--- title: "How Many Work at Starbase? 3,400+ at SpaceX | Metaintro" canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/spacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation" language: "en" author: "bradlarson" published: "2026-02-09T11:30:00.000Z" modified: "2026-10-15T12:05:18.345Z" --- [Back to Blog](/blog) [Information](/blog/tag/information)[News](/blog/tag/news) # SpaceX's Starbase Grows Into Company Town as Engineers Face Relocation Pressure SpaceX's Texas launch site is now an official city with 3,400 employees. As headquarters moves from California, engineers face tough choices about uprooting families. [![Brad Larson](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/7bdeb1a3-e576-43bc-b191-7dbbf2908056_1766029465094.png)Brad Larson @followbl](/blog/author/bradlarson) [February 9, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/02)Updated October 15, 20266 min read ![SpaceX's Starbase Grows Into Company Town as Engineers Face Relocation Pressure](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/spacex.png) [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation&title=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation&title=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure)[mailto:?subject=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation](mailto:?subject=SpaceX's%20Starbase%20Grows%20Into%20Company%20Town%20as%20Engineers%20Face%20Relocation%20Pressure&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fspacex-starbase-texas-engineers-relocation) ## SpaceX's Starbase Grows Into Company Town as Engineers Face Relocation Pressure SpaceX's Starbase facility on the Texas Gulf Coast has transformed from a remote launch site into the newest city in Texas — and now the company's global headquarters. As [Cameron County's 2026 economic impact report](https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/2026-spacex-economic-impact-release/) shows, the transition is bringing unprecedented growth, but engineers considering the move face significant personal challenges. More than **3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors** now work at the Starbase site, while over 21,000 indirect jobs in the surrounding community are attributed to the facility's presence. The company's headquarters relocation from [Hawthorne, California](https://laist.com/brief/news/elon-musk-decision-to-move-spacex-from-hawthorne-to-texas-local-effects) marks one of the most significant corporate moves in aerospace history. "To continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community," [SpaceX stated](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/12/spacex-starbase-city-texas-cameron-county/) in documents supporting the city's incorporation. ## From Launch Site to Official City In May 2025, voters overwhelmingly approved Starbase's incorporation as a Type-C municipality — [212 votes to 6](https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/us/spacex-starbase-boca-chica-texas). Nearly all voters were SpaceX employees or their relatives who had moved to the roughly 1.5-square-mile area in Cameron County. "Starbase, Texas is now a real city!" [Elon Musk declared](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/will-spacexs-starbase-become-a-city-voters-will-decide-on-may-3) on his social platform X following the vote. The new city is governed by officials who are current or former SpaceX employees. As of early 2025, [the population stood at around 500 people](https://fortune.com/2025/05/30/elon-musk-spacex-company-town-starbase-property-rights/), with approximately 260 directly employed by SpaceX. Most other residents are family members of employees. The city-status approval allows SpaceX to bypass the kind of resistance it faced in 2025, when [Cameron County denied the company's request](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5038773-musks-spacex-moves-to-turn-starbase-site-into-a-texas-city/) to build more employee housing. Now Starbase can approve its own construction projects. ## The Engineer's Dilemma For the roughly 13,000 SpaceX employees [spread across facilities nationwide](https://labusinessjournal.com/featured/will-spacexs-move-impact-los-angeles/), the headquarters move raises difficult questions about uprooting families to a remote South Texas location. "SpaceX's ability to offer adequate housing to its employees onsite is critical to the development of the space launch complex, and there are currently hundreds of employees on the waitlist to move to the campus," [one SpaceX engineer explained](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/12/spacex-starbase-city-texas-cameron-county/). Housing options at Starbase remain limited. Nestled in the shadow of SpaceX's one-million-square-foot factory is a small residential neighborhood featuring [tiny homes, Airstream trailers, and modular houses for rent](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/3400370/starbase-texas-elon-musk-new-city/). A $20 million, privately funded K-12 school called "Ad Astra" (Latin for "to the stars") is under construction. Employees who don't live on-site face a 40-minute commute from Brownsville. According to [Glassdoor reviews cited by analysts](https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-is-moving-x-and-spacex-to-texas-the-impact-on-staff-culture-and-performance-is-likely-to-be-big-235923), some workers describe being "constantly in fear of being fired" after uprooting families to Brownsville, knowing "there is nowhere else for an engineer to work" in the