Greater Houston, designated by the
United States Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the
fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Coast in
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...
. With a population of 6,997,384 people at the 2018 census estimates and 7,122,240 in 2020, Greater Houston is the
second-most populous in Texas after the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...
.
The approximately region centers on
Harris County, the
third-most populous county in the U.S., which contains the city of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
—the largest economic and cultural center of the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
—with a population of more than 2.3 million. Greater Houston is part of the
Texas Triangle
The Texas Triangle (also known as Texaplex) is a region of Texas which contains the state's five largest cities and is home to the majority of the state's population. The Texas Triangle is formed by the state's four main urban centers, Austin ...
megaregion
A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...
along with the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex,
Greater Austin
The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (or Greater Austin) is a five-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Ce ...
, and
Greater San Antonio
Greater San Antonio, officially designated San Antonio–New Braunfels, is an eight-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The metropolitan area straddles South Texas and Central ...
. Greater Houston also serves as a major anchor and economic hub for the
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...
. Its
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...
is the
second largest port in the United States,
sixteenth largest in the world, and leads the U.S. in international trade.
Greater Houston has historically been among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States; it was the fastest-growing in absolute terms during the 2013–2014 census year, adding 156,371 people. The area grew 25.2% between 1990 and 2000—adding more than 950,000 people—while the country's population increased only 13.2% over the same period, and from 2000 to 2007 alone, the area added over 910,000 people. The
Greater Houston Partnership
The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) is the largest chamber of commerce in the Houston area. The Partnership is an economic development organization for the Greater Houston area. The mission of the Greater Houston Partnership is to make Houston o ...
projected the metropolitan area would add between 4.1 and 8.3 million new residents between 2010 and 2050.
Greater Houston has the seventh-highest
metropolitan-area gross domestic product in the United States, valued at $490 billion in 2017. A major trade center anchored by the Port of Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land has the highest trade export value of all metropolitan areas, at over $120 billion in 2018, accounting for 42% of the total exports of Texas. As of 2021, Greater Houston is home to the headquarters of 24
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
companies, ranking third among all metropolitan statistical areas. The Greater Houston metropolitan area was ranked the fourth-most diverse metropolitan area in the United States in 2012.
Geography
![Houston by Sentinel-2, 2020-09-30 (small version)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Houston_by_Sentinel-2%2C_2020-09-30_%28small_version%29.jpg)
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area has a total area of 10,062 square miles (26,060 km
2), of which are land and are covered by water. The region is slightly smaller than the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
and slightly larger than
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
combines the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolis with four
micropolitan statistical areas (
Bay City,
Brenham
Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
,
El Campo, and
Huntsville
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
) to form the Houston–The Woodlands, TX combined statistical area.
The metropolitan area is located in the Gulf Coastal Plains
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland. Much of the urbanized area was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
, remnants of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. Of particular note is the
Katy Prairie to the west, the
Big Thicket
The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily-forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests of southeast US. The National Park Service esta ...
to the northeast, and the
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...
ecosystem to the south. Additionally, the metropolitan region is crossed by a number of creeks and
bayou
In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
s, which provide essential drainage during rainfall events; some of the most notable waterways include
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
(upon which Houston was founded),
White Oak Bayou
White Oak Bayou is a slow-moving river in Houston, Texas. A major tributary of the city's principal waterway, Buffalo Bayou, White Oak originates near the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 290 (the Northwest Freeway) and mea ...
,
Brays Bayou
Brays Bayou is a slow-moving river in Harris County, Texas. A major tributary of Buffalo Bayou, the Brays flows for from the western edge of the county, south of Barker Reservoir along the border with Fort Bend County, east to its convergence ...
,
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...
, and the
San Jacinto River. The upper
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
of Buffalo Bayou is impounded by two large
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
reservoirs,
Barker Reservoir
Barker Reservoir is a flood control structure in Houston, Texas which prevents downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou, the city's principal river. The reservoir operates in conjunction with Addicks Reservoir to the northeast, which impounds Mayd ...
and
Addicks Reservoir
The Addicks Reservoir and Addicks Dam in conjunction with the Barker Reservoir prevent downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou in the City of Houston, Texas. Both reservoirs were authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act of June 20, 1938, which ...
, which provide a combined of storage during large rainfall events and cover a total land area of . Greater Houston's flat topography, susceptibility to high-intensity rainfall events, high level of
impervious surface
Impervious surfaces are mainly artificial structures—such as pavements (roads, sidewalks, driveways and parking lots, as well as industrial areas such as airports, ports and logistics and distribution centres, all of which use considerable p ...
