as big as texas

Here's how much money the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo lassos up

The rodeo broke records for concerts and brought in hundreds of millions to Houston.

Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston

Simply brave the lines at a RodeoHouston concert or any event at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,and one thing becomes inescapably clear: business is bigger than a prize-winning steer.

To wit: This year, according to the latest data, the rodeo drew more than 2.5 million total visitors between February 21 and March 17. The rodeo also boasted more than a million unique attendees (as opposed to those who visited more than once), with 27 percent from outside Greater Houston. Visitors hailed from a total 75 countries.

Music fans will remember that the rodeo broke two records for concert attendance in 2019: Cardi B (75,580 attendees) and George Strait (80,108 attendees).

Obviously, the rodeo is a cash cow for organizers. But other than congested traffic on 610 and packed hotels, just what does Houston get out of the whole deal?

As it turns out, quite a bit, according to a new study. The 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo generated a total economic impact of $227 million, per the rodeo’s 2019 Economic Impact Study. The rodeo also provided a total economic activity of $391 million in Greater Houston.

The report, conducted by Economics Analytics Consulting, studied the rodeo’s economic impact and economic activity, according to a release. What’s the difference between impact and activity? Economic impact measures the economic effects of new spending in Greater Houston generated by visitors attending the 2019 rodeo, per the report.

Meanwhile, economic activity provides a measure of the full economic power of the rodeo by quantifying the total spending in Greater Houston generated by everyone who attends.

Here are some highlights from the report, by the numbers:

Economic impact

• Total economic impact: $227 million
• Direct spending: $133 million
(This includes hotels, food and beverages, entertainment, shopping and merchandise, horses and livestock, farm and ranch equipment, ground transportation, and event spending.)
• Total fiscal impact: $13 million
• Direct jobs: 3,694
• Total jobs supported in Greater Houston: 5,133

Economic activity

• Total economic activity: $391 million
• Direct spending: $243 million
• Total fiscal activity: $20 million
• Direct jobs: 3,694
• Total jobs supported in Greater Houston: 5,918

houston-rodeo reports

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).

as big as texas

Here's how much money the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo lassos up

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Twin burger and taco restaurants coming to Memorial City area in 2025

Michelin Guide removes shuttered Houston Vietnamese restaurant

7 hot takes on Houston's 30 restaurants in the Texas Michelin Guide