area. ## Housing Market Shock in Brownsville SpaceX's presence has transformed the local housing market. [NPR reported](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/13/1097981581/housing-costs-skyrocket-spacex-expands-texas) that housing costs skyrocketed as the company expanded. "We all refer to that as, kind of, the 'day one,'" said Nick Mitchell-Bennett, executive director of affordable housing organization Come Dream, Come Build, referring to [Musk's tweet encouraging people to move to Brownsville](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/13/1097981581/housing-costs-skyrocket-spacex-expands-texas) for SpaceX jobs. Homes in the area now sell within two weeks of listing. The area had roughly 30 homes prior to SpaceX's arrival. [Almost all previous homeowners have been bought out](https://builtin.com/articles/starbase-spacex-elon-musk) by the company, and the population has grown to nearly 500. ## Property Rights Controversy In May 2025, Starbase [sent letters to some residents](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/29/elon-musk-spacex-starbase-texas.html) warning they may "lose the right to continue using" their property as the city considers a new zoning ordinance. The notice invited residents to a hearing to discuss "the adoption of a Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and city wide Zoning Map." Those receiving letters were told they lived in a proposed "Mixed Use District" that would allow [residential, office, retail, and small-scale service uses](https://fortune.com/2025/05/30/elon-musk-spacex-company-town-starbase-property-rights/). One property rights expert told [Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/spacexs-company-town-may-force-its-residents-to-leave-their-homes-2000610451), "My alarm bells go off for abusive treatment of property owners within the city who maybe don't buy into the vision of what the city's trying to do." SpaceX stated the goal is to ensure the zoning plan "reflects the City's vision for balanced growth, protecting critical economic drivers, ensuring public safety, and preserving green spaces." ## Why Musk Moved Headquarters Elon Musk announced the headquarters relocation in July 2024, citing a [California law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom](https://time.com/6999323/elon-musk-move-x-spacex-headquarters-texas-california/) as "the final straw." The law bars school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of students' gender identification changes. However, [the decision had been building](https://orbitaltoday.com/2024/07/22/why-elon-musk-is-moving-spacex-hq-from-california-to-texas/) for years. Texas offers a more business-friendly regulatory environment, no state income tax, and lower operating costs. Tom Lasser, president of the South Bay Aerospace Alliance, noted the impact on California: "It's high paying jobs leaving California." The move [has implications for state budgets](https://www.jrhengineering.net/post/elon-musk-s-big-move-spacex-and-x-headquarters-relocating-to-texas) that depend on taxing high-end tech workers. That said, Musk hasn't abandoned California entirely. SpaceX's Hawthorne facility remains the primary production location for [Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets](https://labusinessjournal.com/featured/will-spacexs-move-impact-los-angeles/), and the company continues utilizing Silicon Valley talent for AI and engineering efforts. ## What This Means for Aerospace Workers For engineers considering SpaceX opportunities, the Starbase situation presents trade-offs: **Unique career opportunity.** Working on Starship development at the primary launch and production site offers unparalleled experience in next-generation space technology. **Limited career mobility.** The company town model means leaving SpaceX likely means leaving the community. [This dependency can discourage workers](https://www.bukowskilawfirm.com/post/elon-musk-starbase-texas-spacex-city-review-should-you-move/) from seeking new opportunities. **Family considerations.** With limited housing, long waitlists, and schools still under construction, engineers with families face practical challenges beyond career concerns. **Remote location reality.** Starbase sits near Mexico border, a 40-minute drive from Brownsville. The nearest major city, Houston, is over 300 miles away. ## People Also Asked **Q: How many people work at SpaceX Starbase?** A: According to [Cameron County's 2026 economic impact report](https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/2026-spacex-economic-impact-release/), more than 3,400 SpaceX employees and contractors work at the Starbase site. The facility also generates over 21,000 indirect jobs in the surrounding community. **Q: Is Starbase, Texas a real city?** A: Yes. In May 2025, [voters approved Starbase's incorporation](https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/us/spacex-starbase-boca-chica-texas) as a Type-C municipality by a vote of 212 to 6. The city is governed by officials who are current or former SpaceX employees. **Q: Why did SpaceX move its headquarters to Texas?** A: Elon Musk announced the move in July 2024, citing a [California law as "the final straw"](https://time.com/6999323/elon-musk-move-x-spacex-headquarters-texas-california/). However, the decision had been building for years due to Texas's business-friendly environment, lack of state income tax, and lower operating costs. --- Looking for your next opportunity? 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