Jobs & Economy in The Woodlands
The Woodlands is a genuine, independent corporate-employment center within the Houston metro, not merely a bedroom suburb -- ExxonMobil's roughly 10,000-employee campus, Chevron Phillips Chemical's global headquarters, the former Anadarko Petroleum towers (now Occidental-leased, Howard Hughes-owned), and Woodforest National Bank's headquarters all sit here or immediately adjacent, alongside a broader base including Huntsman, Baker Hughes, McKesson, and Entergy Texas offices. The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro-area unemployment rate ran 4.3%-4.4% in March-April 2026, a metro-wide figure that is not Woodlands-specific but is the best-sourced proxy available.
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Learn moreExxonMobil: A Legacy-Sourced but Real Anchor Employer
ExxonMobil relocated roughly 10,000 employees to a ~385-acre campus adjacent to The Woodlands starting in 2014, per the base place record's sourcing (Pickard Chilton project profile and regional business press, confidence flagged as low there since it's a legacy figure from the original relocation, not a re-verified current 2026 headcount). The campus sits less than 6 miles from The Woodlands Town Center, per 2026 sourcing reviewed this session -- close enough that it functions as a de facto Woodlands-area employer even though its formal address is in unincorporated Spring, not The Woodlands proper.
Chevron Phillips Chemical: A True Local Headquarters, Recently Renovated
Chevron Phillips Chemical's global headquarters has been based in The Woodlands since 2002, and the company completed a $60 million renovation project moving into a new six-story headquarters building by early 2025, per Houston Chronicle coverage. The company (a 50-50 joint venture of Chevron and Phillips 66) employs roughly 37,000 people globally; a separate, narrower figure of 603 local Woodlands-based employees was cited by one aggregator, though that figure's scope (a specific filing or location count, versus the full local headquarters headcount) was not independently confirmed this session -- disclosed rather than treated as the definitive local number.
The Former Anadarko Towers: A Real Corporate-History Footnote With Current Relevance
Anadarko Petroleum, founded in 1959, was headquartered in The Woodlands' Allison and Hackett Towers before Occidental Petroleum completed its acquisition of the company in August 2019. Howard Hughes Corporation later purchased both the former Anadarko towers (since renamed The Woodlands Towers at The Waterway) and the former ConocoPhillips campus from Occidental for a combined $565 million, with Occidental retaining a 13-year lease in the renamed towers -- meaning the buildings remain active, occupied office space rather than a vacated legacy site, even though the "Anadarko" name itself is now historical.
Woodforest National Bank, Huntsman, and the Broader Employer Base
Woodforest National Bank, a community bank with roughly 4,500 employees and more than 740 branches across 17 states company-wide, is headquartered in The Woodlands. Huntsman Corporation, a global specialty-chemicals manufacturer, also maintains a significant local presence. Other regionally significant employers with a Woodlands-area presence cited this session include Baker Hughes, McKesson, CB&I, Halliburton, and Entergy Texas -- a genuinely diversified base beyond the headline energy names, though a fully independent, current headcount breakdown for each was not confirmed this session.
Unemployment: A Metro-Wide Figure, Not Woodlands-Specific
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area unemployment rate ran 4.40% in March 2026 and 4.3% in April 2026, per Federal Reserve (FRED/ALFRED) data -- notably lower than the standalone Houston-metro figures cited on Houston's own jobs-economy topic page (4.6% in May 2026, rising to 5.2% in June 2026 per the Texas Workforce Commission). No independently sourced, Woodlands-specific unemployment figure (distinct from the full MSA) was found this session; this metro-wide rate is disclosed as the best available proxy, not a precise local number.
Key takeaways
- The Woodlands functions as a genuine, independent corporate-employment hub, not just a Houston bedroom suburb -- ExxonMobil (~10,000-employee campus, legacy 2014 figure), Chevron Phillips Chemical (true local global HQ since 2002, new HQ tower completed ~early 2025), and Woodforest National Bank (headquartered here) anchor the base.
- The former Anadarko Petroleum towers remain active, occupied office space (renamed The Woodlands Towers at The Waterway, Howard Hughes-owned, Occidental as a 13-year tenant) rather than a vacated legacy site.
- A broader employer base -- Huntsman, Baker Hughes, McKesson, CB&I, Halliburton, Entergy Texas -- adds real diversification beyond the headline energy/chemical names.
- The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA unemployment rate ran 4.3%-4.4% in March-April 2026 (FRED/ALFRED) -- a metro-wide, not Woodlands-specific, figure, and notably better than the standalone Houston-city figures cited on Houston's own jobs-economy topic page.
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