Greater Houston, designated by the

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing ten counties along the Gulf Coast in

Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston a ...

. With a population of 7,824,643 in 2025, Greater Houston is the second-most populous metropolitan area in Texas, and the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, after the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

. The region of approximately centers on Harris County, the third-most populous county in the U.S., which contains the city of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, the economic and cultural center of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

with a population of more than 2.3 million as of 2010. Greater Houston is part of the

Texas Triangle The Texas Triangle is a region of Texas that contains the state's five largest cities and is home to over half of the state's population. The Texas Triangle is formed by the state's four main urban centers, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston ...

megaregion A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

along with the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex,

Greater Austin The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of ...

, and

Greater San Antonio Greater San Antonio, officially designated San Antonio–New Braunfels, is an eight-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The metropolitan area straddles South Texas and Central ...

. Greater Houston also serves as a major anchor and economic hub for the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

. Its

Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Houston, Texas. The port is a complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. Loc ...

is the largest port in the United States and the 16th-largest in the world. 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. 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. The Greater Houston Partnership projected the metropolitan area would add between 4.1 and 8.3 million new residents between 2010 and 2050. Greater Houston has the seventh-highest metropolitan-area gross domestic product in the United States, valued at $551 billion in 2023. A major trade center anchored by the Port of Houston, the region has the highest trade export value of all metropolitan areas, at over $180 billion in 2024, accounting for 9% of all U.S. exports. As of 2024, Greater Houston is home to the headquarters of 24

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies, ranking third among all metropolitan statistical areas. The Greater Houston metropolitan area was ranked the fourth-most diverse metropolitan area in the United States in 2012.

Geography

According to the

City of Houston Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...

, the Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands metropolitan statistical area has a total area of 10,062 square miles (26,060 km²), which is slightly smaller than the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and slightly larger than

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The

U.S. Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

combines the Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands metropolis with four micropolitan statistical areas ( Bay City,

Brenham Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas, United States, and the county seat of Washington County, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Brenham is also known for its annual German heritage festival that takes pla ...

, El Campo, and

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

) to form the Houston–Pasadena, TX combined statistical area. The metropolitan area is located in the Gulf Coastal Plains

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland. Much of the urbanized area was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, remnants of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. Of particular note is the

Katy Prairie Katy or KATY may refer to: People and Characters * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry * Katie Perry, Australian fashion designer * Katy Perry (pris ...

to the west, the

Big Thicket The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests or " Piney Woods" of the Southeast US. The Nat ...

to the northeast, and the

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

ecosystem to the south. Additionally, the metropolitan region is crossed by a number of creeks and

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

s, which provide essential drainage during rainfall events; some of the most notable waterways include

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Texas, Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately ...

(upon which Houston was founded),

White Oak Bayou White Oak Bayou is a slow-moving river in Houston, Texas. A major tributary of the city's principal waterway, Buffalo Bayou, White Oak originates near the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 290 (the Northwest Freeway) and me ...

Brays Bayou Brays Bayou is a slow-moving river in Harris County, Texas. A major tributary of Buffalo Bayou, the Brays flows for from the western edge of the county, south of Barker Reservoir along the border with Fort Bend County, east to its convergence ...

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

, and the San Jacinto River. The upper

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of Buffalo Bayou is impounded by two large

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

reservoirs,

Barker Reservoir Barker Reservoir is a flood control structure in Houston, Houston, Texas which prevents downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou, the city's principal river. The reservoir operates in conjunction with Addicks Reservoir to the northeast, which impou ...

and

Addicks Reservoir The Addicks Reservoir and Addicks Dam in conjunction with the Barker Reservoir prevent downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou in the city of Houston, Texas. Both reservoirs were authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act of June 20, 1938, which ...

, which provide a combined of storage during large rainfall events and cover a total land area of . Greater Houston's flat topography, susceptibility to high-intensity rainfall events, high level of

impervious surface Impervious surfaces are mainly artificial structures—such as pavements (roads, sidewalks, driveways and parking lots, as well as industrial areas such as airports, ports and logistics and distribution centres, all of which use considerable ...

, and inadequately-sized natural drainage channels make it particularly susceptible to catastrophic flooding events.

Geology

Underpinning Greater Houston's land surface are unconsolidated

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

s, clay

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

s, and poorly cemented

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

s up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed from stream deposits formed from the erosion of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. These

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers is a water-deposited layer of

halite Halite ( ), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. This thick, rich soil also provides a good environment for rice farming in suburban outskirts into which the city of Houston continues to grow near Katy. Evidence of past rice farming is even still evident in developed areas as an abundance of rich, dark, loamy topsoil exists. The Greater Houston region is generally earthquake-free. While the city of Houston contains over 150 to 300 active surface faults with an aggregate length of up to , the clay below the surface precludes the buildup of friction that produces ground-shaking in earthquakes. These faults generally move at a smooth rate in what is termed "fault creep".