, and inadequately-sized natural drainage channels make it particularly susceptible to catastrophic flooding events.
Geology
Underpinning Greater Houston's land surface are unconsolidated
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
s, clay
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
s, and poorly cemented
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
s up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed from stream deposits formed from the erosion of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. These
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
s consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers is a water-deposited layer of
halite
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...
, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. This thick, rich soil also provides a good environment for rice farming in suburban outskirts into which the city of Houston continues to grow near
Katy. Evidence of past rice farming is even still evident in developed areas as an abundance of rich, dark, loamy topsoil exists.
The Greater Houston region is generally earthquake-free. While the city of Houston contains over 150 to 300 active surface
faults with an aggregate length of up to , the clay below the surface precludes the buildup of friction that produces ground-shaking in earthquakes. These faults generally move at a smooth rate in what is termed "fault creep".
Climate
Greater Houston has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
typical of the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. It is rainy most of the year.
Prevailing winds come from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and
Galveston Bay area
The Galveston Bay Area, also known as ''Bay Area Houston'' or simply the ''Bay Area'', is a region that surrounds the Galveston Bay estuary of Southeast Texas in the United States, within metropolitan area. Normally the term refers to the mainl ...
.
List of hurricanes
A number of
tropical storms
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
and hurricanes have hit the metropolitan area, including:
*
1900 Galveston Hurricane
The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history and the third-d ...
, which devastated Galveston and was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, killing between 8,000 and 12,000.
*
Hurricane Carla
Hurricane Carla ranks as the most intense U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on the Hurricane Severity Index. It was the ninth most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla de ...
(1961), which was the most recent Category 4 hurricane to strike Texas until Harvey in 2017.
*
Hurricane Alicia
Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly growi ...
(1983), which struck the area as a Category 3, and was at the time, the costliest Atlantic hurricane.
*
Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the " brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or s ...
(2001), until Harvey, which brought the worst flooding in Houston history and was the first tropical storm to be retired.
*
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...
(2005), which triggered one of the largest evacuations in United States history in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
*
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...
(2008), which brought devastating storm surge to the coast and wind damage into the city.
*
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...
(2017), which brought devastating flooding that resulted in excess of $100 billion in damages to
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...
.
*
Tropical Storm Imelda
Tropical Storm Imelda was a tropical cyclone which was the fourth-wettest storm on record in the U.S. state of Texas, causing devastating and record-breaking floods in southeast Texas. The eleventh tropical cyclone and ninth named storm of the ...
(2019) caused wide-spread flooding around Houston and surrounding areas.
*
Hurricane Nicholas
Hurricane Nicholas was a slow and erratic Category 1 hurricane that made landfall in the U.S. state of Texas in mid-September 2021. The fourteenth named storm, and sixth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Nicholas originated from a ...
(2021), did moderate damage, and brought wind and rain to the area.
Metropolitan communities
Counties
As defined by the
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
, the metropolitan area of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land encompasses nine counties in Southeast Texas. They are listed below:
*
Austin County
Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s.
Austin ...
*
Brazoria County
Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton.
Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...
*
Chambers County
*
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days.
The ...
*
Galveston County
Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...
*
Harris County
*
Liberty County
*
Montgomery County
*
Waller County
Communities
Five principal communities are designated within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The Woodlands is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
; the rest are cities. They are listed below:
*
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
(2,325,502)
*
The Woodlands (116,278)
*
Sugar Land
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...
(118,600)
*
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
(154,193)
*
Pearland
Pearland ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Harris counties. The city of Pearland is a principal city within the metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, t ...
(122,149)
*
League City
League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129.
The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris ...
(106,244)
*
Baytown Baytown may refer to:
* Baytown, Texas, a city in the United States near Houston, Texas
*Baytown culture, an archaeological culture in the United States
*Operation Baytown
Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland o ...
(77,024)
*
Conroe (98,081)
*
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
(50,457)
Demographics
There were a total of 7,122,240 residents within the Greater Houston metropolitan area as of 2020, according to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
.
In 2010, Greater Houston had 5,920,416 residents and in 2000, it had a population of 4,177,646. Another 2010 estimate determined the population increased to 5,920,487.
Of the population an estimated 575,000 were undocumented immigrants according to 2014 estimates.
