Harris County, Texas

Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837. It is named for John Richardson Harris, who founded the town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. According to the July 2021 census estimate, Harris County's population has shifted to 4,728,030 comprising over 16% of Texas's population.July 1, 2021 U.S. Census Bureau Estimates for Harris County, Texas
/ref> Harris County is included in the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

History

Human remains date habitation to about 4000 BC. Other evidence of humans in the area dates from about 1400 BC, 1 AD, and later in the first millennium. The region became uninhabited from 1 AD to European contact. Little European activity predates 1821. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca may have visited the area in 1529. French traders recorded passing through in the 18th century. Spaniards attempted to establish a fort in the area around the same time, but did not persist for long.

The first recorded European settlers in Harris County arrived in 1822. Their schooner sailed into Galveston Bay and ran aground on the Red Fish Bar. Some of those passengers traveled further up the bay system, but it is not known whether they settled up Buffalo Bayou or the San Jacinto River. One of these passengers, a Mr. Ryder, settled at what is now known as Morgan's Point, Texas. Also in 1822, John Iiams settled his family at Cedar Point after sailing from Berwick's Bay, Louisiana. Dr. Johnson Hunter arrived just after Iiams. He also wrecked his boat near Galveston. He settled at Morgan's Point and was a grantee of land there. Nathaniel Lynch settled in the area and operated a ferry.

In 1824, the land empresario, Stephen F. Austin convened at the house of William Scott for the purpose of conveying titles for Mexican headrights. He was joined by the land commissioner, Baron von Bastrop, and Austin's secretary, Samuel May Williams. About thirty families gained legal titles to land in what would later be known as Harris County. A few immigrants settled on Buffalo Bayou in these early years, including Moses Callahan, Ezekial Thomas, and the Vince brothers.

Nicolas Clopper arrived in the Galveston Bay area from Ohio in the 1820s. He attempted to develop Buffalo Bayou as a trading conduit for the Brazos River valley. He acquired land at Morgan's Point in 1826.
John Richardson Harris (1790–1829), for whom the county was later named, arrived in 1824. Harris had moved his family to Sainte Genevieve, Missouri Territory, where they had been residing until the early 1820s.

Harris was granted a league of land (about 4,428 acres) at Buffalo Bayou. He platted the town of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there. He ran boats transporting goods between New Orleans and Harrisburg until his death in the fall of 1829.

The First Congress of the Republic of Texas established Harrisburg County on December 22, 1836. The original county boundaries included Galveston Island, but were redrawn to its current configuration in May 1838.

The area has had a number of severe weather events, such as the following hurricanes and tropical storms:

* 1900 Galveston
* 1943 Surprise Hurricane (1943)
* Carla (1961)
* Alicia (1983)
* Rita (2005)
* Ike (2008)
* Harvey (2017)
* Nicholas (2021)
* Allison (2001)
* Erin (2007)
* Imelda (2019)
* Beta (2020)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.2%) is covered by water. Both its total area and land area are larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island.

Adjacent counties

* Montgomery (north)
* Liberty (northeast)
* Chambers (east)
* Galveston (southeast)
* Brazoria (south)
* Fort Bend (southwest)
* Waller (northwest)

Communities

Cities

Multiple counties

* Baytown (partly in Chambers County)
* Friendswood (mostly in Galveston County)
* Houston (county seat and largest municipality) (small parts in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties)
* Katy (partly in Fort Bend and Waller counties)
* League City (mostly in Galveston County)
* Missouri City (mostly in Fort Bend County)
* Pearland (mostly in Brazoria County and a small part in Fort Bend County)
* Seabrook (some water surface in Chambers County)
* Stafford (mostly in Fort Bend County)
* Waller (partly in Waller County)

Harris County only

* Bellaire
* Bunker Hill Village
* Deer Park
* El Lago
* Galena Park
* Hedwig Village
* Hilshire Village
* Humble
* Hunters Creek Village
* Jacinto City
* Jersey Village
* La Porte
* Morgan's Point
* Nassau Bay
* Pasadena
* Piney Point Village
* Shoreacres
* South Houston
* Southside Place
* Spring Valley Village
* Taylor Lake Village
* Tomball
* Webster
* West University Place

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

* Aldine
* Atascocita
* Barrett
* Channelview
* Cinco Ranch (mostly in Fort Bend County)
* Cloverleaf
* Crosby
* Highlands
* Mission Bend (mostly in Fort Bend County)
* Sheldon
* Spring
* The Woodlands (mostly in Montgomery County)

Unincorporated communities

* Alief (Partially annexed by Houston, partially unincorporated)
* Airline
* Bammel
* Barker
* Beaumont Place
* Bridgeland
* Cedar Bayou
* Champions Forest
* Cimarron
* Coady
* Cypress
* Dyersdale
* East Aldine
* Fall Creek
* Hockley
* Houmont Park
* Huffman
* Hufsmith
* Kinwood
* Klein
* Kleinbrook
* Kohrville
* Louetta
* Lynchburg
* McNair
* North Houston
* Northcliffe
* Northcliffe Manor
* Northgate Forest
* Remington Ranch
* Rose Hill
* Satsuma
* Traces
* Westfield

Demographics

''Note: the U.S. Census Bureau treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

According to the 2000 U.S. census, 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families resided in the county; in 2010, the population increased to 4,092,459; by the 2020 U.S. census, Harris County had a population of 4,731,145. Overall, Harris County's population has recorded positive growth since the 1850 U.S. census tabulated-population of 4,668.

Among the county population, once predominantly non-Hispanic white, the largest racial or ethnic group has become Hispanic or Latino Americans (43.01%) as of 2020. Following, non-Hispanic whites declined to 27.68% of the population; Black or African Americans were 18.72% of the area population, and Asian Americans made up 7.29% of the county; multiracial Americans increased to 2.57%, American Indians and Alaska Natives declined to 0.18%, and Pacific Islanders grew to 0.07% of the population. Having a large and growing Asian American community alongside Hispanics and Latinos, the Houston Area Asian Survey of the Kinder Institute of Urban Research Houston Area Survey stated that between 1990 and 2000, the Asian population in Harris County increased by 76%; between 2000 and 2010, it increased by 45%.

Economically, Harris County along with other Texas counties has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, the county was ranked in the top 25 at 22nd in the nation for property taxes as percentage of the homes value on owner-occupied housing; the list only includes counties with a population over 65,000 for comparability. Additionally, Harris County residents had a median household income of $63,022 with a mean income of $93,184. Families had a median income of $73,274 and mean of $105,534; married-couple families $93,961 with a mean of $128,211; and non-family households a median of $43,488 and mean of $62,435.

With a poverty rate of 15.6% as of 2020, Children At Risk—a local nonprofit research organization—estimated 21% of the Harris County children lived in poverty, 6.5 per 1,000 die before age one, and 38% drop out of high school as of 2007.

Language

In 2000, 1,961,993 residents of Harris County spoke English only. The five largest foreign languages in the county were Spanish or Spanish Creole (1,106,883 speakers), Vietnamese (53,311 speakers), Chinese (33,003 speakers), French including Louisiana French and Patois (33,003 speakers), and Urdu