Climate

Greater Houston has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

typical of the

. It is rainy most of the year. Prevailing winds come from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and

Galveston Bay area The Galveston Bay Area, also known as ''Bay Area Houston'' or simply the ''Bay Area'', is a region that surrounds the Galveston Bay estuary of Southeast Texas in the United States, within metropolitan area. Normally the term refers to the mainl ...

List of hurricanes

A number of

tropical storms A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

and hurricanes have hit the metropolitan area, including: *

1900 Galveston Hurricane The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, was a deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane which became the List of di ...

, which devastated Galveston and was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, killing between 8,000 and 12,000. *

Hurricane Carla Hurricane Carla was the most intense tropical cyclone landfall in Texas in the 20th century. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla developed from an area of squall, squally weather in the southwestern Caribbean Sea ...

(1961), which was the most recent Category 4 hurricane to strike Texas until Harvey in 2017. *

Hurricane Alicia Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly grow ...

(1983), which struck the area as a Category 3, and was at the time, the costliest Atlantic hurricane. *

Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical cyclone that devastated southeast Texas in June 2001. An arguable example of the " brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical and subtropical for 16 days, most o ...

(2001), until Harvey, which brought the worst flooding in Houston history and was the first tropical storm to be retired. *

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...

(2005), which triggered one of the largest evacuations in United States history in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. *

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

(2008), which brought devastating storm surge to the coast and wind damage into the city. *

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

(2017), which brought devastating flooding that resulted in excess of $100 billion in damages to

. *

Tropical Storm Imelda Tropical Storm Imelda ( ) was a tropical cyclone which was the fourth-wettest storm on record in the U.S. state of Texas, causing devastating and record-breaking floods in southeast Texas. The eleventh tropical cyclone and ninth named storm of ...

(2019) caused widespread flooding around Houston and surrounding areas. *

Hurricane Nicholas Hurricane Nicholas was a slow-moving and erratic tropical cyclone that made landfall in the U.S. state of Texas in mid-September 2021. The fourteenth tropical cyclone naming, named storm and sixth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, ...

(2021), did moderate damage, and brought wind and rain to the area. *

Hurricane Beryl Hurricane Beryl (, ) was a deadly and destructive tropical cyclone that impacted parts of the Caribbean, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Gulf Coast of the United States in late June and early July 2024. The second named storm, first hurricane ...

(2024), brought strong winds and significant rainfall, causing devastating damage in Houston.

Metropolitan communities

Counties

As defined by the

, the metropolitan area of Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands encompasses ten counties in Southeast Texas. They are listed below: *

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austi ...

Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan stat ...

Chambers County Chambers County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers County, Texas Chambers County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46,571. The county seat is ...

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded on December 29, 1837, and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in ...

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

* Harris County *

Liberty County Liberty County is the name of four counties in the United States: * Liberty County, Florida * Liberty County, Georgia * Liberty County, Montana * Liberty County, Texas Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

San Jacinto County San Jacinto County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 27,402. Its county seat is Coldspring. The county's name comes from the Battle of San Jacinto which secured Texas' independence from Mexi ...

Waller County Waller County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 56,794. Its county seat is Hempstead. The county was named for Edwin Waller, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first mayor ...

Communities

Eight principal communities are designated within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. The Woodlands is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

; the rest are cities. They are listed below: *

(2,325,502) *

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

(154,193) * The Woodlands (116,278) *

Sugar Land Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

(118,600) * Conroe (98,081) * Baytown (77,024) *

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

(50,457) *

Texas City Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States, on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay. Texas City is a deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturing center. The popul ...

(55,667) Other communities: * Pearland (122,149) *

League City League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. The population was 114,392 at the 2020 census. The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris County zoned f ...

(106,244) *

Missouri City Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increase ...

(76,500) *

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

(CDP) (62,569)

Demographics

Numerically, Greater Houston is the second fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S. There were a total of 7,122,240 residents within the Greater Houston metropolitan area as of 2020, according to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. In 2010, Greater Houston had 5,920,416 residents and in 2000, it had a population of 4,177,646. Another 2010 estimate determined the population increased to 5,920,487. Of the population an estimated 575,000 were undocumented immigrants according to 2014 estimates. In 2020, Greater Houston's racial makeup was 41%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

(

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

34%), 20% Black and African American, 8% Asian and 3% from

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

; additionally, 37% of the metropolitan population were

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

of any race. Among its metropolitan population, roughly 23.4% were foreign-born. The largest foreign-born population came from

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, followed by Asia, Africa, Europe and other parts of North America. The metropolitan statistical area was classified as one of the largest regions where the three largest minority groups were highly represented. In 2018, its racial makeup had an estimated 35.5% Anglo American, 20% Black and African American, 7.6% Asian American and 2.1% other races; approximately 37.6% were Hispanic or Latino American of any race. Nearly one in four Greater Houstonians were foreign-born in 2018 and a quarter of all refugees settled in Texas lived in the region. According to the 2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, the median household income was $69,193 and the per capita income was $35,190. Roughly 13% of the metropolis lived at or below the poverty line. As of 2011, Greater Houston has four of Texas's 10 wealthiest communities, which include the wealthiest community,

Hunters Creek Village Hunters Creek Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 4,385 at the 2020 census. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities in west Houston known as the Mem ...

