Houston healthcare capital investment powers industry growth

Key points:

• Healthcare added 10,100 jobs in 2025, accounting for roughly two-thirds of Houston’s total employment growth.
• Major hospital expansions across Cypress, Pearland, and Lake Houston are increasing capacity alongside population gains.
• Workforce shortages in nursing and specialty care are driving new education pipelines and accelerated training programs.

February 2026 — Healthcare employment continues to anchor Houston’s labor market. The region added 14,800 nonfarm jobs in 2025, according to the Greater Houston Partnership. Healthcare accounted for the largest share of that growth. The Health Care and Social Assistance sector added 10,100 jobs, bringing total employment to 400,400 workers across the metro. Healthcare generated roughly two-thirds of all net new jobs last year.

Join us at caa’s upcoming leadership summits! These premier events bring together hundreds of public and private sector leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors. Find the next summit in a city near you!

The resilience reflects structural demand. According to the Partnership, Houston’s population exceeds 7.8 million residents and continues to grow across suburban counties, including Montgomery and Fort Bend. New housing activity in Cypress, Katy, and Pearland is expanding the patient base for healthcare facilities beyond the urban core.

Healthcare demand tracks age as well as population growth. U.S. Census Bureau data show Texans age 65 and older grew 3.8% from 2023 to 2024, faster than any other age group, according to reporting by the Texas Tribune. The state’s median age has also ticked upward since 2020. As residents live longer, national per capita medical spending rises significantly after age 60, increasing demand for clinical staff, outpatient services, and specialty care.

Looking ahead, the Partnership forecasts Metro Houston will add 30,900 jobs in 2026, and healthcare is expected to remain a primary driver of that expansion with an estimated 14,000 additional healthcare jobs.

Expansion drives headcount

Houston’s concentration of medical assets amplifies the effect. The Texas Medical Center encompasses more than 60 member institutions and supports a workforce exceeding 100,000 employees, according to its latest institutional reports. The campus records more than 10 million patient encounters annually, and the TMC3 research campus continues to attract capital investment in translational science and biotech commercialization.

The strength extends beyond the urban core. Major systems are committing hundreds of millions of dollars to new beds, expanded emergency departments, operating rooms, and multi-specialty outpatient campuses.

Houston Methodist filed plans to invest $50 million in additional build-outs at its new Cypress hospital, according to the Houston Business Journal. The 82,300-square-foot expansion will add critical care units, operating rooms, and a dialysis area. 

The hospital opened in March of 2025 as a $685 million campus with 100 beds and capacity to expand to 276, and employed 770 workers. At full build-out, officials say the campus could support nearly 3,000 employees. The system also included 113,000 square feet of shelled space reserved for future clinical growth, signaling long-term hiring plans tied to population gains along the U.S. 290 corridor.

Memorial Hermann Health System broke ground in October on a $277.5 million expansion of its Cypress hospital, including a new six-story patient tower, according to a press release from the health system. The project will increase capacity to 201 beds, with infrastructure to expand to 345 beds at full occupancy. The build-out adds 52 inpatient beds, doubles emergency room capacity, and expands operating rooms, women’s services, neonatal ICU space, and rehabilitation services. Completion is scheduled for 2027.

In Brazoria County, HCA Houston Healthcare announced a $60 million expansion of its Pearland hospital in December. The project will nearly double the facility’s size, adding 44 inpatient beds, eight new emergency treatment spaces, and upgraded operating room capacity. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026.

“This investment reflects our deep belief in the future of this region,” said Elias Armendariz, CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare Pearland, in a press release. “Pearland continues to be the number one place to live in Texas, and we are proud to be the first hospital to serve this community.”

Outpatient growth is advancing in parallel. In September, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic opened a 135,000-square-foot, five-story campus in the Lake Houston area with capacity for up to 51 providers offering multi-specialty care. The facility includes an on-site laboratory and imaging services, with space designed for future expansion into ambulatory surgery and cancer care.

“Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is focused on meeting our patients where they are and making it easier for northeast Houston-area families to get the high-quality care they need, when they need it,” said Azam Kundi, MD, chairman and CEO of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, in a press release. 

Workforce constraint emerges

National research from the Association of American Medical Colleges shows 31 of 35 physician specialties face shortages, including primary care, OB/GYN, and geriatrics. Nursing and allied health roles are also in short supply. In Texas, physician supply is projected to meet only about 75 percent of family medicine demand in the coming years.

Hospitals across the state continue to report staffing constraints. The Texas Hospital Association has warned that workforce shortages can limit usable bed capacity even when facilities have physical space.

Education steps forward

Health systems are not waiting for labor markets to correct themselves. They are building the pipeline. In The Woodlands area, Sam Houston State University partnered with four hospital systems through the Shared Nurse Academic Practice Partnership Initiative, according to Community Impact. The program pairs working nurses with faculty roles to address a statewide nursing faculty shortage. Texas faces a projected shortage of nearly 46,000 registered nurses, according to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies. Officials say faculty limitations, not student demand, cap enrollment.

Private training providers are also accelerating pathways. According to the Houston Business Journal, the College of Health Care Professions launched a new division offering employer-aligned certifications that can be completed in as little as 12 weeks for medical assistants and seven months for radiologic technologists. The goal is to upskill existing workers into patient-facing roles faster than traditional programs allow.

Higher education institutions are also investing in emerging specialties. Rice University and Houston Methodist secured National Science Foundation funding for a three-year digital health workforce initiative focused on biomedical hardware and artificial intelligence applications in care delivery, according to a press release from the university.

Additionally, workforce development is beginning earlier. Memorial Hermann Health System and Aldine Independent School District launched HEAL High School to create direct career pathways into nursing, imaging, therapy, pharmacy, and health care administration. According to the Houston Business Journal, the school enrolled more than 350 students in its first two years and is supported by a $31 million philanthropic investment.

The effort reflects a broader shift. Hospital construction adds physical capacity. Education expansion determines whether that capacity can be staffed. Training capacity is not unlimited. Clinical placements, faculty shortages, and limited rotation slots constrain how many students can move through nursing and allied health programs each year.

Houston’s healthcare systems are expanding beds, emergency departments, and specialty clinics across the metro. The next phase of growth will depend less on steel and concrete and more on how quickly the region can scale its workforce pipeline.

Want more? Read the Invest: Houston report.