Houston metropolitan area

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Houston metropolitan area

The metropolitan area of Houston ( Engl. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Statistical Area or Greater Houston ) is the fifth largest metropolitan area (MSA) of the United States . It comprises nine counties along the Gulf Coast in southeast Texas . With a population of 6,997,384 people (as of 2018), the greater Houston area is the second largest metropolitan area in Texas after the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex . The approximately 10,000 square miles (26,000 km²) region is centered around Harris County , the third most populous county in the United States, in which the city of Houston is located. It is the largest economic and cultural center of south Texas with a population of 2.3 million people. The region has a high population dynamic and is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the USA. With the port of Houston it has the second largest seaport in the USA and with the George Bush Intercontinental Airport one of the largest airports in the world.

Together with the metropolitan areas of Austin , San Antonio and Dallas , the region forms the so-called Texan Triangle, in which a large part of the state's population lives.

composition

Counties

Houston
The Woodsland
Sugar Land

The metropolitan area consists of the following counties:

Settlements

Significant cities and settlements within the metropolitan area:

population

Greater Houston has historically been one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Since 1950, the population has increased more than six-fold, due to natural growth and immigration from abroad and within the country. The population is concentrated in Harris County with two-thirds of the population. In 2018, 70.7% of the population were white, 18.0% were black, 8.2% were Asian, 1.0% were indigenous and 2.0% belonged to several or other groups. A total of 37.6% were of Spanish or Latin American descent, regardless of race. A large number of people of Mexican descent live in the metropolitan area. In the core city of Houston, the Hispanic population already makes up the largest population group, while the mostly socio-economically better-off white population is concentrated in the suburbs. As the region continues to attract large numbers of migrants, it is expected to have a population of over 10 million by 2040.

year Residents¹
1950 806.701
1960 1,243,158
1970 1,985,031
1980 2,905,353
1990 3,301,937
2000 4,177,646
2010 5,920,416
2018 6,997,384

¹ 1920–2010: census results; 2018 estimate

economy

Thanks to high population growth and a business-friendly policy, the metropolitan region has a high level of economic dynamism and is one of the fastest growing in the United States. In 2018, the region had a gross domestic product of around 479 billion US dollars, which was around a quarter of the economic output of all of Texas. The region is an important trading center thanks to the ports of Houston and Galveston. It has the second highest trade export value of any metropolitan area at over $ 84 billion in 2016, accounting for 42% of total Texas exports. Houston and the surrounding area has traditionally been a center of the oil and gas industry, but its economy has become increasingly diversified. The mining and raw materials sector, which in this area is almost exclusively focused on the exploration and production of oil and gas, still made up 11% of the GDP of the greater Houston area in 2009 - in 1985 it was 21%. The lesser role of oil and gas in the Houston CAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors - such as construction, retail, health services and chemicals. With the Texas Medical Center, Houston has the largest medical complex in the world and about 370,000 people are employed in the health care sector. The greater Houston area is also a major center of biomedical research, aerospace, and high technology.

The best-selling and best-known companies include Phillips 66 , Sysco , Anadarko Petroleum , ConocoPhillips , Enterprise Products , Halliburton , Kinder Morgan , Occidental Petroleum , Apache Corporation and Huntsman Corporation . In 2019, 22 of the Fortune 500 companies came from the region.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ joelynch: The Texas Triangle. In: The Logistics of Logistics. February 20, 2018, Retrieved February 28, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ Alexa Ura: List of Fastest-Growing Counties, Metro Areas Has Strong Texas Flavor. March 26, 2015, accessed February 28, 2020 .
  3. ^ Houston - The Woodlands - Sugar Land (Metropolitan Statistical Area, Metropolitan Regions, USA) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .
  4. ^ Andrew Schneider: Greater Houston Population to Top 10 Million by 2040, METRO Next Projects. September 24, 2018, Retrieved February 28, 2020 (American English).
  5. ^ US Bureau of Economic Analysis: Total Gross Domestic Product for Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (MSA). January 1, 2001, accessed February 28, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Facts and Figures | Greater Houston Partnership. September 7, 2012, accessed February 28, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Houston Industries. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .
  8. ^ Fortune 500 Companies in the Houston metro area. Retrieved February 28, 2020 .