, the fourth-wealthiest community, Bunker Hill Village, the fifth-wealthiest community,

West University Place West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...

, and the sixth-wealthiest community, Piney Point Village. Greater Houston's religious community is predominantly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and the second-largest metropolitan area that identifies with the religion in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth (73%). In 2012, the city of Houston proper ranked the ninth most religious city in the U.S. Within the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is the largest single Christian denomination as of a 2014 study by the

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

. Catholics in Houston are primarily served by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston The Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Galvestoniensis–Houstoniensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction—an archdiocese—of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese covers a portion of S ...

. Following, the body of

Evangelical Protestantism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

was the second largest according to this study;

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

dominated the Evangelical Protestant demographic.

Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestants (sometimes also known as oldline Protestants) are a group of Protestantism in the United States, Protestant denominations in the United States and Protestantism in Canada, Canada largely of the Liberal Christianity, theolo ...

ism, led by Methodists, was the third largest Christian group. In a separate study by the

Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...

in 2020, the Catholic Church numbered 1,299,901 for the metropolitan area; by 2020, the second-largest single Christian denomination (

Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Ch ...

) numbered 800,688; following, non-denominational Protestant churches represented the third-largest Christian cohort at 666,548. Altogether, however, Baptists of the Southern Baptist Convention, the

American Baptist Association The American Baptist Association (ABA) is a Baptist denomination in the United States with offices, a book store, and a publishing house in Texarkana. One of the principal founders was the Reverend Ben M. Bogard (1868–1951), a pastor of An ...

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (FGBCF) or Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International (FGBCFI) is a predominantly African-American, Charismatic Baptist denomination established by Bishop Paul Sylvester Morton—a Gospel singe ...

, National Baptist Convention USA and

National Baptist Convention of America The National Baptist Convention of America International, (NBCA Intl or NBCA) more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is a pred ...

, and the National Missionary Baptist Convention numbered 926,554. Non-denominational Protestants, the

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ The group of churches known as the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ is a fellowship of congregations within the Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone–Campbell Movement and the Reformation of the 19th Century) that have no form ...

, and the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...

numbered 723,603 altogether according to the 2020 study. Within the

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

tradition, there were 3,617

Coptic Orthodox Christian The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apos ...

s, 1,746

Eritrean Orthodox The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. It was given autocephaly by Shenouda III of Alexandria, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its in ...

and 850

Ethiopian Orthodox The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, 6,209

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

, 2,405 Malankara Orthodox Syrians, 641 American Orthodox, and 1,058

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

in the metropolis. According to the Pew Research Center's 2014 study, non-Christian religions collectively made up 7% of the religious metropolitan population. The largest non-Christian religion was

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. According to the study, 20% of Greater Houston was

irreligious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationa ...

and 2% were

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. The Association of Religion Data Archives 2020 study determined there were 7,061

Conservative Jews Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine rev ...

and 3,050

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

; there were 11,481

Reform Jews Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...

throughout the area. There were an estimated 123,256 Muslims, 51,567

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and Yoga practitioners, and 20,281

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

Economy

Among the 10 most populous

metropolitan areas A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

in the U.S., Greater Houston ranked first in employment growth rate and second in nominal employment growth. In 2006, the Greater Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

''. The Houston–The Woodlands-Sugar Land area's

gross metropolitan product Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure that calculates the total economic output of a statistical metropolitan unit during a specific time period. It represents the market value of all final goods and services produced within the u ...

(GMP) in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4% from 2004 in constant dollars—slightly larger than Austria's gross domestic product. By 2012, the GMP had risen to $449 billion, the fourth-largest of any metropolitan area in the United States. Only 26 countries other than the United States had a GDP exceeding Greater Houston's GAP. Mining, which in the area is almost entirely oil and gas exploration and production, accounted for 11% of Greater Houston's GAP—down from 21% as recently as 1985. The reduced role of oil and gas in Houston's GAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors—such as engineering services, health services, retail, and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

. The area's economic activity is centered in the

city of Houston Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...

, the county seat of Harris County. Houston is second to New York City in ''

'' headquarters. The city has attempted to build a

banking industry {{set category, first= industries (branches of an economy), alternative=industries, topic=Industry (economics) For other meanings of "industries", see :Industries. ...

, but the companies originally started in Houston have since merged with other companies nationwide. Banking, however, is still vital to the metropolitan region. