Short answer
Texas had 4,644 staffing agency establishments in 2023, second only to California, employing 330,617 people on a $14.58 billion payroll (Census County Business Patterns): 3,393 temporary help offices, 768 placement agencies and 483 executive search offices. Dallas-Fort Worth (1,642) and Houston (1,307) hold most of them. The state license that applies is for PEOs, from TDLR; day labor halls follow Labor Code Chapter 92.
- 4,644 staffing establishments in Texas employ 330,617 people, 8.96% of US staffing establishments.
- Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio hold 3,800 of the 4,644 offices (82%).
- 227 statewide establishments with no single county carry 129,394 employees, 39% of the state total.
- Four SEC-registered companies in the staffing codes are headquartered in Texas, led by Insperity at $6.81 billion in 2025 revenue.
- Texas also has 461 PEO establishments with about 285,000 employees, counted separately.
On this page
- Texas staffing agencies by the numbers
- Why the headcount is so large
- Where they are
- How big they are
- Public staffing companies headquartered in Texas
- Texas rules at a glance
- Choosing an agency in Texas
- Worked example: sizing a Texas territory
- Selling to Texas staffing agencies
- State sources
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This report is for Texas employers and job seekers looking for an agency, analysts sizing the state's staffing industry, and B2B sellers planning a Texas territory. For a city, start with the metro reports linked below.
Texas staffing agencies by the numbers
Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, state of Texas, NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).
| Measure (2023) | Texas |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 4,644 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 330,617 |
| Annual payroll | $14,579,827,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 71.2 |
| Average annual pay | $44,099 |
| Share of US establishments | 8.96% of 51,830 |
| Rank among states by establishments | 2nd |
| Industry (2023) | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary help services (561320) | 3,393 | 297,444 | $12,877,988,000 |
| Employment placement agencies (561311) | 768 | 29,541 | $1,232,105,000 |
| Executive search services (561312) | 483 | 3,632 | $469,734,000 |
Why the headcount is so large
Two things push the employee count up. First, a temp agency employs the people it places, so its temps are counted on its payroll: temp help holds 90% of the state's staffing employees. Second, the Census Bureau notes that employment services firms may pay many workers, "many thousands" in some cases, from a single payroll office, and may publish them in a "statewide" category when they serve several counties. In Texas, 227 statewide establishments, not assigned to any county, carry 129,394 employees: 39% of the total. That's why the metro figures below add up to far fewer employees than the state.
Where they are
| Metro area (2023) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 1,642 | 76,641 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | 1,307 | 54,529 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | 537 | 20,063 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | 314 | 16,968 |
| El Paso | 82 | 6,105 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 47 | 3,505 |
| Corpus Christi | 33 | 971 |
| Laredo | 31 | 1,765 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 30 | 2,629 |
The four largest metros hold 3,800 of the 4,644 establishments, 82%. For local detail, see the reports on Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Corpus Christi.
How big they are
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,840 |
| 5 to 9 | 468 |
| 10 to 19 | 424 |
| 20 to 49 | 635 |
| 50 to 99 | 493 |
| 100 to 249 | 483 |
| 250 to 499 | 188 |
| 500 to 999 | 79 |
| 1,000 or more | 34 |
In broader bands: 2,732 establishments have 1 to 19 employees, 1,128 have 20 to 99 and 784 have 100 or more. The 500 to 999 figure includes 2 placement agencies that the Census Bureau doesn't publish in that class; we derived them as the placement total less its published classes. Of the 113 establishments with 500 or more employees, 108 are temp help.
These are establishments with paid employees, not companies, so a national brand with 60 Texas branches counts 60 times, and self-employed recruiters are left out.
Public staffing companies headquartered in Texas
SEC company records list four listed companies in the staffing industry codes (SIC 7361 to 7363) with a Texas headquarters. Each figure is from the company's latest 10-K.
| Company | Headquarters | Revenue, 2025 | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insperity, Inc. (NYSE: NSP) | Kingwood (Houston area) | $6,812 million | Professional employer organization: HR, payroll and benefits for small and mid-sized businesses |
| AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AMN) | Dallas | $2,730.4 million | Healthcare staffing: nurse and allied, physician and leadership, and technology and workforce solutions |
| TTEC Holdings (Nasdaq: TTEC) | Austin | $2,137 million | Customer experience technology and outsourcing, classified by the SEC under help supply services |
| BGSF, Inc. (NYSE: BGSF) | Dallas | $93.3 million | Staffing for the property management industry, after selling its professional segment in September 2025 |
Only AMN and BGSF are staffing agencies in the usual sense. Insperity's PEO business falls in NAICS 56133, which isn't in the counts above, and TTEC runs contact centers.
