Market report · Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
The State of Outbound Sales in Houston, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro right now: who the buyers are, which trades have room, what is being built, what a rep costs to hire here. Then a 4-tool kit to work the market this month.
- 15,698business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #5 of our 100 metros
- 8.4buyer sites per commercial landscaping contractor, #4 of 100 markets: the best rank of any trade here
Sites: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; rank among the 100 metros on our market pages. Room: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 sites per contractor in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1, among markets with at least 10 contractors.
Executive summary Read this if nothing else
5 things to know about outbound sales in Houston
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 5,101 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Houston-Pasadena, ahead of retail stores (3,225).
Where the metro leans
Nonresidential building owners: 2.00x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: commercial property managers (1.63x) and warehousing and distribution (1.51x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Landscaping: #4 of 100 markets
8.4 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 1,007 local commercial landscaping contractors. The most crowded is commercial HVAC & mechanical, #76 of 100.
Biggest reason to call
MD Anderson Patient Care Building 1, $2.9 billion
Approved. One of 4 named, sourced projects in this report.
Hiring locally
$124,700 for an in-house SDR's first year (illustrative)
At a $55,000 base salary, once commission, payroll taxes and benefits, tools, recruiting and training, turnover and manager time are added, before ramp time.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1; project sources as of 2026-09; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Full list at the end.
Chapter 01 The market
Who buys in Houston-Pasadena
15,698 business sites in Houston-Pasadena have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #5 of the 100 metros we publish. Here is what those buyers are and where they sit.
The largest buyer categories
Sites with 20 or more people are the ones worth an SDR's time: big enough to have a facility lead, a service budget and a contract that comes up for renewal. The "vs. U.S. mix" column compares each category's share of local employment with its national share (1.00x is the U.S. average).
| Category | Sites with 20+ | All sites | vs. U.S. mix | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RestaurantsLargest pool | 5,101 | 14,546 | 1.31x | +60 |
| Retail stores | 3,225 | 20,204 | 1.28x | -232 |
| Manufacturing plants | 1,794 | 5,739 | 1.27x | -32 |
| Wholesale distributors | 1,607 | 9,596 | 1.20x | -205 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 1,581 | 16,128 | 1.44x | +182 |
| Grocery stores | 574 | 3,272 | 1.32x | -63 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 375 | 2,703 | 0.26x | +3 |
| Senior living and nursing | 347 | 843 | 0.63x | -3 |
| Trucking companies | 321 | 3,072 | 0.99x | -79 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 296 | 3,725 | 1.25x | +48 |
Houston-Pasadena leans toward nonresidential building owners (2.00x), commercial property managers (1.63x) and warehousing and distribution (1.51x). A trade that already sells to those buyers elsewhere has a deeper pool here than the national numbers suggest, and a case study from one of them travels well on the phone.
It is thinner than the U.S. mix in churches and religious organizations (0.26x) and hosting and data processing companies (0.49x). A program built around those buyers runs out of fresh accounts sooner here.
Growing fastest over the past year, by establishment count: medical, dental and outpatient offices (+182), commercial property managers (+85) and restaurants (+60). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 10 counties in this report's counts.
Harris County, Fort Bend County and Montgomery County hold 89% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Harris CountyStart here | 11,166 | 71% |
| Fort Bend County | 1,435 | 9% |
| Montgomery County | 1,337 | 9% |
| Brazoria County | 646 | 4% |
| Galveston County | 622 | 4% |
| Waller County | 96 | 1% |
| Liberty County | 82 | 1% |
| Chambers County | 79 | 1% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Houston
Buyer sites per contractor is a rough read on how crowded a trade is: more sites for each local competitor means more doors nobody else is knocking on. Each trade's Houston figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial LandscapingMost room | #4 of 100 | 8.4 | 1,007 | 0 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #9 of 86 | 96 | 90 | -3 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #11 of 100 | 5.6 | 1,055 | -17 |
| Commercial Flooring | #12 of 68 | 95 | 56 | -2 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #28 of 94 | 48 | 177 | +8 |
| Fire Protection | #39 of 96 | 46 | 211 | -3 |
| Managed Service Providers | #42 of 100 | 3.0 | 2,994 | +18 |
| Commercial Construction | #55 of 100 | 4.5 | 1,044 | +4 |
| Commercial Electrical | #60 of 100 | 9.8 | 721 | 0 |
| Commercial Roofing | #64 of 89 | 55 | 159 | +6 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #76 of 100 | 8.1 | 615 | +2 |
Commercial landscaping (#4), commercial painting & coatings (#9) and commercial cleaning & janitorial (#11) rank best in Houston. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Commercial HVAC & mechanical is the most crowded trade here, #76 of 100: 8.1 buyer sites for each of 615 local mechanical contractors. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Commercial cleaning & janitorial (-17) and commercial painting & coatings (-3) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Managed service providers (+18) and paving & asphalt (+8) added them.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Houston yet. We take one client per trade per territory, so ask before you plan around it.
