Greater Houston | |
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Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area | |
From top to bottom, left to right: Houston, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, and Galveston | |
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Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Principal cities[1] | |
Area | |
• Urban | 4,299.4 km2 (1,660.0 sq mi) |
• Metro | 26,061 km2 (10,062 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 131 m (430 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2020)[2] | |
• Density | 1,150.0/km2 (2,978.5/sq mi) |
• Urban | 5,853,575(5th) |
• MSA | 7,122,240 (5th) |
• CSA | 7,312,270 (9th) |
MSA/CSA = 2020, Urban = 2010 | |
GDP | |
• MSA | $633.2 billion (2022) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Area codes | 361, 409, 713/281/832/346, 936, 979 |
Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land,[4][5][6] is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States,[7][8][9] encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Coast in Southeast Texas. With a population of 7,510,253 in 2023, Greater Houston is the second-most populous metropolitan area in Texas after the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[10]
The region of approximately 10,000 square-miles (26,000 km2) centers on Harris County, the third-most populous county in the U.S., which contains the city of Houston, the economic and cultural center of the South with a population of more than 2.3 million as of 2010.[11] Greater Houston is part of the Texas Triangle megaregion along with the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Greater Austin, and Greater San Antonio. Greater Houston also serves as a major anchor and economic hub for the Gulf Coast. Its Port of Houston is the largest port in the United States and the 16th-largest in the world.[12]
Greater Houston has historically been among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States; it was the fastest-growing in absolute terms during the 2013–2014 census year, adding 156,371 people.[13] The area grew 25.2%, adding over 950,000 people, between 1990 and 2000 in comparison to a 13.2% increase in the national population over the same period. Between 2000 and 2007, the area added over 910,000 people.[14] The Greater Houston Partnership projected the metropolitan area would add between 4.1 and 8.3 million new residents between 2010 and 2050.[15]
Greater Houston has the seventh-highest metropolitan-area gross domestic product in the United States, valued at $490 billion in 2017.[16] A major trade center anchored by the Port of Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land has the highest trade export value of all metropolitan areas, at over $120 billion in 2018, accounting for 42% of the total exports of Texas.[17] As of 2021, Greater Houston is home to the headquarters of 24 Fortune 500 companies, ranking third among all metropolitan statistical areas.[18] The Greater Houston metropolitan area was ranked the fourth-most diverse metropolitan area in the United States in 2012.[19]
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area was also the top in metro area numerical increase with 156,371 people added between 2013 and 2014, followed by the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington area with a 131,217-person increase and the New York–Newark–Jersey City–Philadelphia area with a 90,797-person increase.