Talking Points

A snapshot of Houston's demographic and economic growth for a quick reference guide of the regional economy | Q3/20

Published on 8/24/20

7.1 million residents live in the nine-county Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA
The Houston metro is the nation's 5th most populous metro area, larger than Missouri or Maryland
Approximate number of city of Houston residents: 2.3 million
Houston is the nation's 4th most populous city
Nearly 1 in 4 Houstonians are foreign born

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 American Community Survey

Fifteen foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices in Houston and the region has 41 active foreign chambers of commerce
17.3% of the region's economy is tied to exports and exports support 330,000 jobs
The Houston Airport System served 59.7 million passengers in '19, and flew to 67 international destinations and 117 domestic destinations
Houston serves 184 nonstop destinations
$237 billion in trade was handled by the Houston-Galveston Customs District in '19: $85.2 in imports and $151.8 in exports
Houston has the largest export market in the U.S.
Port Houston is the largest Gulf Coast container port
Over 5,000 Houston companies are doing business abroad
More than 1,700 Houston companies report foreign ownership
Seventy-eight nations have consular representation in Houston, the third largest representation in the nation
Sixteen foreign banks are located in Houston from 9 nations

If Houston were an independent nation, the region would have the 27th largest economy in the world, behind Thailand and ahead of Austria
Since 2001, real (i.e., net of inflation) GDP in the Houston region has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 2.4 percent

There are 3 million jobs in the Houston MSA
The Health, Education, and Business & Professional Services industries account for 1 out of 3 jobs in the region
The goods-producing sector accounts for nearly 1 in 5 of the region's jobs

TMC Graphic

Houston is home to 84,560 engineers and architects
Approximately 234,900 people work in the region's manufacturing industry
42 of the 113 publicly-traded oil and gas exploration firms are housed in Houston
630 exploration and production firms and 800 oil field service companies are located in the Houston region
Houston employs 26% of the nation's oil and gas extraction jobs

Demography Economy

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