Chapter 03 The projects
What is being built, and who owns the buildings
4 named, sourced projects and 7 anchor owners in Houston-Pasadena. Each one is a reason to call that has nothing to do with your company and everything to do with the buyer's building.
The projects
- 01 · $2.9 billion MD Anderson Patient Care Building 1 Approved A 25-floor clinical tower and a standalone Therapeutic Radiation Center for MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Texas Medical Center, Houston. UT System regents approved the budget in May 2026, with later construction stages expected to start in early 2027 and final completion stretching into the early 2030s. Expect years of hospital-grade mechanical, electrical, and fire protection packages, followed by clinical cleaning and flooring contracts as floors turn over. Connect CRE, 2026-05-22
- 02 · $2B bond authorization George R. Brown Convention Center expansion (GRB South) Bonds approved; phase 1 targeted for 2028 Expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, adding new event halls, a large ballroom, restaurant and retail space, and a 100,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza toward Toyota Center. Houston City Council approved $2 billion in bonds in February 2026 for work running through 2038, with the first phase due by 2028. Large-venue HVAC, electrical, and fire protection work comes first, then plaza paving and landscaping and recurring cleaning for a high-traffic public venue. Community Impact, 2026-02-13
- 03 · More than 714,000 sq ft Gateway 1960 Under construction; delivery Q3 2027 A three-building Class A industrial park on FM 1960 near Aldine Westfield Road in north Houston, Harris County, aimed at distribution, air cargo and logistics users. Construction started in August 2026 with delivery planned for the third quarter of 2027. Tilt-wall warehouse shells create roofing, site paving, and electrical work now, and tenant fit-outs will add HVAC, fire sprinkler, and landscaping contracts as space leases. Portman (company press release), 2026-08-17
- 04 · 110,000 sq ft TRG Datacenters HOU2 Under construction; operational Q4 2026 A 24 MW colocation data center at 2626 Spring Cypress Road in Spring, Harris County, built for high-density AI racks with closed-loop dry-chiller cooling. Ground broke in November 2025 and the facility is due to go live in the fourth quarter of 2026. Data center work is heavy on electrical distribution, cooling, and fire suppression, and the finished building needs ongoing mechanical service and specialized cleaning. Business Wire (TRG Datacenters press release), 2025-11-18
Projects current as of 2026-09; each source is linked on its card. Values are as reported by the source.
The anchor owners
Health systems, campuses, large employers and industrial parks hold the biggest concentrations of commercial buildings in Houston-Pasadena. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Houston, Harris County
Memorial Hermann Health System
Memorial Hermann lists 17 hospitals (14 owned or operated and 3 joint ventures), more than 280 care delivery sites and 35,000+ employees.
Hospitals and care sites spread across the region give one owner a long list of buildings needing HVAC, life-safety, cleaning, flooring and roofing work.
Memorial HermannHealth system · Houston, Harris County
Texas Medical Center
Texas Medical Center reports 10,000 total patient beds, 54 million developed square feet and 120,000+ total employees across its campus.
Dozens of member hospitals, research buildings and garages inside one district create continuous mechanical, electrical, cleaning and parking-structure work.
Texas Medical CenterCampus · Houston, Harris County
University of Houston
The University of Houston reports 48,950 students and 895 acres over 4 locations.
Classroom, lab, housing and athletic buildings on several campuses need HVAC service, cleaning, grounds care and roof work.
University of HoustonMajor employer · Spring, Harris County
ExxonMobil campus at City Place
Community Impact reports ExxonMobil planned to relocate its corporate headquarters from Irving to its existing 385-acre campus in City Place, which opened in 2014 and can accommodate up to 10,000 employees and visitors.
A 385-acre office campus with parking structures and landscaped grounds needs janitorial, HVAC, landscape and paving work.
Community ImpactAirport · Houston, Harris County
Houston Airports (IAH and HOU)
Houston Airports says George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby served 62 million passengers in 2025 and handled a record 562,809 metric tons of air cargo.
