SpaceX's headquarters in Starbase, Texas, which sits at the state's southern tip in the Rio Grande Valley, emerges almost unexpectedly after miles of long, dusty dirt roads.

Before SpaceX arrived, the area was known primarily for its coastal wildlife, especially bird watching. Locals say there were a few dozen homes, mostly winter residences for retirees, while the nearest major city, Brownsville, is more than 20 miles away on the border with Matamoros, Mexico.

The cities are a study in contrasts. Starbase is a company town. Its residents are largely transplants from cities like Austin and San Francisco who come not for the birds but for the work. Brownsville's predominantly Latino population works mostly in farming and shrimping.

Yet Starbase and Brownsville also share resources, with some SpaceX employees living in Brownsville, which has a population of roughly 192,000, and sending their children to school in the city. 

SpaceX employ over 4,000 workers at its Starbase facilities, with roughly 70% coming from the local area, according to company records. The company plans to nearly double that workforce to around 8,000 employees this year. 

SpaceX's growth took a major leap forward on Friday when its shares went public in the largest-ever initial public offering. The IPO instantly lifted the company's market value to more than $2 trillion and made SpaceX founder Elon Musk the first person to be worth at least $1 trillion. 

Marco Colorado, who owns El Buen Pescador restaurant in nearby Port Isabel, Texas, said SpaceX has been good for business, bringing employees from the company along with other visitors drawn to the area by the rocket launches. 

"Whenever there's a launch or an event going on, we get flooded," Colorado said. He noted the SpaceX crowd is easy to spot — they often pull up in Tesla vehicles. 

At Double Day Bar of Champions, a restaurant and bar in nearby Port Isabel, Texas, that also hosts a sports paraphernalia museum, owner Mikael Hinojosa has seen a similar surge. 

Hinojosa described the SpaceX-driven business as "a new type of tourism." On rocket launch days, patrons gather on the patio to watch liftoffs, then move indoors to follow along on TV as the rockets tear through the sky.

"It's been positive for the business, but there's a downside to it. In our museum, cannonballs fall over when there's a launch. We don't want to ruin the tourism we already had," Hinojosa said.

Others in Brownsville are more openly critical of the impact Starbase and SpaceX have had on the local community. Environmental activist group Save RGV (for Rio Grande Valley) contends the company's rocket launches have left nearby homes covered in debris, disrupted native wildlife and harmed air quality. 

Etienne Rosas, a Brownsville native who ran for Congress earlier this year in Texas's 34th district, also said SpaceX's growth has triggered a surge in housing prices throughout the Rio Grande Valley as employees bought homes. In 2026, the average home price in Brownsville is $196,920, up nearly 75% from $112,705 in 2018, according to Zillow.

"While SpaceX has created more economic momentum, there's been a huge gap widening in equality," he said.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX's arrival has also reshaped downtown Brownsville, drawing new investment and development aimed at a tech-oriented demographic. Yet Rosas said the jobs and investment have come at a cost to families who have lived in the region for generations. 

"Brownsville had a certain dynamic pace, and now that's gone," he said.