Houston is the biggest city by population in the state of Texas with population over 2.4 million, which accounts for 8% of the state population. It also ranks the 4th most populated city in US after New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas. It is also known as “Space City”.
Based on our research, Houston population will reach 2.467 million by 1st July of 2024. We use first day of July each year due to US census bureau normally publishes the estimated population data for the same period. The calculation is based on the average growth rate of 1.13% over last 12 years since 2011. We believe using the recent years’ figures (see the table in next section) will make the estimation more accurate.
Population Growth of Houston
Looking back last twelve years of Houston’s population, the growth rate is strong and consistent ranging from 0.3% to 1.83%, adding around 7,000 to 41,000 people each year to the overall population. Lots of workers were moving to Texas to take advantage of employment opportunities there, which contributes to the population growth. Comparing with other cities in Texas, Houston growth rate is aligned with the state average.
Year | Population | Growth rate |
2011 | 2,132,000 | n/a |
2012 | 2,166,000 | 1.59% |
2013 | 2,204,000 | 1.75% |
2014 | 2,244,000 | 1.81% |
2015 | 2,285,000 | 1.83% |
2016 | 2,303,000 | 0.79% |
2017 | 2,310,000 | 0.30% |
2018 | 2,331,000 | 0.91% |
2019 | 2,360,000 | 1.24% |
2020 | 2,378,880 | 0.80% |
2021 | 2,398,659 | 0.83% |
2022 | 2,419,786 | 0.88% |
2023 | 2,439,886 | 0.83% |
Demographics of Houston
According to U.S. Census Bureau, 49.6 percent of the Houston population is male and 50.4 percent are female. Average male age is 32 and average female age is 34, so average state age is 33. Approximately 22.6% of residents are age 5 to 19, the largest population segment.
The top five races for people living in Houston are: White(49.3%),Black(25.3%),Asian(5.3%),Native(0.4%),two or more races(3.2%).
The top five languages (other than English) spoken in Houston are: Spanish, Chinese, German, French, Kru, Ibo, Yoruba. Spanish dominates the non-English speaking Language due to Latin American immigrant population. More than 145 different languages are spoken in Houston. That’s the third largest number of languages spoken in a U.S. city behind New York and Los Angeles. More than a third of Houstonians older than five speak a language other than English at home.
The religious makeup of Houston is: 73% of the population of the city identified as Christian, with 50% saying they attended a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant, and 19% identifying as Roman Catholic. 20% of the population did not claim any religious affiliation.
Population Density of Houston
Houston’s population density is 3,660 people per square kilometer, which is one of the most densely populated major city in US.
Facts About Houston
- Houston was founded on August 30, 1836 by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou.
- The Houston CMSA covers 8,778 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Massachusetts but larger than New Jersey.
- More than 2.4 million foreign travelers came to Houston in 2014, the most recent year for which data exists.
- Houston has 17 sister city relationships promoting business opportunities across five continents: Australia (1), Asia (6), Europe (7), Africa (1) and Americas (2).
- Houston is considered to have one of the best culinary scenes in the country.
- Houston is home to Johnson Space Center, the training base and home for our nation’s astronauts and the site of Mission Control. In 1969, “Houston” was the first word spoken from the moon.
- At 655 square miles or 1,625.2 km2, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.
- The city is located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico.
References
The following links provide data for this topic:
- U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov
- Texas Government: https://texas.gov/
- Houston City Government: http://www.houstontx.gov/
- Visit Houston: https://www.visithoustontexas.com