Demographics

HOUSTON POPULATION ESTIMATES — JULY 1, 2010
County	Houston Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA)	Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA)	Houston- Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)	Houston-Baytown-Huntsville Combined Statistical Area (CSA)
Austin	Not in PMSA	Not in CMSA	28,417	28,417
Brazoria	Not in PMSA	313,166	313,166	313,166
Chambers	35,096	35,096	35,096	35,096
Fort Bend	585,375	585,375	585,375	585,375
Galveston	Not in PMSA	291,309	291,309	291,309
Harris	4,092,459	4,092,459	4,092,459	4,092,459
Liberty	75,643	75,643	75,643	75,643
Matagorda	Not in PMSA	Not in CMSA	Not in MSA	36,702
Montgomery	455,746	455,746	455,746	455,746
San Jacinto	Not in PMSA	Not in CMSA	26,384	26,384
Walker	Not in PMSA	Not in CMSA	Not in MSA	67,861
Waller	43,205	43,205	43,205	43,205
*Total*	*5,287,524*	*5,891,999*	*5,946,800*	*6,051,363*
Note: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines metropolitan geography. The PMSA and CMSA were defined in 1993, and were superseded by the MSA and CSA in 2003.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey 2010

From the first census in Texas in 1850 through the 2000 census, the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area - Harris, the adjoining seven counties, and Austin and San Jacinto counties - has averaged a compound annual growth rate of 3.47 percent.
The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown MSA is the nation's sixth most populous metropolitan area.
Between the 1940 and 1980 censuses, the City of Houston pursued a vigorous annexation policy. The 1990 census was the first since 1920 to find that fewer than half the residents of the 10-county region resided within the city limits of Houston. Even in the most recent census, 41.4 percent of the region's residents lived in the central city. The fact that such a large share of the region's population live and can vote in the City of Houston has helped it avoid the kinds of malaise that afflict many central cities in large metropolitan areas where a much smaller share of the population have such a vested interest in the health of the central city.

Demographics
Houston is among the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan areas.

If the City of Houston were a state, it would rank 36th in population, its 2,257,926 residents in mid-'09 placing it behind Nevada (2,643,085 in '09) and ahead of New Mexico (2,009,671 in '09).
With 5,867,489 inhabitants in mid-'09, the 10-county Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is the nation's sixth most populous metro area. Were it a state, it would rank 19th, behind Missouri (5,987,580) and ahead of Maryland (5,699,478) and Wisconsin (5,654,774). Its population exceeds that of Montana, North and South Dakota, Alaska, Delaware, Vermont, Wyoming and the District of Columbia combined.
U.S. Census Bureau estimates of country populations in '08 show that the Houston MSA has more people than Denmark, Finland, Norway, Singapore, New Zealand or Ireland. Of 227 nations for which the Bureau prepares estimates, 107 - fewer than half - have more residents than the Houston MSA.
The Houston MSA posted the seventh-largest population gain among the nation's metropolitan areas between the '90 and '00 censuses, adding more than 950,000 people - more than the total population of Delaware.
Among the 254 U.S. counties with more than 250,000 residents, the Houston MSA's Fort Bend and Montgomery counties ranked seventh and 10th in percent change in population from '00 to '09, up 57.1 percent and 52.4 percent respectively.
From '05 to '40, says Woods & Poole Economics, the Houston MSA should rank fourth among the nation's metropolitan areas in population growth, adding 3.44 million people - more than live in Iowa or Mississippi today. Houston's 8.76 million residents in '40 will rank it as the nation's fifth most populous MSA - larger than the Miami, Atlanta or Washington MSAs.

Post-Census Population Change
Houston is growing faster than the state and the nation.

Source: US Census Bureau

Components of Population Change
Houston is among the nation's fastest-growing and most diverse metropolitan areas.

Between the '90 and the '00 censuses, the population of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) grew 25.2 percent, according to the Census Bureau. The nation's population increased 13.2 percent over the same period.
Net migration accounts for approximately 49 percent of Houston's population growth since '00. Given Houston's prominence in international business, it is perhaps not surprising that net international immigration accounts for an overwhelming 58 percent of net migration (some 300,000 people) from the 2000 census to mid-'09. Without the surge in domestic migration between '05 and '06, which reflects the influx of evacuees from southern Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in late '05, international migration would account for approximately 70 percent of post-census net migration, and net migration would represent 45 percent of demographic population change.
Houston, which prizes its racial and ethnic diversity as a source of strength in a global economy, is becoming still more diverse. The '00 census found that no racial or ethnic group now constitutes a majority of the metro area population. By '30, under reasonable scenarios, Hispanics could become a majority. Asians - nearly 5 percent of the population in '00 - will climb to 10 percent within the next two decades.
The foregoing data include only with demographic components of population change. The Census Bureau's estimates also include a statistical component called the residual, which is a quantity by which estimates for individual counties are adjusted to sum to an independent estimate of the nation's population. For the Houston MSA, the residual - which is not included in the figures discussed above - averaged more 11,400 per year during '01-'05 and was negligible in other years.

