Commercial paving appointment setting in Houston: who to call first

10 things to know before prospecting paving in Houston

1. 01177 highway, street and paving contractors work the Houston-Pasadena metro (+8 in a year), about the national concentration.
2. 0248.3 larger paving-buying buildings per contractor ranks Houston #28 of 94 markets and #3 of 6 in Texas.
3. 03The biggest buyer group is retail stores: 3,225 sites with 20+ people.
4. 04Houston-Pasadena over-indexes on commercial building owners and lessors at 2.00x the national mix, so build references inside that group.
5. 05Ambulatory health care offices and clinics added 182 establishments in a year: new sites without a paving contractor relationship.
6. 06Tier 1 is 1,841 sites with 50+ people among retail stores and ambulatory health care offices and clinics; those deserve two or three contacts each.
7. 07Harris County and Fort Bend County hold 82% of the larger buildings across 9 counties.
8. 08Map the anchor owners first: ExxonMobil campus at City Place, Houston Airports (IAH and HOU) and Port Houston run the kind of facilities that use paving work.
9. 092 named projects in the metro create paving work, starting with George R. Brown Convention Center expansion (GRB South).
10. 10Dallas (229 miles) has more larger buildings per contractor, if your crews can cover it.

These are the 10 industries Abstrakt's SDRs call for paving work, with how many of each are in the Houston-Pasadena metro and who to ask for. Compared with the U.S. as a whole, Houston-Pasadena leans toward commercial building owners and lessors (2.00x), commercial property management firms (1.63x) and warehousing and distribution (1.51x). Build the list around those categories. Churches and religious organizations is thinner than the national mix, so treat it as selective targets.

1. 01
   Retail stores3,225

   Ask for: Store or regional facilities manager 1,185 with 50+ on site 1.28x U.S. mix -232 in a year
2. 02
   Ambulatory health care offices and clinics1,581

   Ask for: Practice administrator 517 with 50+ on site 1.44x U.S. mix +182 in a year
3. 03
   Apartment property management firms1,278

   Ask for: Regional property manager 1.16x U.S. mix -107 in a year
4. 04
   Commercial building owners and lessors906

   Ask for: Owner 2.00x U.S. mix -33 in a year
5. 05
   Commercial property management firms414

   Ask for: Property manager 1.63x U.S. mix +85 in a year
6. 06
   Churches and religious organizations375

   Ask for: Facilities committee chair 139 with 50+ on site 0.26x U.S. mix +3 in a year
7. 07
   Truck transportation companies321

   Ask for: Terminal manager 138 with 50+ on site 0.99x U.S. mix -79 in a year
8. 08
   Hotels278

   Ask for: Director of engineering 77 with 50+ on site 1.50x U.S. mix -18 in a year
9. 09
   Auto dealerships252

   Ask for: Dealer principal 192 with 50+ on site 1.29x U.S. mix -14 in a year
10. 10
    Warehousing and distribution170

    Ask for: Facility manager 95 with 50+ on site 1.51x U.S. mix +14 in a year

Locations are establishments with 20 or more employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023); property management and similar companies are counted in full, whatever their size. Change and concentration: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1.

177 highway, street and paving contractors are based in the Houston-Pasadena metro. 8 more opened over the past year, so buyers are fielding new names. The trade is at about the national concentration. 48.3 larger paving-buying buildings per contractor puts Houston 28 of 94 markets, and 3 of 6 in Texas. That is more room per contractor than most metros, so systematic prospecting tends to find accounts nobody is working. If you can serve Dallas and McAllen, they have more larger buildings per contractor than Houston.

Tier 1 covers retail stores, ambulatory health care offices and clinics and churches and religious organizations with 50 or more people on site.

Harris County and Fort Bend County hold 82% of the larger paving-buying sites across the 9-county metro. The other 7 counties split the remaining 18%, which is where Tier 1 accounts justify the drive and smaller sites do not.

Named, sourced projects in the metro, current as of 2026-09. Each one is a reason to call before the work is awarded.

Health systems, campuses, large employers and industrial parks hold the biggest concentrations of buildings in the metro. Each fact links to its source, checked 2026-10.

• Ambulatory health care offices and clinics: 182 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are patient complaints, accessibility review, building sale. New owners inherit a parking lot and a maintenance schedule that nobody wrote down.

• Commercial property management firms: 85 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are budget season, new property under management, tenant complaints. New owners inherit a parking lot and a maintenance schedule that nobody wrote down.

• Warehousing and distribution: 14 more establishments than a year ago

  In this category the usual openings are new tenant, lease renewal, failed pavement at docks. New owners inherit a parking lot and a maintenance schedule that nobody wrote down.

• Retail stores: 232 fewer establishments than a year ago

  Consolidation moves buildings to new owners and operators, who usually rebid service agreements.

More questions for every prospect type, and how to follow up after the meeting, are in the paving prospecting playbook.

If your crews travel, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and McAllen are the closest metros we track. Here are the same counts used above for Houston.

• Austin, TX

  64 miles away, with 3,368 larger paving-buying buildings and 91 highway, street and paving contractors, or 37.0 buildings per contractor (#62 of 94 markets); the largest buyer group is retail stores, and it over-indexes on commercial property management firms at 2.08x the national mix.

• San Antonio, TX

  153 miles away, with 3,083 larger paving-buying buildings and 100 highway, street and paving contractors, or 30.8 buildings per contractor (#77 of 94 markets); the largest buyer group is retail stores, and it over-indexes on hotels at 1.75x the national mix.

• Dallas, TX

  229 miles away, with 10,592 larger paving-buying buildings and 216 highway, street and paving contractors, or 49.0 buildings per contractor (#26 of 94 markets); the largest buyer group is retail stores, and it over-indexes on commercial building owners and lessors at 2.27x the national mix.

• McAllen, TX

  268 miles away, with 946 larger paving-buying buildings and 19 highway, street and paving contractors, or 49.8 buildings per contractor (#25 of 94 markets); the largest buyer group is retail stores, and it over-indexes on warehousing and distribution at 3.03x the national mix.

Texas has no state license for general contractors or roofers, though cities and counties may set their own requirements. TDLR licenses electrical and air conditioning/refrigeration contractors, and the State Fire Marshal's Office registers fire sprinkler and fire alarm companies.

Confirm current rules with Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.