Texas now has more than 4,800 clinical trials actively recruiting participants, with hundreds offering compensation to people who join. Here is who is signing up, why, and what is currently open across the state.
Every year, more Texans are taking a closer look at clinical trials as a way to access new treatments, contribute to medical research, or earn meaningful compensation while doing so. Texas now ranks second in the country for clinical trial enrollment, behind only California, and the number of openings continues to grow.
For people considering participation, paid clinical trials in Texas listed on Hipa.ai cover everything from cancer and heart disease to depression, diabetes, and healthy-volunteer studies. The directory lets you filter by city, condition, age, and eligibility, which makes it easier to find a study that actually fits your situation.
Whether you live in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Irving, or a smaller town outside the major metros, the odds of finding an active trial within driving distance are higher than they have been in years.
The Scale of Clinical Research in Texas Right Now
According to Hipa.ai's April 2026 Texas research report, the state currently has 4,817 clinical trials actively recruiting participants. In April alone, 44 new studies opened across Texas, and another 353 trials are scheduled to close enrollment within the next 90 days.
That last number matters because once a trial fills its quota, the next opportunity in the same condition area may not open again for months. Timing affects whether someone can actually join.
The bulk of activity is concentrated in the major metros: Houston leads with more than 2,800 active trials, Dallas follows with 1,441, San Antonio with 964, and Austin with 641. Smaller hubs include Fort Worth (308), El Paso (185), Tyler (161), and Plano (149). For people in the Dallas-Fort Worth core, Irving alone hosts 104 active trials, and Sugar Land and The Woodlands each have more than 100.
Why More Texans Are Choosing to Participate
People join trials for different reasons. Some want access to therapies that are not yet on the market. Others have run through standard treatment options and are looking for what comes next. A meaningful share simply want to contribute to research, with the compensation as a secondary benefit.
Common reasons participants give include:
- Access to new treatments before they reach the broader market
- More frequent medical monitoring than they would get in routine care
- Compensation that ranges from a few hundred to several thousand dollars
- The chance to contribute to research that helps future patients
- Learning more about their own condition through the study process
Compensation is real, but it varies a lot. Observational studies typically pay a few hundred dollars total. Healthy-volunteer Phase 1 studies, which often involve overnight stays in a research unit, can pay several thousand dollars across the protocol. The exact amount is always disclosed in the informed consent document before anyone agrees to participate, and most trials also reimburse travel and parking on visit days.
Conditions Where Texas Has the Most Research Activity
Cancer is the largest single research area in the state, much of it driven by the Texas Medical Center in Houston. MD Anderson Cancer Center alone is sponsoring more than 500 active studies. The cancer types with the most trials currently include:
- Breast cancer
- Advanced solid tumors
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Acute myeloid leukemia
- Endometrial cancer
Beyond oncology, Texas has a steady volume of cardiovascular research, including heart failure trials, plus metabolic studies covering diabetes and obesity. Mental health and behavioral research is concentrated at the academic centers and the VA system, with depression, anxiety, and PTSD all represented. Neurology, particularly Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment, is a smaller but active area.
April's new openings spanned several therapy areas. Novo Nordisk added two metabolic studies, both testing the same investigational compound in different patient populations: one in adults with excess weight and Type 2 diabetes, the other in adults with excess weight and knee osteoarthritis. Incyte Corporation opened a Phase 2 trial in pancreatic cancer. Kinaset Therapeutics launched a dose-ranging study for severe asthma not controlled on current therapy. Texas Christian University began a large implementation study aimed at improving substance-use-disorder care in justice settings, with more than 1,600 participants.
Where in Texas the Trials Are
The University of Texas system is the largest single contributor of trials, through MD Anderson, UT Southwestern in Dallas, the McGovern Medical School in Houston, and the Health Science Center in San Antonio. Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White also run substantial portfolios. Industry sponsors, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, AbbVie, Merck, Pfizer, and Novartis, each have dozens of active studies in Texas.
For someone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the practical effect is that getting to a trial site rarely requires more than a 30-minute drive. UT Southwestern, Baylor Scott & White, Texas Health Resources, and Methodist Health System all run active research within the metroplex. Houston-area residents have access to MD Anderson and Baylor College of Medicine. San Antonio is anchored by the UT Health Science Center.
Some studies now also offer telehealth visits, wearable-based monitoring, or local-clinic blood draws, which cuts down on travel for participants who do not live near a major research hospital.
Healthy Volunteers Have a Place in Texas Research Too
A common assumption is that clinical trials are only for people who already have a serious diagnosis. That is not the case. As of April 2026, Texas has 512 active studies recruiting healthy volunteers, covering everything from sleep research and nutrition to vaccine safety and behavioral interventions.
Healthy-volunteer studies usually pay better per hour than condition-specific trials, because volunteers are scarcer and the screening burden is heavier. They tend to be shorter in duration and have more flexible timing, which makes them a reasonable option for people curious about research without a specific medical reason to participate.
What to Ask Before You Sign Up for a Trial
Before agreeing to join any study, it helps to ask the trial coordinator a few specific questions:
- What is the purpose of the study, and what phase is it in?
- How many visits are required, and over what period of time?
- What treatments or procedures are involved?
- What are the known risks and side effects?
- Will travel to the site be reimbursed?
- What is the compensation, and when does it get paid?
- What happens if I want to leave the study before it ends?
It also makes sense to mention any current medications and chronic conditions upfront, since some trials require participants to stop certain medications before joining. A conversation with your own doctor before committing is a sensible step, especially if you are managing an ongoing condition.
Texas has more clinical research opportunities right now than at almost any point in its history, and a meaningful share of those studies offer compensation to participants. For anyone curious about what is open in the state today, the directory of currently enrolling Texas trials is the simplest place to start.
