Greater Houston

"Metro Houston" redirects here. Not to be confused with Houston Metro.

Greater Houston
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, Texas
Metropolitan Statistical Area
From top to bottom, left to right: Houston, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Galveston
Map
Interactive Map of Houston–Pasadena, TX CSA
Country United States
State Texas
Principal cities[1]
List
Area
 • Urban
4,299.4 km2 (1,660.0 sq mi)
 • Metro
26,061 km2 (10,062 sq mi)
Highest elevation
131 m (430 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Density1,150.0/km2 (2,978.5/sq mi)
 • Urban
5,853,575(5th)
 • MSA
7,122,240 (5th)
 • CSA
7,312,270 (9th)
 MSA/CSA = 2020, Urban = 2010
GDP
[3]
 • MSA$633.2 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area codes361, 409, 713/281/832/346, 936, 979

Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land,[4][5][6] is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States,[7][8][9] encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas. With a population of 7,510,253 in 2023, Greater Houston is the second-most populous metropolitan area in Texas after the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[10]

The region of approximately 10,000 square-miles (26,000 km2) centers on Harris County, the third-most populous county in the U.S., which contains the city of Houston, the economic and cultural center of the South with a population of more than 2.3 million as of 2010.[11] Greater Houston is part of the Texas Triangle megaregion along with the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Greater Austin, and Greater San Antonio. Greater Houston also serves as a major anchor and economic hub for the Gulf Coast. Its Port of Houston is the largest port in the United States and the 16th-largest in the world.[12]

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.[13] The area grew 25.2%, adding over 950,000 people, between 1990 and 2000 in comparison to a 13.2% increase in the national population over the same period. Between 2000 and 2007, the area added over 910,000 people.[14] The Greater Houston Partnership projected the metropolitan area would add between 4.1 and 8.3 million new residents between 2010 and 2050.[15]

Greater Houston has the seventh-highest metropolitan-area gross domestic product in the United States, valued at $490 billion in 2017.[16] 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.[17] As of 2021, Greater Houston is home to the headquarters of 24 Fortune 500 companies, ranking third among all metropolitan statistical areas.[18] The Greater Houston metropolitan area was ranked the fourth-most diverse metropolitan area in the United States in 2012.[19]

  1. ^ "OMB Bulletin No. 20-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). www.whitehouse.gov. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  3. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  4. ^ "Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Area: Local Market Report, First Quarter 2017" (PDF). Texas A&M University. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  5. ^ "Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Area". Official Texas Economic Development Corporation. March 12, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX – May 2019 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates". www.bls.gov. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Ura, Alexa (March 26, 2015). "List of Fastest-Growing Counties, Metro Areas Has Strong Texas Flavor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Houston is the fifth-largest metro area in the United States". April 5, 2012. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  9. ^ U.S. Census Bureau (April 5, 2012). "Population Estimates, Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas". Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  10. ^ "Census Estimates Show New Patterns of Growth Nationwide". U.S. Census Bureau. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  11. ^ [1] Archived copy at the Library of Congress (October 17, 2010).
  12. ^ "World Port Rankings 2016".
  13. ^ SCHNEIDER, MIKE; HOLLAND, JESSE J. (March 26, 2015). "CENSUS: FLORIDA CITY TOPS LIST OF FASTEST-GROWING AREAS". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015. The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area was also the top in metro area numerical increase with 156,371 people added between 2013 and 2014, followed by the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington area with a 131,217-person increase and the New York–Newark–Jersey City–Philadelphia area with a 90,797-person increase.
  14. ^ Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area (CBSA) Population and Components of Change Archived January 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Metro Houston Population Forecast" (PDF). Greater Houston Partnership. April 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  16. ^ "Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2017". Bureau of Economic Analysis. September 20, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Merchandise Exports in 2016" (PDF). United States International Trade Administration. October 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  18. ^ "Houston In Third Place For Most Fortune 500 HQs". Bisnow. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  19. ^ Trulia. "America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods And Metros". Forbes. Retrieved January 2, 2021.