In 2020, Greater Houston's racial makeup was 41%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
34%), 17%
Black and African American, 8%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
and 3% from
two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
; additionally, 37% of the metropolitan population were
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
.
Of its metropolitan population, roughly 23.4% were foreign-born. The largest foreign-born population came from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, followed by Asia, Africa, Europe and other parts of North America. The metropolitan statistical area was classified as one of the largest regions where the three largest minority groups were highly represented. In 2018, its racial makeup had an estimated 73.5% White, 17% Black and African American, 7.6% Asian American and 2.1% other races; approximately 37.6% were Hispanic or Latino American of any race.
Nearly one in four Greater Houstonians were foreign-born in 2018 and a quarter of all refugees settled in Texas lived in the region.
According to the 2019
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, the median household income was $69,193 and the per capita income was $35,190. Roughly 13% of the metropolis lived at or below the poverty line.
As of 2011, Greater Houston has four of Texas's 10 wealthiest communities, which include the wealthiest community,
Hunters Creek Village
Hunters Creek Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 4,385 at the 2020 census. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities in west Houston known as the Memor ...
, the fourth-wealthiest community,
Bunker Hill Village
Bunker Hill Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of metropolitan area. The population was 3,822 at the 2020 census. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities in west Houston known as the Memorial V ...
, the fifth-wealthiest community,
West University Place
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...
, and the sixth-wealthiest community,
Piney Point Village
Piney Point Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,125 at the 2010 census. Piney Point Village is the wealthiest place in Texas, as ranked by per capita income. It is part of a collection of upscale resident ...
.
Greater Houston's religious community is predominantly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and the second-largest metropolitan area that identifies with the religion in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth (73%).
In 2012, the city of Houston proper ranked the ninth most religious city in the U.S. Within the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
is the largest single Christian denomination.
Catholics in Houston are primarily served by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Galvestoniensis–Houstoniensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It encompasses of ten cou ...
. Following, the body of
Evangelical Protestantism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
was the second largest.
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
dominated the Evangelical Protestant demographic.
Mainline Protestant
The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...
ism, led by
Methodists, was the third largest Christian group. Non-Christian religions collectively made up 7% of the religious metropolitan population. The largest non-Christian religion was
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. According to the study, 20% of Greater Houston was
irreligious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
and 2% were
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.
Economy
Among the 10 most populous
metropolitan areas
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
in the U.S., Greater Houston ranked first in employment growth rate and second in nominal employment growth. In 2006, the Greater Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''.
The Houston–The Woodlands-Sugar Land area's
gross metropolitan product
Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure of the value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan statistical area during a specified period (''e.g.'', a quarter, a year). GMP estimates are commonly used to compare ...
(GMP) in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4% from 2004 in constant dollars—slightly larger than Austria's gross domestic product. By 2012, the GMP had risen to $449 billion, the fourth-largest of any metropolitan area in the United States. Only 26 countries other than the United States had a GDP exceeding Greater Houston's GAP.
Mining, which in the area is almost entirely oil and gas exploration and production, accounted for 11% of Greater Houston's GAP—down from 21% as recently as 1985. The reduced role of oil and gas in Houston's GAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors—such as engineering services, health services, retail, and
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
.
The area's economic activity is centered in the
city of Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, the county seat of
Harris County. Houston is second to New York City in ''
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
'' headquarters. The city has attempted to build a
banking industry {{set category, first= industries (branches of an economy), alternative=industries, topic=Industry (economics)
For other meanings of "industries", see :Industries.
...
, but the companies originally started in Houston have since merged with other companies nationwide. Banking, however, is still vital to the metropolitan region.
Galveston Bay and the Buffalo Bayou together form one of the most important shipping hubs in the world. The
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...
, the
Port of Texas City
The Port of Texas City is a major deepwater port in Texas City, Texas at Galveston Bay, United States. Its location on the bay, which is used by the Port of Houston and the Port of Galveston, puts Texas City in the heart of one of the world's mo ...
, and the
Port of Galveston
The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
are all major
seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
s located in this Greater Houston area. The area is also one of the leading centers of the energy industry, particularly petroleum processing, and many companies have large operations in this region. The metropolitan area also comprises the largest
petrochemical
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
manufacturing area in the world, including for
synthetic rubber
A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32-million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubbe ...
,
insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...
s, and
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
s. The area is also the world's leading center for building
oilfield
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations.
Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
equipment. Greater Houston is also a major center of
biomedical
Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine) research, aeronautics, and high technology.
![FortBend 379](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/FortBend_379.JPG)
Much of the metro area's success as a petrochemical complex is enabled by its busy man-made
Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...
. Because of these economic trades, many residents have moved to the Houston area from other U.S. states, as well as hundreds of countries worldwide. Unlike most places, where high fuel prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston, as many are employed in the energy industry.
Baytown Baytown may refer to:
* Baytown, Texas, a city in the United States near Houston, Texas
*Baytown culture, an archaeological culture in the United States
*Operation Baytown
Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland o ...
,
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
,
La Porte, and
Texas City
Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas, Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and pe ...
have some of the area's largest petroleum/petrochemical plants, though major operations can be found in Houston,
Anahuac,
Clute, and other communities. Galveston has the largest cruise-ship terminal in Texas (and the 12th-largest in the world). The island, as well the
Clear Lake area
Clear Lake, or the Clear Lake Area, is a region in parts of Harris and Galveston County in Texas, United States. It is part of the Galveston Bay Area, which itself is a section of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area.Kimball ...
, are major recreation and tourism areas in the region.
Houston is home to the
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...
—the largest medical center in the world. Galveston is home to one of only two national biocontainment laboratories in the United States.
The
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a public university system in Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio station (KUHF).
Th ...
's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated.
This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the
UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston; after five years, 80.5% of graduates are still living and working in the region.
Sugar Land is home to the second-largest economic activities and fifth-largest city in the metropolitan area. It has the most important economic center in Fort Bend County. The city holds the
Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. The company was established in 1843 and has undergone ownership changes multip ...
(its namesake), Nalco Champion, and Western Airways headquarters. Engineering firms and other related industries have managed to take the place as an economic engine.
Sports
Major professional teams
Minor league and semipro teams
College sports (Division I)
Greater Houston is home to five
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
programs, with four located within Houston proper. The
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
and
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
play in Division I (FBS).
The University of Houston plays in the
American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...
, while Rice belongs to
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
. Both schools were once part of the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...
.
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...
, which is a member of the
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in t ...
, plays in Division I (FCS).
Houston Baptist University
Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Its Cultural Arts Center hou ...
currently plays in Division I (FCS), mainly in the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...
. Rice and Houston Baptist are widely noted for their student-athlete graduation rates, which number at 91% for Rice (tied for highest in the nation according to a 2002 ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' issue on best college sports programs) and 80% for HBU.
Events
Houston is or has been home to various nationally known sporting events. The most notable is the
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG S ...
, which is the world's largest
livestock exhibition and
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
event. Other events of importance on greater Houston include the
Shell Houston Open
The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...
(a
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
event), the
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.
The tournament began in 1910 when the ...
(
ATP tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organis ...
), the
Houston Marathon
The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...
, and the
Texas Bowl
The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced ...
college football bowl game. From 1959 to 1987, Houston hosted the
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 ...
. Houston has also played host to three
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
s (
VIII,
XXXVIII
38 (thirty-eight) is the natural number following 37 (number), 37 and preceding 39 (number), 39.
In mathematics
*38! − 1 yields which is the 16th factorial prime.
*There is no answer to the equation Euler's totient function, φ(''x'') = 38, ma ...
,
LI), the 1968, 1986, and
2004 MLB All-Star Games, the 2019, 2017, 2005 World Series, and the 1989, 2006, 2013
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...
s. Houston has also played host to various high school and college sporting events, including the
Big 12 Championship Game and hosted the
2011 NCAA Men's Final Four,
2010 NCAA Men's Regional Finals, and
2010 MLS All-Star Game. Houston has held two
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
events,
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania 17 (stylized as WrestleMania X-Seven) was the 17th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodo ...
and
WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania 25 (also marketed as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and written as WrestleMania 25th Anniversary) was the 25th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ...
, which is considered the biggest pro-wrestling event of the year, seen as the Super Bowl of pro-wrestling. Houston was also considered a candidate for the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2016 Olympic Games
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...
.
Higher education
![Ezekiel W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Ezekiel_W._Cullen_Building%2C_University_of_Houston_in_2012.JPG)
Five separate and distinct state universities are located within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
is a nationally recognized Tier One research university, and is the flagship institution of the
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a public university system in Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio station (KUHF).
Th ...
.
The third-largest university in Texas, the University of Houston has nearly 43,000 students on its 667-acre campus in southeast Houston.
