Civilian Labor Force

League City area employers enjoy the advantages of a workforce that is young, well educated, and known for its positive work ethic. Additional reasons that make the area’s workforce attractive to business and industry are its low unionization (Texas is a Right-to-Work State) and a high percentage of technicians compared to the total labor market. Employers draw most of their labor force from the northern half of Galveston County and southern Harris County.

Source: Texas Workforce Commission.

Occupational Profile

Due to the presence of the NASA/Johnson Space Center, the Texas Medical Center, the Houston Ship Channel and its associated world’s largest petrochemical complex, the area’s workforce is highly technical.

• A recent survey of only 40 area companies identified 3,000 engineers and 500 computer programmers, analysts, network administrators, and MIS managers.
  
  
• A study designed specifically to identify engineers in the Houston Bay Area identified 9,100 engineers working for 63 companies. The study also concluded that within a 50-mile radius of the Houston Bay Area there are more than 37,000 engineers.
  

*Note: League City is included in the Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown MSA
Source: Texas Workforce Commission


Galveston County/Harris County Average Hourly Wage Rates
for Selected Occupations

Source: Texas Workforce Commission - July, 2009

Economic Base

The League City area’s two counties, Harris and Galveston, combine to create the fourth largest major industrial location in the country. The area, known as the home of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, also boasts a strong petrochemical industry and serves as the region’s shipping related and pleasure boating access to Galveston Bay.

Aerospace

Over forty years ago, the U.S. Government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC). The center grew to become Mission Control and the principle training center for all U.S. manned space flight communications and control.

Drawn to the natural business development advantages from JSC, virtually all major U.S. aerospace companies are represented in the area. There are more than 18,000 people working in the aerospace sector.

Petrochemical Industry

The Bayport Industrial Complex, one of the nation’s largest privately-developed industrial facilities, is home to more than 50 operating specialty chemical and petrochemical plants employing more than 8,700 workers. The overall direct and indirect business impact from Bayport related local business volume is over $829 million. An additional 11,000 jobs are directly attributable to the presence of the specialty chemical industry with personal income of local individuals from Bayport related jobs and activities reaching above $531 million.

Bioscience and Biotechnology

Bioscience and biotechnology represent a strong technology cluster for Bay Area Houston with more than two times the national average activity. There are approximately 2,900 people employed in the biosector. There is a concentrated representation of medical device, biometrics and basic bioresearch operations in the area.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry is a significant portion of the Bay Area Houston economy. Awareness of the resources for patients along with an available and skilled workforce are keys to the growth of this industry. League City's central location between the Texas Medical Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), the University of Houston, and Rice University attracts research spin-off firms and research support companies.

Tourism, Boating, and Recreation

Area tourist/visitor attractions include: Space Center Houston, the Kemah Boardwalk and Waterfront, Big League Dreams Sports Park, League City’s One Room Schoolhouse Museum, Butler Longhorn Museum, the Armand Bayou Nature Center, Gulf Greyhound Race Park, and Galveston Island. Over 10,000 boat slips of all sizes are provided for power and sail boating owners. The Houston Bay Area has the third largest concentration of recreational boats in the United States. Clear Lake is home for about 20% of all coastal Texas establishments engaged in recreational boating. The recreational marine sub-industry accounts for about 10% of all gross sales in the Houston Bay Area.

Source: Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, April 28, 2009