Texas is trying to become America’s next financial hub

The next financial capital of the United States may not be Wall Street, but Y’all Street. Texas has been priming itself to become a major hub for finance, with investors in the Lone Star State working to usurp a share of the stock market from New York City. And it appears these efforts may be paying off, as a slew of stock indexes are set to open in Texas in early 2026. While Wall Street may still reserve its place as the epicenter of global finance, experts say Texas is making a play for the top.

A trio of stock indexes

As of now, at least three major stock indexes, the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq have “announced plans to open stock exchanges in Dallas,” said the Texas Standard. The upstart TXSE plans to begin operations next year and begin trading by the end of 2026. The TXSE is “backed by more than $160 million from major investment firms,” said the University of Texas at Arlington. It is expected to “facilitate the listing of relatively smaller companies,” unlike Wall Street stock exchanges, which have strict requirements for corporations to be listed.

But the TXSE will have competitors, as the NYSE has “announced it would reincorporate its Chicago electronic exchange and move it to Dallas, branding it NYSE Texas,” said The Texas Tribune. And right alongside NYSE Texas, the Nasdaq is also making a move in the Lone Star State, launching a “new exchange building on Nasdaq’s existing presence in the state,” said The Dallas Morning News. The Nasdaq “already has more than 200 listed companies in the state, representing nearly $2 trillion in market cap.”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

‘It’s no longer New York or nowhere’

All three of the exchanges are “electronic, and that means there won’t be any hectic trading floor in Dallas with brokers shouting out numbers,” said the Texas Standard. But their existence provides evidence that “Dallas and the overall Texas economy is rapidly growing,” and the “consumption market is also expanding” as more opportunities come to Texas, said Bulent Temel, an assistant economics professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, to the outlet.

There has already been a “high tendency for spending money in Texas” due to an influx of businesses, Temel told the Texas Standard, which in turn can provide jobs in the financial sector. When it “comes to finance, it’s no longer New York or nowhere,” said Business Insider, and this goes beyond just stock exchanges themselves. There is also a “growing list of Wall Street names betting on Texas, drawn by low taxes, light regulations, and a cheaper cost of living.” Banks and financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab have all expanded Texas operations in recent years.

This “shift is a result of a diversified economy, a deep bench of talent and a policy environment built to support growth,” said Texas Capital Bank. Y’all Street is now “home to more than 380,000 financial professionals making deals, advising clients and building the next chapter of Texas business.” The surge in exchanges coming to Dallas shows that “momentum is accelerating as major firms expand operations, invest in new capabilities and tap into the region’s talent pool.”