09-30-2025
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BY TRACY IDELL HAMILTON
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock kicked off his statewide “Good for Texas Tour: Ports Edition” with a visit to Port San Antonio on Sept. 19, where he unveiled a new economic impact study showing the Port generated $20 billion in total output in 2024 — a powerful testament to its role as a statewide and global economic engine.
The study, conducted by the Comptroller’s office, found that Port San Antonio contributed $10.6 billion to Texas’ GDP and supported as many as 83,800 jobs across the state, including the 19,000 who work directly for 80-plus employers on the campus.
“Texas ports are more than points on a map; they’re economic engines for our state,” Hancock said. “Port San Antonio is a prime example of how innovation and infrastructure come together to strengthen our economy, support thousands of good jobs and keep Texas competitive on the global stage.
Average annual income, including benefits, is $111,000 for employees on the Port campus, according to an earlier analysis.
StandardAero operates one of the largest aircraft engine facilities in the world at Port San Antonio where a growing team ensures the efficiency and reliability of jet engines that power military and commercial aircrafts around the world
From Air Force Base to Innovation Hub
The event was hosted at StandardAero’s vast engine overhaul and modernization facility. Dan Gonzales, vice-president of business development at StandardAero, led Hancock and his team on a tour of the facility prior to the announcement. In San Antonio, the global company services engines for military aircraft like the C-130H, F-15, F-16, and T-38, as well as the LEAP engine for commercial aircraft including the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo.
Following his announcement, Hancock visited Boeing’s adjacent complex. Like StandardAero, Boeing was among the Port’s first tenant customers nearly 30 years ago. Today, the site has grown into the company’s largest aircraft maintenance and sustainment operation in the world, supporting an array of military and commercial aircraft, including the C-17, B-52, FA/18-Super Hornet, F-15 and 787 Dreamliner platforms. The site is also where Air Force One and other Executive Fleet transport are maintained.
Boeing 787 Dreamliners are among the many aircraft the company serves at its Port San Antonio facility.
A Decade of Growth and Vision
Port San Antonio CEO and President Jim Perschbach emphasized the Port’s dramatic growth since the last Comptroller study in 2018.
“It went from $5.6 billion in output to $20 billion, and from 33,000 jobs supported to 83,000,” Perschbach said. “Most important, after-tax disposable income rose from just over $1 billion to nearly $5.7 billion. That’s what drives San Antonio — and that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”
He also noted the wage growth seen on the Port's campus. According to an earlier economic impact study, the average annual income, including benefits, is about $111,000 for on-site workers—significantly higher than the Bexar County average. The reach of the Port’s economic impact on the region is reflected by the distribution of the on-campus workforce, which resides in almost every ZIP code in Bexar County and beyond.
Residential ZIP codes of employees who work on the Tech Port campus.
Perschbach stressed the importance of the Port’s ongoing work to build out a campus that creates value for its rapidly growing customer base in advanced technologies by supporting industry and engaging the San Antonio community. “We need to continue amenitizing our campus with things like daycare, a grocery store, education and utilities that are reliable not just for big industry, but for the communities that surround us.
Texas-Sized Reach and Global Trade
Hancock emphasized Texas’ position as the eighth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $2.6 trillion. He highlighted the unique nature of Port San Antonio as one of just two intermodal ports in Texas, and its unique focus as an innovation campus supporting aerospace, cybersecurity, defense and advanced manufacturing.
But Port San Antonio still serves as a port, and Hancock noted a 152% increase in trade value, from 2021 to 2024, reaching $1.2 billion. He also highlighted the Port’s role as a net exporter, with $1.2 billion in exports compared to $49.9 million in imports, including $863 million in aircraft and spacecraft equipment.
“You’d never think the closure of an Air Force base would result in what we’re looking at here,” Hancock said from a podium in front of a LEAP engine. “But that’s what Texans do — we turn lemons into lemonade.”
