City spending

Who the city pays

11,511 companies and organisations appear in every payment in the city's published checkbook (FY2018–FY2027). Search for one to see what it was paid, in which year, and by which department — every figure linked back to the city's own dataset.

The city's budget year runs July 1 to June 30, so FY2027 means July 2026 through June 2027.

Largest payees, FY2018–FY2027

Biggest first. Banks and trustees dominate the top of this list because the city's debt payments run through them — being high here means large sums moved, not that the city bought that much from a company.

THE BANK OF NEW YORK$10,573,407,536

2,973 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

CIGNA HEALTHCARE$3,238,168,312

1,270 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

JP MORGAN CHASE BANK$2,993,829,226

1,982 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

State Street Bank and Trust$2,151,510,530

1,580 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY$1,906,449,556

616 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

HOUSTON WATERWORKS TEAM$1,708,635,096

1,253 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON$1,099,814,399

1,014 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

WELLS FARGO BANK$939,071,820

282 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

RELIANT ENERGY RETAIL SERVICES LLC$832,680,920

3,000 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

HENSEL PHELPS CONSTRUCTION CO$621,872,006

1,166 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

UMB BANK N.A.$543,173,559

16 payment lines · FY2021–FY2026

HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION$499,350,863

143 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

HARPER BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION LLC$423,668,521

3,662 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY$416,187,742

722 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

GREAT-WEST LIFE & ANNUITY$382,221,731

403 payment lines · FY2018–FY2023

AUSTIN GILBANE A JOINT VENTURE$377,002,389

3,831 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

INDUSTRIAL TX CORP$374,350,813

4,152 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

UPTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY$365,546,303

26 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

UNITED AIRLINES INC$326,812,647

95 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO$313,709,638

174 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE LGC INC$296,726,522

120 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

HOUSTON ISD$291,775,167

276 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

MIDTOWN REDEVELOPMENT$252,817,159

39 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

FLATIRON CONSTRUCTORS INC$243,435,442

833 payment lines · FY2019–FY2027

TDINDUSTRIES$242,366,719

8,038 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

SER CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS LLC$228,697,629

2,826 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

SP PLUS GLOBAL IMS$221,949,289

1,119 payment lines · FY2022–FY2027

CITY OF HOUSTON - TEXAS SINGLE$216,715,125

917 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

TRISTAR RISK MANAGEMENT$210,837,331

2,504 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

MAIN LANE INDUSTRIES LTD$209,639,546

2,376 payment lines · FY2018–FY2024

REYTEC CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES INC$203,316,283

6,390 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

EMPOWER ANNUITY INSURANCE$202,169,106

237 payment lines · FY2024–FY2026

BOYER INC$188,458,211

1,854 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

LEM CONSTRUCTION CO INC$188,105,446

1,938 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

GRAVA LLC$178,749,709

3,505 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

MCGRIFF SEIBELS & WILLIAMS INC.$172,397,051

650 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

MAIN STREET MARKET SQUARE REDEVELOP$167,930,086

43 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

DRC EMERGENCY SERVICES LLC$165,904,208

748 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

BAKERRIPLEY$158,782,023

861 payment lines · FY2018–FY2027

MEMORIAL CITY TIRTZ #17$152,251,648

10 payment lines · FY2018–FY2026

By department

Houston Public Works - HPW$15,983,037,451

479,727 payment lines

Citywide General Government$10,899,217,628

67,579 payment lines

Houston Airport System (HAS)$6,699,590,815

107,844 payment lines

Human Resources Dept.$4,375,945,196

151,629 payment lines

General Debt Services$3,759,051,340

1,860 payment lines

Mayor's Office$2,966,838,743

13,658 payment lines

Housing and Community Devp.$1,718,898,095

41,184 payment lines

General Services Department$1,334,837,461

133,305 payment lines

Convention and Entertainment$1,043,121,836

472 payment lines

Admn. & Regulatory Affairs$971,228,045

47,573 payment lines

Houston Police Department-HPD$862,410,891

92,748 payment lines

Houston Health Department$730,093,143

120,542 payment lines

Solid Waste Management$648,334,440

37,394 payment lines

Houston Information Tech Svcs$645,490,920

45,536 payment lines

Fleet Management Department$511,934,876

640,852 payment lines

Parks & Recreation$457,309,427

96,030 payment lines

Houston Fire Department (HFD)$421,651,321

124,845 payment lines

Finance$387,272,996

3,592 payment lines

Library$178,913,831

39,430 payment lines

Municipal Courts Department$170,295,734

91,804 payment lines

Legal Department$156,899,482

14,963 payment lines

Business Opportunity$39,607,671

651 payment lines

Dept of Neighborhoods (DON)$19,955,789

6,468 payment lines

City Controller's Office$15,559,269

1,853 payment lines

Planning & Development$13,400,527

2,320 payment lines

Houston Emergency Center (HEC)$4,218,867

1,461 payment lines

City Council$2,189,302

844 payment lines

Investment Management$1,015,407

12 payment lines

City Secretary$293,061

19 payment lines

Constant In and Out-$189,670,010

1,145 payment lines

What this data does and doesn't show

These are payments, not a budget. The same ledger carries debt payments, bank and pension transfers and accounting reversals alongside what the city bought, so adding it all up doesn't describe city spending — which is why you won't find a citywide total here. What a named vendor or department was paid is solid.
The city publishes this a few times a year, so it runs behind — the newest payments can take a few months to appear, and a fiscal year that has just ended usually isn't published at all yet. Treat the most recent year as incomplete.
Some payments name no company: the city files them under "GENERAL ONE-TIME VENDOR" or a bare asterisk — $683,428,414 across FY2018–FY2027, about 1.2% of all payments. Much of that is properly private, like legal settlements and housing assistance paid to individuals. Those payments aren't listed as vendors here because there's no vendor to list.

Straight from the City of Houston's published checkbook ↗ — payment-level detail lives there, not here.