Owner Occupied Housing
Over 1.2 million residents in Houston own a home.

Homeowners in Major Metropolitan Areas
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)	Number of Homeowners	Percent of Households
New York, NY	3,577,313	52.71%
Chicago, IL	2,276,724	66.97%
Los Angeles, CA	2,101,299	50.73%
Philadelphia, PA	1,526,350	69.57%
Dallas, TX	1,369,201	62.21%
Washington, DC	1,311,525	66.01%
Atlanta, GA	1,291,011	68.48%
Miami, FL	1,273,300	64.61%
Houston, TX	1,248,025	62.26%
Detroit, MI	1,188,048	72.04%
Boston, MA	1,081,916	63.44%
Phoenix, AZ	976,778	66.35%
Minneapolis, MN-WI	911,984	72.43%
San Francisco, CA	866,198	55.54%
Seattle, WA	830,952	61.77%
Riverside, CA	817,833	65.86%
St. Louis, MO-IL	785,781	70.69%
Tampa, FL	740,618	67.86%
Baltimore, MD	683,583	68.01%
San Diego, CA	578,787	55.18%
Source: US Census Bureau, 2009 American Community Survey

Age Distribution
Houston's median age is among the lowest of the nation's major metro areas.

2009 AGE DISTRIBUTION FOR 20 MOST POPULOUS U.S. MSAs (AGE GROUPS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION)
Metro Area	Median Age	15-24 Years	25-34 Years	35-54 Years	55-64 Years	65 and Over
Riverside, CA	32.1	15.8%	13.7%	27.1%	9.2%	10.1%
Houston, TX	32.9	13.8%	15.2%	28.7%	9.9%	8.5%
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX	33.0	13.5%	15.9%	29.0%	9.2%	8.6%
Phoenix, AZ	33.7	13.1%	15.8%	26.9%	9.7%	11.4%
Atlanta, GA	34.4	13.4%	14.8%	30.6%	10.0%	8.5%
Los Angeles, CA	34.6	14.2%	15.5%	28.7%	9.9%	10.8%
San Diego, CA	34.7	15.0%	15.2%	27.8%	10.3%	11.4%
Chicago, IL	35.4	13.8%	14.4%	29.4%	10.5%	11.2%
Minneapolis, MN	36.0	13.3%	14.9%	29.9%	10.9%	10.5%
Washington DC	36.1	13.4%	14.6%	30.5%	11.0%	10.0%
Seattle, WA	36.5	13.0%	15.9%	30.3%	11.3%	10.6%
United States	36.8	14.1%	13.5%	28.1%	11.3%	12.9%
Baltimore, MD	37.8	13.9%	13.8%	29.1%	11.7%	12.5%
New York, NY	37.8	12.9%	14.1%	29.4%	11.4%	13.0%
St. Louis, MO	37.9	13.4%	13.3%	28.9%	11.6%	13.2%
Philadelphia, PA	38.0	13.8%	13.3%	29.0%	11.4%	13.3%
San Francisco, CA	38.2	11.8%	15.3%	30.6%	11.8%	12.4%
Boston, MA	38.4	13.9%	13.8%	30.0%	11.6%	12.9%
Detroit, MI	38.7	12.9%	12.4%	30.2%	12.0%	12.8%
Miami, FL	39.2	12.4%	13.1%	28.8%	11.0%	15.9%
Tampa, FL	40.6	11.9%	13.0%	28.0%	12.0%	17.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: 2009 American Community Survey

The Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey found that Houston had one of the lowest median ages among the 20 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States.

Race by Ethnicity
Harris County: 2000 Census

Many users of census data do not realize that "Hispanic" is an ethnic, and not a racial, category. Hispanics may be of any race. The table above shows how Harris County Hispanics and non-Hispanics identified themselves in terms of race in 2000.
Note that many Hispanics refuse to pigeonhole themselves in the racial categories the Bureau of the Census provides. Three in seven Hispanics identified themselves as being of "some other race" than the Bureau-provided choices.
While whites were a racial majority in Harris County in 2000, non-Hispanic whites already had seen their share of population drop below 50 percent. This trend is expected to continue for decades as Hispanic and Asian shares of total population rise.

Foreign-Born Population
More than one-fifth of metropolitan Houston residents were born abroad.

