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H-E-B soars to No. 2 in Forbes' prestigious list of best employers in Texas

It's a blast to work at H-E-B.

Courtesy of H-E-B

San Antonio continues to prove it hosts the best of the best employers in Texas as the statewide grocery chain H-E-B moves into the coveted No. 2 spot on Forbes' 2023 list of "America’s Best Employers By State."

The highly anticipated list, published August 22, is a collaboration between Forbes and Statista to survey the satisfaction levels of tens of thousands of workers employed by national companies.

In addition to being based in San Antonio, H-E-B operates more than 300 stores in Texas and employs 154,000 people. Its mammoth presence throughout the state — coupled with a great work environment and advancement opportunities — is what propels it to the top year after year. The ranking is a seven-place improvement from its No. 9 rank in 2022.

It gives back to the community, too. Earlier this year, H-E-B and its Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust collaborated to support San Antonio Zoo's "Generation Zoo" master plan with a combined total of $3 million in donations. The partnership solidifies H-E-B's commitment to San Antonio families and the city's public education sector.

"As longtime supporters of San Antonio Zoo, H-E-B is excited to be a part of this transformative effort," said Winell Herron, Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity, and Environmental Affairs in a press release. "We’re proud our gift will support the zoo’s vision to expand conservation and education opportunities while creating beautiful spaces that will continue to welcome families for generations to come."

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio also received high praise, coming in at No. 26 overall. The only employer that scored higher than H-E-B was Nasa, in Houston.

Although Forbes explains that the national list isn't the same as their best large employers list, it's meant to serve as an in-depth analysis of companies that are "closer-to-home options for every American worker."

Forbes and Statista determined their rankings by surveying 70,000 Americans working at employers in the U.S. with at least 500 employees each. The final list features 1,392 highly recommended employers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 270 employers ranked highly in multiple states.

Here are the 30 best large employers in Texas, as determined by Forbes and Statista:

San Antonio:

No. 2 – H-E-B (based in San Antonio; more than 300 stores in Texas)
No. 26 – University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Houston area:

No. 1 – NASA (based in Washington, D.C.; Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake)
No. 4 – Houston Community College
No. 5 – Houston Methodist
No. 6 – Texas Children's Hospital
No. 18 – National Oilwell Varco
No. 19 – Bechtel (based in Reston, Virginia; major corporate hub in Houston)

Dallas-Fort Worth:

No. 6 – Texas Oncology, based in Dallas
No. 9 – Fidelity Investments (based in Boston; major corporate hub in Westlake)
No. 14 – Capital One (based in Richmond, Virginia; major corporate hub in Plano)
No. 17 – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas
No. 22 – Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas
No. 24 – Texas Health Resources, based in Arlington
No. 25 – General Motors (based in Detroit, Michigan; major assembly hub in Arlington)
No. 27 – City of Plano
No. 28 – Toyota North America, based in Plano

Austin:

No. 3 – Google (based in Mountain View, California; major corporate hub in Austin)
No. 13 – Apple (based in Cupertino, California; major corporate hub in Austin)

Throughout Texas:

No. 8 – Salesforce (based in San Francisco, California; offices in Austin and Dallas)
No. 10 – IKEA (based in Sweden; five stores in Texas)
No. 11 – Costco (based in Issaquah, Washington; 38 stores in Texas)
No. 15 – Cardinal Health (based in Dublin, Ohio; 23 locations in Texas)
No. 16 – Microsoft (based in Redmond, Washington; offices in Austin, Dallas, Friendswood, Frisco, Houston, San Antonio, and The Woodlands)
No. 20 – Leidos (based in Reston, Virginia; locations in San Antonio, Houston, and Webster)
No. 21 – Cisco Systems (based in San Jose, California; offices in Austin, Dallas, Irving, Richardson, Houston, Laredo, and San Antonio)
No. 23 – IBM (based in Armonk, New York; offices in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Frisco)
No. 29 – Nike (based in Beaverton, Oregon; 26 locations in Texas)
No. 30 – Charles Schwab (based in San Francisco, California; 25 locations in Texas)

forbes reports Best Employers texas san antonio h-e-b lists jobs

Red Light

San Antonio City Council votes to end horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

Life for a horse in San Antonio is about to look a lot different. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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