Talking Points

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS

• 7.2 million people live in the nine-county Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA.
• The Houston metro is the nation's fifth most populous metro area.
• Metro Houston has more residents than Tennessee, Massachusetts, and 34 other states.
• The City of Houston has 2.3 million residents, fourth most in the U.S.
• Nearly 1 in 4 Houstonians are foreign born.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2021 American Community Survey

GLOBAL PRESENCE

• Fifteen foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices in Houston, and the region has 39 active foreign chambers of commerce.
• 17.3% of the region's economy is tied to exports, and exports support 330,000 jobs
• Houston’s two international airports service 193 nonstop destinations, including 127 domestic and 66 international.
• The Houston-Galveston Customs District handled $273.3 billion in trade in '21, $96.1 billion in imports and $177.2 billion in exports.
• Port Houston is the largest container port on the Gulf Coast.
• Over 5,000 Houston companies are doing business abroad.
• More than 1,700 Houston companies report foreign ownership.
• Eighty-seven nations have consular representation in Houston, the third-largest representation in the U.S.
• Sixteen foreign banks from 9 nations are located in Houston.

ECONOMY

• The Houston MSA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $463.2 billion in ’21.  
• If Houston were an independent nation, the region would have the 26th largest economy in the world, behind Belgium and ahead of Thailand.
• Since 2001, real GDP in the Houston region has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 2.3 percent.

• Houston is the seventh-largest metro economy in the U.S.
• Twenty-four Fortune 500 companies call Houston home, the third most among U.S. Metros.

EMPLOYMENT

• There are 3.3 million jobs in the Houston MSA.
• The Health, Education, and Business & Professional Services industries account for over 1 in 4 jobs in the region.
• The goods-producing sector accounts for nearly 1 in 6 jobs.

INDUSTRIES

• The Texas Medical Center is the world's largest medical complex

Digital Technology & Innovation

• Houston is home to 8800 tech-related firms, including more than 800 venture-backed startups.
• Houston employs more than 78,490 workers in computer and mathematical occupations.  
• Nearly 79,000 engineers, architects, and related techs work in Houston. 

Aerospace

• Houston’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) has served as mission control for U.S. space exploration and astronaut training since 1961.
• More than 500 aviation and aerospace-related companies operate in Houston, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.