The
University of Houston–Clear Lake
The University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL) is a public university in Pasadena and Houston, Texas, with branch campuses in Pearland and Texas Medical Center. It is part of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1971, UHCL had an enr ...
and the
University of Houston–Downtown
The University of Houston–Downtown (UHD) is a public university in Houston, Texas. It is part of the University of Houston System and has a campus that spans in Downtown Houston with a satellite location, UHD-Northwest in Harris County. Fo ...
are standalone universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. The metropolitan area is home to the two largest historically black institutions in the state:
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...
and
Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learnin ...
. The
University of Texas Medical Branch
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
and
Texas A&M University at Galveston Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees that are awarded from Texas A&M University in College Station. Students enrolled at Texas A&M Unive ...
, a branch campus of
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, are located in Galveston.
Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized Tier One research university—are located within the metropolitan area. The
University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to:
*Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia
*Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina
*St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick
*St. ...
is the only Catholic institution of
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
in Houston.
Houston Baptist University
Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University, is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Its Cultural Arts Center hou ...
, located in the Sharpstown area, was founded in 1960.
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
is one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States and consistently ranks among the nation's top 20 universities by ''U.S. News & World Report''.
Three community college districts exist with campuses in and around Houston. The
Houston Community College System
Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a Public college, public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater ...
serves most of Houston. The northwestern through northeastern parts of the metropolitan area are served by various campuses of the
Lone Star College System
Lone Star College (LSC) is a public community college system serving the northern portions of the Greater Houston, Texas, area. In 2017 it enrolled about 95,000 students. The headquarters of the Lone Star College System are located in The Wood ...
, while the southeastern portion of the city and some surrounding areas are served by
San Jacinto College
San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Greater Houston with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Channelview, De ...
.
Eastern portions of the area and small sections of the city are served by
Lee College
Lee College is a public community college in Baytown, Texas. Lee College's main campus occupies near downtown Baytown and extension campuses throughout its service area. The school has an enrollment of over 7,773 total students as of Fall 2018. ...
. Portions of Fort Bend County are served by
Wharton County Junior College
Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) is a public community college with its main campus in Wharton, Texas. The college also has campuses in Richmond, Sugar Land, and Bay City. WCJC is accredited by the Southern Association of College ...
. Portions of Galveston County are served by
College of the Mainland
College of the Mainland (COM) is a public community college in Texas City, Texas. Its name comes from its location on the "mainland" portion of Galveston County, Texas (the portion north of Galveston Island). The school's sport teams are nam ...
and
Galveston College
Galveston College (GC) is a public community college in Galveston, Texas.
History
On November 2, 1935, voters approved the creation of the Galveston Junior College District. However, a subsequent 1936 election to support the new district via ...
. Portions of Brazoria County are served by
Alvin Community College
Alvin Community College (ACC) is a public community college in Alvin, Texas. Alvin Community College provides educational opportunities in workforce training, academics, technical fields, adult basic education, and personal development.
As defi ...
and
Brazosport College
Brazosport College (BC) is a public community college in Lake Jackson, Texas. The college was opened in 1968 and offers primarily associate degrees and some bachelor's degrees. The campus features The Clarion, a regional musical performance ven ...
.
Blinn College
Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments.
History
Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 1 ...
serves portions of Austin County. The Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems are within the
10 largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Politics
Politically, the Greater Houston area has historically been divided between areas of strength of the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and
Democratic parties.
Democrats are also stronger in the more liberal
Neartown area, which is home to a large artist and
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
community, and
Alief
Alief is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated ...
, which houses a sizable Asian American population. In 2008, almost every county in the region voted for Republican
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
; only
Harris County was won by Democratic candidate
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, by a small margin (51%–49%). Galveston has long been a staunch Democratic stronghold, with the most active Democratic county establishment in the state.
United States Congress
Texas Legislature
Texas Senate
Texas House of Representatives
Culture
Houston's concentration of consular offices ranks third in the nation and first in the South, with 90 countries represented. The city of Houston is considered a major center of
Black and African American political power, education, economic prosperity, and culture, often called the new
black mecca
A black mecca, in the United States, is a city to which African Americans, particularly singles, professionals, and middle-class families, are drawn to live, due to some or all of the following factors:
* superior economic opportunities for blac ...
after
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
[ CITED: p. 412.] Houston and its metropolitan area also has a sizable Hispanic and Latin American community.