Terminals, cargo buildings, garages and airfield support facilities at two airports need cleaning, HVAC, electrical and pavement work.
Houston AirportsLogistics hub · Houston, Harris County
Port Houston
Port Houston owns and operates the eight public facilities along the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel, including the area's largest breakbulk facility and two container terminals.
Terminals, warehouses and yard pavement along the ship channel, plus the distribution buildings that cluster near them, need paving, roofing, electrical and fire protection work.
Port HoustonIndustrial park · Houston, Harris County
Generation Park
ConstructConnect describes Generation Park as a 4,300-acre park northeast of Houston, selected by Eli Lilly and by Bristol Myers Squibb for new pharmaceutical facilities.
Biomanufacturing plants, labs and flex buildings going up in one master-planned park bring new-build, electrical, mechanical and site-work demand.
ConstructConnect (Daily Commercial News)Anchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial Electrical | 9 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 9 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 8 |
| Fire Protection | 7 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 6 |
| Commercial Roofing | 4 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 3 |
| Commercial Construction | 3 |
| Commercial Flooring | 2 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Houston selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Houston-Pasadena metro's counties, month by month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail and damaging wind reportstotal, 2015 to 2024 | 52 | 11 | 72 | 198 | 196 | 77 | 10 | 21 | 13 | 32 | 1 | 17 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 26 | 32 | 85 | 145 | 342 | 500 | 583 | 592 | 437 | 204 | 63 | 16 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 399 | 261 | 150 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 170 | 336 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 63 | 67 | 73 | 79 | 85 | 91 | 93 | 94 | 89 | 82 | 72 | 65 |
NOAA logged 234 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 466 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #19 of 100 markets for hail and #40 for wind. April, May and June carried 67% of the reports. Storm calls are a real door-opener here, and the contractor who is already known before the season gets the inspection.
The metro averages 3,026 cooling degree days a year (#10 of 97 markets) and 1,366 heating degree days (#87 of 97). Cooling load peaks in May, June, July, August and September; heating in January, February and December. Peak months are when HVAC calls lead with service and response times; the rest of the year they lead with planned work and budgets.
Every month averages a high of 60°F or more, so exterior painting, paving and landscaping work is not squeezed into a short season here. The calendar that matters is each property's contract and budget date.
Trades with no weather season
Cleaning, construction, electrical, flooring and fire protection sell on contract end dates, budgets and inspection cycles. Learn each account's date on the first call and come back before it.
Roofing demand spikes after hail and wind events, when owners want an inspection and documentation for their insurer, so be the known contractor before the storm, not one of many calling after it. Planned work follows each owner's budget: inspections feed capital requests, and replacements are approved ahead of installation. Outbound runs every month, keyed to each building's roof age and budget date.
Chapter 05 The numbers
What one meeting takes, trade by trade
What booking a meeting has taken on our own calling floor for the trades we run in Houston, next to the records we can prospect here. The sales center figures are national; it does not break them out by city yet.
| Trade | Dials per appointment | Reached proposal | Proposals won | Dials for 10 meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire ProtectionFastest to book | 78 | 21.6% | 13.2% | about 780 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 86 | 32.2% | 7.4% | about 860 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 88 | 18.8% | 12.7% | about 880 |
| Commercial Electrical | 96 | 14.6% | 21.1% | about 960 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 98 | 16.6% | 24.9% | about 980 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 115 | 31.2% | 14.4% | about 1,150 |
| Commercial Flooring | 122 | 30.8% | 9.8% | about 1,220 |
| Commercial Roofing | 140 | 25.9% | 16.1% | about 1,400 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 142 | 23.9% | 21.7% | about 1,420 |
| Managed Service Providers | 162 | 10.0% | 20.5% | about 1,620 |
All of these trades together: 122 dials per appointment
The records behind a Houston program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Houston-The Woodlands territory.
- 17,209Commercial Roofing
- 17,209Commercial Construction
- 8,479Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 5,154Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial
Source: Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: estimated decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each program in the territory. Shown for the programs the count covers.
Read it this way
Divide the records by the dials one meeting takes and you see how long a list lasts before it repeats. A thin list means a program has to work every record well, not just call more.