Place of Birth of Foreign-Born Population

In 2009, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) contained an estimated 1.28 million residents born outside the United States. This figure represents 21.8 percent of all residents, up slightly from 2000. (The Houston MSA includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller counties.)
Residents born in the Western Hemisphere south of the U.S.-Mexico border account for 65.9 percent of the Houston MSA's foreign-born population. Mexico alone accounts for nearly half of all foreign-born Houston residents (589,302). El Salvador was the birthplace of the next largest of this group (103,003), followed by Honduras (50,367), Guatemala (30,567) and Colombia (18,408).
More than one in five foreign-born Houstonians - an estimated 285,361persons - were born in Asia. Asian nations that are the birthplaces of the largest numbers of Houstonians are Vietnam (72,493), India (47,487), China (43,397), Philippines (30,815), Pakistan (23,195), Korea (9,368).
Canada is the birthplace of nearly 13,563 Houstonians.

Racial/Ethnic Diversification
Houston's racial and ethnic diversity is one of its strengths.

Racial/Ethnic Diversification

Between 1990 and 2000, the population of metropolitan Houston grew more than 25 percent, and Harris County's grew more than 20 percent. Hispanics accounted for more than 60 percent of the net increase in the metropolitan area and more than 80 percent of the increase in Harris County.
While the Hispanic population grew roughly 75 percent between the two censuses, Anglo population registered only a modest increase in the region and fell nearly 5 percent in Harris County. Much of the growth in suburban counties is attributable to movement out of Harris County.
No racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority of the Houston region's population. Projections from the Texas State Data Center suggest that Hispanics could become a majority of the population in this region 30 to 40 years hence. In the meantime, there will continue to be no racial or ethnic majority, and Hispanics will gradually succeed Anglos as the plurality.

Educational Attainment
Houston has a well-educated workforce.

Women who have completed college are slightly more common in Houston than they are nationwide (26.7 percent versus 24.7 percent).
The Houston region's 27.9 percent matches the U.S. average for college graduates, and beats the average for college graduates for the state of Texas (25.5 percent).

Business Graduates
Houston has a ready supply of college graduates with business degrees.

BUSINESS DEGREES AWARDED JULY 1, 2008 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2009
Degree²	Houston Area Graduates¹
Accounting	1,564
Banking & Financial Support Services	44
Business Administration	2,619
Business/Commerce, General	558
Business/Corporate Communications	48
Finance, General	1,210
Human Resources - Development and Management	180
Hotel/ Motel Admin & Operations	254
International Business/Trade/Commerce & Logistics	142
Management - General	489
Marketing/Marketing Management	810
Operations Management, Purchasing, & Supervision	176
Organizational & Behavioral Studies	130
Real Estate	63
Sales, Distribution, and Marketing Operations	210
Tourism & Travel Service Management	69
TOTAL	8,566
¹ Houston Baptist University, Prairie View A&M University, Rice University, Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Southern University, University of Houston-University Park, Clear Lake, and Downtown, University of St. Thomas, University of Phoenix-Houston Campus ² Includes bachelor's and master's but excludes doctorates. Source: National Center for Education Statistics, October, 2010

Income
Houston's median after-taxes household and per capita incomes are above U.S. and Texas figures.

RACE BY ETHNICITY: HARRIS COUNTY, 2000
Race	Non-Hispanic		Hispanic
Race	Number	Percent of Total Population	Number	Percent of Total Population
White	1,432,264	42.12	564,859	16.61
Black	619,694	18.22	8,925	0.26
American Indian/ Alaska Native	7,103	0.21	8,077	0.24
Asian	173,026	5.09	1,600	0.05
Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander	1,392	0.04	703	0.02
Some other single race	4,499	0.13	477,784	14.05
Two or more races	42,849	1.26	57,803	1.70
Total	2,280,827	67.07	1,119,751	32.93
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: HOUSTON MSA 2009 POPULATION 25 YEARS OR OLDER
Highest Education Level Attained	Estimated Population Age 25 or More	Percent of Population Age 25 or More
Graduate Degree	346,647	9.5
Bachelor's Degree	669,707	18.4
Total Completing College	1,016,354	27.9
Associate Degree	209,580	5.8
Some College, No Degree	823,738	22.6
High School Diploma Only	867,669	23.8
Total Completing High School	2,917,341	80.1
Grade 9-12, No Diploma	343,279	9.4
Less Than Grade 9	383,784	10.5
Total Population Age 25 or More	3,644,404	100.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009 American Community Survey

HOUSEHOLD INCOME 2009 HOUSTON-SUGAR LAND-BAYTOWN MSA
Annual Household Income	Percent of Households	Number of Households (000)
Less than $25,000	22.8	456.2
$25,000 - $50,000	23.7	475.9
$50,000 - $100,000	29.7	595.1
More than $100,000	23.8	477.2
Total	100.0	2,004.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009 American Fact Finder