Texas rules at a glance
| Rule | Where it's covered |
|---|---|
| A temporary help firm is the employer of its temps for unemployment tax (Labor Code 201.029) | Austin report |
| A temp agency chooses whether to carry workers' compensation; its certificate covers the client too (Labor Code 93.004) | Austin report |
| Day labor halls ("temporary common worker employers") must meet labor hall requirements and may not make certain charges and deductions (Labor Code Chapter 92) | Dallas report |
| PEOs need a full or limited license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | Houston report and the TDLR license search |
Choosing an agency in Texas
- Start local. Use the metro reports above, ClearlyRated's city listings and the ASA member directory to build a shortlist near your site.
- Check the entity on the Comptroller's franchise tax account status search or the Secretary of State's SOSDirect.
- Ask for the workers' compensation certificate. In Texas, coverage is the agency's choice, so don't assume it.
- If it's a PEO, check the TDLR license.
- Compare pay rate, markup, overtime billing and conversion fees as separate lines, and call two references.
Job seekers: a temp agency is paid by its client and shouldn't charge you to register.
Worked example: sizing a Texas territory
Illustrative example. The vendor, prices and win rates are invented; the counts are Census figures for temp help offices.
Lone Star Safety Training (lonestarsafety.example) sells site safety programs to temp branches and is deciding where to point two new reps.
| Target | Temp offices in Texas | Assumed annual win rate | Assumed annual contract | Expected new revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All temp offices with 20 or more employees | 1,646 | 2% | $6,000 | $197,520 |
| Temp offices with 100 or more employees | 709 | 4% | $12,000 | $340,320 |
The narrower list is less than half the size and, on these assumptions, worth 72% more, because big branches buy bigger programs and decide faster. The total addressable market for the small package across all 1,646 offices is $9.9 million a year. Check your own win rates before you copy the split; see total addressable market for the method.
Selling to Texas staffing agencies
| Segment | Size | What they buy |
|---|---|---|
| Large temp branches | 709 temp offices with 100 or more employees | Workers' compensation, safety, screening, timekeeping, transport |
| Small and mid-sized agencies | 2,732 offices with fewer than 20 employees | Payroll, job ads, applicant tracking, funding |
| Search and placement firms | 1,251 offices | Candidate data, sourcing tools, assessments |
| PEOs | 461 establishments, counted separately | Benefits, insurance, HR and payroll technology |
Many large branches belong to national brands that buy centrally, so map each branch to its parent before you assign it to a rep. Bebop finds matching agencies and contacts across the state and researches each account. For territory design, use the territory plan template.
State sources
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Texas franchise tax account status | Whether a business entity is active |
| Texas Secretary of State SOSDirect | Business filings and registered agents |
| TDLR professional employer organizations | PEO licenses and license search |
| ASA member directory | Association members by location and job field |
Next step: compare Texas with the largest staffing state in staffing agencies in California.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns methodology, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Insperity, Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), filed 11 February 2026
- AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), filed 20 February 2026
- TTEC Holdings, Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), filed 26 February 2026
- BGSF, Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 28 December 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), filed 30 March 2026
- Texas Labor Code Chapter 92, Temporary Common Worker Employers, Public.Law, from Texas Legislature Online, accessed 30 October 2026
- Texas Labor Code section 201.029, Temporary Help Firm, Public.Law, from Texas Legislature Online, accessed 30 October 2026
- Texas Labor Code section 93.004, Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage, Public.Law, from Texas Legislature Online, accessed 30 October 2026
- Professional Employer Organizations, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many staffing agencies are there in Texas?
Census County Business Patterns counted 4,644 staffing agency establishments in Texas in 2023, the second most of any state after California. They employed 330,617 people: 3,393 temporary help offices, 768 employment placement agencies and 483 executive search offices. The count is of locations with paid employees, so national firms count once per branch, and professional employer organizations are counted separately.
Do staffing agencies need a license in Texas?
The staffing-type license Texas issues is for professional employer organizations: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation grants full and limited PEO licenses and has a public license search. Ordinary temp and placement agencies don't hold it. Day labor halls, which Texas calls temporary common worker employers, must follow Labor Code Chapter 92. Every agency still needs an active business entity and tax accounts.
Which staffing companies are headquartered in Texas?
SEC records show four listed companies in the staffing industry codes with Texas headquarters: Insperity of Kingwood ($6.81 billion in 2025 revenue, a PEO), AMN Healthcare of Dallas ($2.73 billion, healthcare staffing), TTEC Holdings of Austin ($2.14 billion, customer experience outsourcing) and BGSF of Dallas ($93.3 million, property management staffing). Each figure is from its latest 10-K.
Which Texas city has the most staffing agencies?
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, with 1,642 staffing establishments and 76,641 employees in 2023, followed by Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands with 1,307 and 54,529. Austin had 537 and San Antonio 314. Together the four metros held 82% of the state's staffing establishments, according to Census County Business Patterns.
Why don't Texas metro staffing figures add up to the state total?
Because many staffing employees are reported in a statewide category. The Census Bureau says employment services firms may pay many thousands of workers from one payroll office and may publish them as statewide when they serve several counties. In Texas, 227 statewide establishments carried 129,394 employees in 2023, 39% of the state's staffing employment, without being assigned to any county or metro.