Chapter 06 Build or buy
What an in-house SDR costs in Houston
Before you hire a sales development rep in Houston, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 28,720 people hold the role in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro, and every one of their employers is competing for the same hires.
| Cost | Year one |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $55,000 |
| Commission and bonus | $15,000 |
| Payroll taxes and benefits (25% of pay) | $17,500 |
| Tools and data ($550 a month) | $6,600 |
| Recruiting and training | $7,000 |
| Turnover (35% a year, rehiring) | $2,450 |
| Manager and QA time (5 hours a week) and admin (4 hours a month) | $21,150 |
| Total, before ramp time | $124,700 |
Headcount: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091). The cost lines are the starting values of our SDR cost calculator: $15,000 commission, 25% payroll taxes and benefits, $550 a month in tools, $7,000 recruiting and training, 35% yearly turnover, and manager, QA and admin time. Change any of them there.
$124,700
for one in-house SDR's first year at a $55,000 base salary.
That buys one rep. It does not buy the list, the manager's coaching system or cover when the rep leaves.
Part two Apply this
The Houston market toolkit
4 working tools built from the chapters above. Tick the boxes as you go (they stay ticked in this browser), copy the scripts into your CRM, or save the whole guide as a PDF and print this part as a worksheet.
Tool 01
Account scorecard
Before an account goes on the call list, check every line that fits. Call the accounts with the most ticks first, and leave the ones with none for later.
Tool 02
Discovery question bank
Ask fewer, better questions. Pick three or four for the call and save the rest for the meeting. Each one comes with the reason it earns its place.
Restaurants: 5,101 sites here
From our fire protection talk track. Staying open and passing inspection. Multi-unit operators are worth more than single locations.
- When was your hood suppression system last inspected, and when is the next one due?Due dates tell you when to call and what to offer.
- Have you had a failed inspection or a citation recently?Failed inspections threaten the ability to stay open and create urgency.
- How many locations do you operate, and does each one use a different vendor?Multi-unit operators are more valuable and often want one vendor across locations.
Retail stores: 3,225 sites here
From our painting talk track. Night work that does not close the store. Chains often run repaints as multi-site programs from regional facilities.
- Is painting bought store by store or through a regional or national remodel program?Program work needs a different contact and often a vendor registration process.
- Can the work be done overnight without closing the store?Night work capability is often the deciding factor for retail painting.
- Are remodels, brand refreshes or new stores planned in this area?Planned programs give you a timeline and a defined scope.
Manufacturing plants: 1,794 sites here
From our painting talk track. Coating performance and shutdown windows. Ask what surfaces are failing and when the next shutdown is.
- Which surfaces are failing, such as floors, structural steel, tanks or equipment?Failing coatings define the scope and show whether this is a specialty coatings job.
- When is the next planned shutdown?Shutdown windows decide when the work happens and when you need to have the job won.
- Do customer or safety audits look at striping, floor markings or corrosion?Audit findings create urgency and a clear reason to fund the work.
Any first meeting
Plain practice that works in every market.
- How are you handling this today, and what would you change about it?The gap between today and what they want is the whole reason to meet.
- What happens if nothing changes this year?Tells you whether there is a cost to waiting, or only curiosity.
- Who else would need to agree before anything moves?Names the people who can stall the deal, while you can still invite them.
- When does the current contract or budget come up for review?Gives you the date to plan around, even when the answer today is no.
- What would make a first meeting worth your time?Lets the buyer set the agenda, which is the agenda they will show up for.
Tool 03
Trigger watchlist
Each of these changes gives a buyer a reason to take the call this month instead of next year. Tick the ones you will track, and set a news alert or CRM field for each so you hear about it first.
Tool 04
30-day action plan
4 weeks, 15 steps, nothing you need to buy. Tick each one off as you finish it; your progress stays in this browser.
Week 1Draw the territory
Week 2Check the rules, then write the talk track
Week 3Make the calls
Week 4Measure and decide
Sources and notes
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023: business sites by category, size and county, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1: contractor establishments, one-year change and concentration (location quotient).
- Projects: named public sources linked on each card, current as of 2026-09.
- Anchor owners: sources linked on each card, checked 2026-10.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2015 to 2024: hail and damaging wind reports by month across the metro's counties.
- NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county monthly series, 1991-2020 averages: degree days and average highs by month.
- Abstrakt sales center, Performance Intelligence, national, as of October 2026: dials, appointments, proposals and wins by trade. Method.
- Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: decision-maker records per program in the Houston-The Woodlands territory.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025: Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091).
- The toolkit's discovery questions come from our trade talk tracks; the plan and checklists are sales practice, not data.
