first formal shift in the company’s legal home since 1882 and aligns its legal base with its operational presence in Texas.”
When early reports indicated the imminent ExxonMobil move, Texas Governor George Abbott said the corporation would now be “freed from the strangle-hold of over-regulation.”
“Texas,” Abbott added, “is where global brand leaders thrive and jobs for hardworking Texans grow.”
But it isn’t just ExxonMobil that likes Texas, notes The Economist. Tesla Incorporated, the Oracle Corporation, Caterpillar Incorporated, and around 180 other firms have also set up shop in the state.
One of the incentives for companies to move to Texas is taxes, or rather a lack of them. According to a “competitive index” ranking produced by the non-profit Tax Foundation, Texas was ranked in seventh place for having the most pro-growth tax policies, while two other mega states – California and New York – ranked 48th and 50th.
Texas’s cost of living is on the low side compared to California and New York, while the state is on track to see the construction of upwards of two-fifths of all utility scale solar projects before the end of this year.
While California remains the largest state population-wise, with Texas, up from sixth place in 1960, now in a solid second, “it’s only a matter of time,” adds The Economist, “before Texas overtakes California as the largest economy in America.”
July 17, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
