About Houston, Texas 

 

Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, it had a population of more than 2 million. The city covers more than 600 square miles (1,600 km²). Houston is the county seat of Harris County and part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than 5.5 million.

In the 20th century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions, and NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, aeronautics, and technology industries and only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled.Houston is also home to Rice University, one of the United States' leading teaching and research universities, and the University of Houston, Texas's third-largest public research university with more than 36,000 students from 130 countries.

Houston is a multicultural city with a large and growing international community. The Museum District is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, attracting more than 7 million visitors a year. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene as one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.

Rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple business districts have grown throughout the city in addition to downtown which include Uptown, Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, Westchase, and Greenspoint.

 

Houston Residential Real Estate Statistics

Click here to read the Houston Association of Realtors Monthly Report.

 

Economy

Houston's energy industry is recognized worldwide—particularly for oil—and biomedical research, aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of its economic base. The area is the world's leading center for building oilfield equipment. Much of Houston's success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston. The port ranks first in the United States in international commerce, and is the tenth-largest port in the world. Unlike most places, where high oil and gasoline prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston as many are employed in the energy industry.

The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA's Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2006 was $325.5 billion, slightly larger than Austria’s, Poland’s or Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). When comparing Houston's economy to a national economy, only 21 countries other than the United States have a gross domestic product exceeding Houston's regional gross area product. Mining, which in Houston is almost entirely exploration and production of oil and gas, accounts for 11% of Houston's GAP; this is down from 21% in 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, and manufacturing.

Houston ranks second in employment growth rate and fourth in nominal employment growth among the 10 most populous metro areas in the U.S. In 2006, the 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 magazine. Forty foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here and the city has 23 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations. Twenty foreign banks representing 10 nations operate in Houston, providing financial assistance to the international community.

 

Demographics

Houston is a diverse and international city, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong industries. Over 90 languages are spoken in the city. Houston has among the youngest populations in the nation, partly due to an influx of immigrants into Texas. The city has the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican population in the United States. An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants reside in Houston.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,953,631 people. The racial makeup of the city was 49.27 percent White, 25.31 percent Black, 0.44 percent Native American, 5.31 percent Asian American, 0.06 percent Pacific Islander, 16.46 percent from other races, and 3.15 percent from two or more races. Persons of Hispanic origin, regardless of race, accounted for 37 percent of the population in 2000.

Houston has a large population of immigrants from Asia, including the largest Vietnamese American population in Texas and third-largest in the United States. Some parts of the city with high populations of Vietnamese and Chinese residents have Chinese and Vietnamese street signs, in addition to English ones. Houston has two Chinatowns: the original located in Downtown, and the more recent one north of Bellaire Boulevard in the southwest area of the city. The city has a Little Saigon in Midtown and Vietnamese businesses located in the southwest Houston Chinatown.

 

Arts and theatre

Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene. The Theater District is located downtown and is home to nine major performing arts organizations and six performance halls. It is the second largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area in the United States. Houston is one of only five United States cities with permanent, professional, resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theater (The Alley Theatre). Houston is also home to many local folk artists, art groups and various smaller progressive arts organizations. Houston attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions for a variety of interests.

Houston is home to the Bayou City Art Festival, which is considered to be one of the top five art festivals in the United States.

The Museum District is home to many popular cultural institutions and exhibits, attracting more than 7 million visitors a year. Notable facilities located in the district include The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Holocaust Museum Houston, and the Houston Zoo.

Many venues scattered across Houston regularly host local and touring rock, blues, country, hip hop and Tejano musical acts. Unfortunately, there has never been a widely renowned music scene in Houston. Artists seem to relocate to other parts of the United States once attaining some level of success. A notable exception to the rule is Houston hip-hop, which celebrates the unique southern flavor and attitude of its roots. This has given rise to a strong, independent hip-hop music scene, influencing and influenced by the larger Southern hip hop and gangsta rap communities. Many Houstonian hip-hop artists have attained commercial success, including Bun B, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, Lil' Flip, and Beyoncé.

 

Tourism and recreation

Space Center Houston is the official visitors’ center of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Here one will find many interactive exhibits including moon rocks, a shuttle simulator, and presentations about the history of NASA's manned space flight program.

The Theater District is a 17-block area in the center of downtown Houston that is home to the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks. Bayou Place is a large multilevel building containing full-service restaurants, bars, live music, billiards, and art house films. The Houston Verizon Wireless Theater stages live concerts, stage plays, and stand-up comedy; and the Angelika Film Center presents the latest in art and foreign and independent films.

Houston is home to many parks including Hermann Park, which houses the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Lake Houston Park, Memorial Park, and Sam Houston Park. The city has 337 city parks and over 200 greenspaces—totaling over 19,600 acres that are managed by the city—including the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. The Houston Civic Center was replaced by the George R. Brown Convention Center—one of the nation's largest—and the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Society for the Performing Arts. The Sam Houston Coliseum and Music Hall have been replaced by the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

Other tourist attractions include the Galleria (Texas's largest shopping mall located in the Uptown District), Old Market Square, Tranquility Park, the Downtown Aquarium, and Sam Houston Park (which contains restored and reconstructed homes which were originally built between 1823 and 1905).

 

Healthcare and medicine

Houston is the seat of the internationally-renowned Texas Medical Center, which contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions. All 45 member institutions of the Texas Medical Center are non-profit organizations. They provide patient and preventive care, research, education, and local, national, and international community well-being. These institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first—and still the largest—air emergency service was created, and a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed. More heart surgeries are performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world.

Some of the academic and research health institutions in the center include Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, The Methodist Hospital, and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has consistently ranked as one of the top two U.S. hospitals specializing in cancer care by U.S. News & World Report since 1990.

 

Education

There are more than 55 colleges and universities and dozens of institutions engaged in research and development in Houston. The city is home to Rice University, one of the United States's leading teaching and research universities and ranked the nation's 17th-best overall university by U.S. News & World Report. The University of Houston (UH) is Texas's third-largest public research university with more than 36,000 students from 130 countries, making it one of the most diverse campuses in the country. UH is a doctoral degree granting comprehensive research institution with more than 40 research centers and institutes. South Texas College of Law, Houston's oldest law school founded in 1923, has one of the nation's top programs for trial advocacy.

Other institutions of higher learning in the city include University of St. Thomas, Houston Baptist University, and Texas Southern University, a historically black university. The Houston Community College System serves most of Houston and is the fourth-largest community college system in the United States.

There are 16 school districts serving the city. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh-largest in the United States. HISD has 112 campuses that serve as magnet or vanguard schools—specializing in such disciplines as health professions, visual and performing arts, and the sciences. There are also many charter schools that are run separately from school districts. In addition, some public school districts also have their own charter schools.

The Houston area is home to more than 300 private schools, many of which are accredited by Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) recognized agencies. The Houston Area Independent Schools, or HAIS, offer education from a variety of different religious as well as secular viewpoints. The Houston area Catholic schools are operated by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.