RGV Tech

The RGV's Billion-Dollar Boom Is Leaving Small Businesses Behind

Progress Seen from the Highway

Whenever I drive through US Highway 83 from McAllen to Pharr, close to the McAllen-Pharr-Edinburg intersection overlooking the three cities, I would often see cranes, new apartment complexes, and most importantly, small local businesses, such as taquerías, coffee shops, and diners that serve food local to the Rio Grande Valley.

When I go to South Padre Island however, I am reminded of the Starbase Local Impact Report, which was produced and released by SpaceX and Cameron County, respectively. The report states that as a result of the activities SpaceX conducted, Cameron County generated $13 billion in gross economic output.

When I go further east to the Island or west to cities such as Rio Grande City, I ask myself: why does one part of the Rio Grande Valley look like it's doing well, but the other is struggling economically?

Why One Half of the Valley Struggles While Another Grows

According to statistics published by the Texas Workforce Commission, as reported by the RGV Business Journal on August 2nd, 2026, the Lower Rio Grande Valley Workforce Development Area, which includes cities in Hidalgo and Starr County, specifically Rio Grande City, had a median annual wage of $35,971 in 2025. Furthermore, Cameron County ranked higher than Hidalgo and Starr County, having a median annual wage of $36,942, which is a $971 difference. When both numbers are analyzed, they are significantly lower than Austin's median wage, which is at $59,784, nearly $23,000 higher than Cameron County's.

With these numbers in mind, the growth did have a positive impact on the RGV's economic and industrial sector. But it did not have the same impact on small businesses in the area.

Trust Can't Easily Be Bought with Money

Think about it: a taquería, local restaurant, coffee shop, or any store local to the region has the same right to share the same growth opportunities as SpaceX or any big-name business in the Valley. They meet every criteria that a business needs to grow: a loyal customer base, positive reviews, word of mouth, etc. All of these take years, even decades to build. Some of them, such as Mission's SSTASH Burger and Brownsville's Le Rêve Restaurant, exceeded expectations this year, being named in the World's 101 Best Burger Places list, a list containing restaurants in London, Tokyo, and Paris. The reason: trust.

Three Questions Every RGV Business Owner Should Ask Themselves

If you believe trust is an important factor to your business, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Does someone answer the phone every time a customer calls, especially after hours or on a Sunday?
2. Do you or your team spend more hours each week handling the scheduling, invoicing, and paperwork more than the customers who want to use your products or resources?
3. If someone in McAllen, Pharr, or Edinburg, or even in San Antonio and Austin, searched for the services you offer, would they be able to find your business, and would you be the first choice?

If you answer no to any of these, or you're not entirely sure, then it's not because you did anything wrong to fall behind. You're behind because nobody ever told you that these problems can be solved without having to pursue a degree in computer science or a six-figure job, even though both have their advantages. These same tools and solutions that have helped big companies like SpaceX also exist in smaller, simpler forms, which can be adapted and tailored for a business your size.

The Economic Boom Was Never Meant for Small Businesses

With that in mind, this is the point I want to emphasize for those reading this article: the economic boom in the RGV had a positive impact, but small businesses are falling behind as a result because it was never built to reach them.

Growing up in the city of McAllen, I've watched this pattern unfold many times in my nearly 25 years living in the Valley. Headlines would often emphasize the positive impact the economic boom has had on the region. Law firms such as Tijerina Law Group and the Law Offices of Rodolfo 'Rudy' Ruiz, medical institutions like DHR, have established their presence on billboards on the freeway, ads on streaming platforms like Disney+, and social media. A taquería that is close to Main Street and is doing its best to establish its presence often doesn't get that kind of reach, even if it is popular and has gotten its clientele through social media, regulars, or word-of-mouth. The reason: it never had that budget to begin with.

My Studio's Philosophy

I didn't build my studio, Ruben Arevalo AI & Software Studio, for companies who have budgets that can be used to rent out billboards and put their name on them for everyone to see. I built it for the taquerías on Main Street. I built it for the mechanic shop who has been in business for more than 30 years and receives a lot of clients but still puts its name on paper because it doesn't have the infrastructure to track it efficiently. And I built it for the locally owned coffee shops who don't have presence in other cities but instead have a person or people behind the counter who work hard while remembering your name and the drink you ordered to make your day.

What the Rio Grande Valley Needs

These businesses don't need extravagant resources that SpaceX has. They need ways to answer the phone at night or during the weekend, a way to present themselves when someone searches for their business and what they offer, and a way to stop losing business to another competitor across the street as a result of silence and invisibility. It was never a problem that a six-figure salary could address. It took someone with determination, who lives in the Valley, and who drove by these exact same businesses his whole life, to start doing something about it and build it for businesses who deserve to have the same opportunities to grow.

The Rio Grande Valley doesn't need another billboard, press release, or sensational headline about how a billion-dollar investment would lead to more job when in reality, it doesn't. The investment actually needs to reach the people who have been in the region for decades, regardless of the type of business they currently own. An investment won't mean anything if trust is never established. Trust is the key that has helped both small and large businesses in the RGV maintain their presence for years or decades, even if it took one or two customers at a time.

Economic booms come and go, but trust never does.