CNN/Money and ''
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
'' magazine have recognized cities in the Greater Houston area the past three years as part of its "100 Best Places to Live in the United States". In 2005, Sugar Land, southwest of Houston in northeast Fort Bend County, was ranked 46th in the nation, and one of only three Texas cities among the Top 100. In 2006, the magazine recognized Sugar Land again, this time as the third-best city on its list. Also making the 2006 list were
League City
League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129.
The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris ...
(65th) in
northern Galveston County and The Woodlands (73rd) in
southern Montgomery County. In 2007, another Houston suburb,
Friendswood, made the list ranked 51st in the nation. The 2006 list only includes cities with at least 50,000 residents, and the 2007 list contains only cities with less than 50,000 residents.
Greater Houston is widely noted for its ethnic diversity and strong international community. In its 2010 publication "Urban Elite", A.T. Kearney added the city to their list of the 65 most important world cities and ranks Houston 35th, as "...a magnet for a diverse population and business services...". The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network ranks Houston as a Beta- World City, "an important world city instrumental to linking their region or state to the world economy."
Media
![Melcher_Center_for_Public_Broadcasting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Melcher_Center_for_Public_Broadcasting.jpg)
Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area is served by a public television station and one public radio station.
KUHT
KUHT (channel 8) is a PBS member television station in Houston, Texas, United States. Owned by the University of Houston System, it is sister to NPR member station KUHF (88.7 FM). The two stations share studios and offices in the Melcher Ce ...
(HoustonPBS) is a
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
member station and is the first public television station in the United States. Houston Public Radio is listener-funded radio and comprises one
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
member station,
KUHF
KUHF (88.7 FM branded as ''News 88.7'') is a public radio station serving Greater Houston metropolitan area. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System, and is operated by Houston Public Media, also known as H ...
(KUHF News). The
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a public university system in Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio station (KUHF).
Th ...
owns and holds broadcasting licenses to KUHT and KUHF. The stations broadcast from the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, located on the campus of the University of Houston. The metropolitan area is also served by
ABC13 Houston (KTRK-TV) and
Fox 26 Houston (KRIV-TV), owned-and-operated stations of
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, and
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
and CBS News, CBS-affiliates KPRC-TV, KPRC 2 Houston and KHOU, KHOU 11.
The Houston area is served by the ''Houston Chronicle'', its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Hearst Corporation, which owns and operates the ''Houston Chronicle'', bought the assets of the ''Houston Post''—its long-time rival and main competition—when ''Houston Post'' ceased operations in 1995. The ''Houston Post'' was owned by the family of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. The only other major publication to serve the city is the ''Houston Press''—a free alternative weekly with a weekly readership of more than 300,000.
The ''Galveston County Daily News'', founded in 1842, is that city's primary newspaper and the oldest continuously printed newspaper in Texas. It currently serves as the newspaper of record for Galveston, as well as Galveston County. Radio station KGBC, on air since 1947, has also served as a local media outlet.
Transportation
Highways
![RF - Houston West Loop South](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/RF_-_Houston_West_Loop_South.1.jpeg)
Houston's freeway system includes of freeways and expressways in the 10-county metro area.
The State of Texas plans to spend $65 billion on Houston area highways by 2025. Houston freeways are heavily traveled and often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth.
The Greater Houston area has a Spoke-hub distribution paradigm, hub-and-spoke freeway structure with multiple loops. The innermost is Interstate 610 (Texas), Interstate 610, forming a roughly -circumference loop around downtown. The nearly square Loop 610 is quartered into "North Loop", "South Loop", "West Loop", and "East Loop". The roads of Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, at a diameter around . A planned highway project, State Highway 99 (Texas), State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), will form the third loop outside of Houston. Currently, a completed portion of State Highway 99 runs from U.S. Highway 59 (Texas), U.S. Highway 59, Near New Caney, to U.S. Highway 59 (Texas), U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, and was completed in 2016. Another segment of State Highway 99 from Interstate 10 south to Farm-to-Market Road 1405 in Chambers County was completed in 2008. The next portion to be constructed is from the current terminus at U.S. Highway 59 to Interstate 10 in Chambers County. Freeways also include the Westpark Tollway, which runs from U.S. Hwy 59 to Texas Hwy 99 and the Fort Bend Parkway, which runs from U.S. Hwy 90-A to Texas Hwy 6 in Missouri City. When completed in the future, Interstate 69 in Texas, Interstate 69 will start at the Mexico–US border, go through the Greater Houston area, and continue on to Michigan at the Canada–US border. All of Interstate 69 has been completed in the Greater Houston area and is co-signed with U.S. Highway 59. Interstate 45, which starts at State Highway 75 in Dallas provides transport from Houston to Dallas.
