All markets
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · TX

Strong market

Texas.

Roughly 146,999 new disability claims are filed in Texas each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $203M annually.

Annual DDS intake

146,999

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

38.3%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

247 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$203M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

Judges currently on the bench in Texas hearing offices, sorted by favorable decision rate. Use these to prioritize which office a case is assigned to, where permissible.

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Haigler Jr., WhitfieldDALLAS NORTH OHO97.6%205
Gazda, PeterSAN ANTONIO89.3%300
Liken, JosephDALLAS NORTH OHO89.0%310
Thompson, MichelleLOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN86.6%298
Walters, CharlesDALLAS NORTH OHO85.5%337

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • HOUSTON NORTH231 days
  • RIO GRANDE VALLEY TX239 days
  • FORT WORTH240 days

Slowest

  • SAN ANTONIO259 days
  • DALLAS NORTH OHO257 days
  • DALLAS DOWNTOWN253 days

Methodology · Figures reflect SSA public data through the latest release. Fee pool estimates annualize DDS intake at a conservative 20% retention rate with a 75% cap hit on retained backpay — not a performance guarantee. Approval rates describe historical decisions, not likelihoods on individual cases.