Greater Houston

Greater Houston
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]
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
 • 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.