Mass transit
![METRORail 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/METRORail_4.jpg)
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys, and lift vans.
METRO began running light rail service (METRORail) on January 1, 2004. Currently, the track is rather short — about 22.7 miles (20.6 km) from Northline Transit Center Station through downtown Houston to the
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...
and Reliant Park, and lines from downtown to the East End and the University of Houston/Lower 3rd Ward. Still, the system is traveled by about 61,000 people daily, giving it the second-highest ridership per track mile in the nation. The Uptown Light Rail Line has been converted to a BRT Line and began construction in the late second quarter of 2016. The BRT Line will run between the former NW Mall (which is in the process of redevelopment) and the WestPark TC. METRO's various forms of public transportation still do not connect multiple suburbs to the inner city (defined by the 610 loop), causing Houstonians to rely on the automobile as a primary source of transportation. The problem is one due to the lack of a central metropolitan area transportation authority, primarily due to a few suburban counties refusing to cooperate with METRO. For example, there are multiple coach bus services that run into downtown Houston. METRO is in the late planning stages of the US 90 Commuter line which will service the Ft Bend County and SW Harris County suburban region. Prior to the opening of METRORail, Houston was the largest major city in the United States without a rail transit system.
Following a successful referendum held locally in 2004, METRO is currently in the beginning design phases of a 10-year expansion plan to add five more sections to connect to the current rail system. An 8.3-mile (13.4-km) expansion has been approved to run the service from Uptown through Texas Southern University, ending at the University of Houston campus.
Some areas in east Harris County are served by Harris County Transit.
Airports
Houston's largest airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is located in north Houston. It is the second largest hub for United Airlines.
In 2010, Continental Airlines moved its headquarters from downtown Houston to downtown Chicago upon its merger with United Airlines. The southeast of Houston has William P. Hobby Airport, the second-largest commercial passenger airport. Houston's third-largest airport is Ellington Field, which houses several United States National Guard, National Guard and Air National Guard units, as well as a United States Coast Guard air station and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center's fleet of jets that are used to train astronauts. Sugar Land has the Sugar Land Regional Airport, which is the fourth-largest airport in the metropolitan area. Both Sugar Land Regional and Ellington Field serve as reliever airports for the Houston Airport System.
Intercity rail
Amtrak provides intercity rail service to the Houston (Amtrak station), Houston station.
Intercity bus
Greyhound Bus Lines operates services from three bus stations in the City of Houston:
* Houston Greyhound Station at 2121 South Main Street
* Americanos U.S. L.L.C. (Houston Southeast) at 7218 Harrisburg Blvd.
* Agencia Autobuses (Houston Southwest) at 6590 U.S. Highway 59 (Texas), Southwest Freeway
In addition, Greyhound operates services from two stops
* Houston Aau
* Houston (Amtrak station), Houston (Amtrak station)
Greyhound also operates services to stops within other cities in the Greater Houston area, including:
* Angleton, Texas, Angleton (at Save Step Food Mart)
*
Baytown Baytown may refer to:
* Baytown, Texas, a city in the United States near Houston, Texas
*Baytown culture, an archaeological culture in the United States
*Operation Baytown
Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland o ...
(at Baytown Travel Express)
*
Conroe (at Royal Dutch Shell, Shell)
*
Katy (at Sunmart Texaco)
* Prairie View, Texas, Prairie View (at Unco Food Store)
* Rosenberg, Texas, Rosenberg (at Shell-McDonald's)
Three Megabus (North America), Megabus stations additionally serve the Houston area:
* Downtown – a parking lot located at 815 Pierce St. across the street from Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, METRO's Downtown Transit Center
* Northwest Houston – a Shell gas station located at 13250 FM 1960
* Katy Mills Mall – at Entrance 5, 5000 Katy Mills Circle
See also
* Harris County, Texas
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
Regional Growth Forecast 2035"
Archive Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). August 2006.
External links
The Center for Houston's Future
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Greater Houston,
Geography of Houston
Geography of Harris County, Texas
Geography of Fort Bend County, Texas
Geography of Montgomery County, Texas
Geography of Galveston County, Texas
Regions of Texas
Metropolitan areas of Texas