Houston
Metro Power
57.1
of 100 · #39
MPI
57.1
MCC
50.1
MDI
47.9
Pillar profile
Talent40.6
Capital41.2
Research47.7
Infrastructure72.9
Agentic47.9
Indicators
- Population (m)7.3
- GDP ($bn)630
- GDP per capita ($k)85.8
- AI investment ($bn)7
- Tech employment %10
- AI talent56
- Research strength76
- Notable AI orgs15
- Compute / data centers68
- Broadband %92
- Tertiary degree %34
- Digital skills76
- Startup ecosystem56
- Agent adoption54
- Patents / 100k80
Nearest peers
Metro report · generated from Houston's indicators
Houston, metro standing in full
Houston is the #14 metro by economic size ($630bn) in the panel and ranks #39/162 on absolute Metro Power and #55/162 on per-capita intensity. Its strongest pillar is Capital (41.2, Strong); no single pillar is a binding weakness. Locally it runs below the United States national average (MCC 50.1 vs CC 86.7).
National context: United States scores CC 86.7 per-capita; Houston sits at MCC 50.1.
Economic & scale context ● US Census ACS-1 2022 (population); GDP curated
GDP (metro)
$630bn
#14 of 162
GDP / capita
$86k
Population
7.3M
AI investment
$7.0bn
#26 of 162
Notable AI orgs
15
Index & pillar read
For each metro index and pillar: what it means when high (the value) versus low (the gap), and Houston's own standing.
| Index / pillar | Value | Standing | What a high vs low value means, and where Houston sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPI Metro Power | 57.1 | Strong · #39/162 | High here, a heavyweight hub where capital, talent and AI organizations concentrate, it can anchor an entire national AI ecosystem. ▲ high: a heavyweight hub where capital, talent and AI organizations concentrate, it can anchor an entire national AI ecosystem · ▼ low: limited absolute weight, a smaller node that leans on capacity built in larger hubs |
| MCC Metro Coefficient | 50.1 | Moderate · #55/162 | Mid-pack. High would mean deep capability per resident, a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem; low would mean thin intensity per resident, capability is sparse relative to the population. ▲ high: deep capability per resident, a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem · ▼ low: thin intensity per resident, capability is sparse relative to the population |
| MDI Metro Agentic | 47.9 | Strong · #46/162 | High here, agents are widely deployed locally, a near-term productivity multiplier. ▲ high: agents are widely deployed locally, a near-term productivity multiplier · ▼ low: agentic deployment is shallow, the local agent lever is under-used |
| Talent Talent | 40.6 | Moderate · #93/162 | Mid-pack. High would mean a deep talent pool, the scarcest input to building AI; low would mean a shallow talent base that constrains how much can be built locally. ▲ high: a deep talent pool, the scarcest input to building AI · ▼ low: a shallow talent base that constrains how much can be built locally |
| Capital Capital | 41.2 | Strong · #45/162 | High here, abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure. ▲ high: abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure · ▼ low: thin investment, good ideas struggle to scale locally |
| Research Research | 47.7 | Moderate · #55/162 | Mid-pack. High would mean a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people; low would mean a weak research base, fewer home-grown breakthroughs and spinouts. ▲ high: a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people · ▼ low: a weak research base, fewer home-grown breakthroughs and spinouts |
| Infrastructure Infrastructure | 72.9 | Strong · #46/162 | High here, the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place. ▲ high: the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place · ▼ low: infrastructure gaps cap how much AI can actually be run locally |
| Agentic Agentic | 47.9 | Strong · #46/162 | High here, agents are actively deployed, an early-mover productivity edge. ▲ high: agents are actively deployed, an early-mover productivity edge · ▼ low: little agentic deployment, the near-term lever is unused |
Strengths to build on
- Capital (41.2, Strong), abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure.
- Infrastructure (72.9, Strong), the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place.
- Agentic (47.9, Strong), agents are actively deployed, an early-mover productivity edge.
Risk factors
- No acute structural gaps stand out across the metro pillars.
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Metro values are curated estimates (v1) on a consistent global scale, not yet measured sub-national data.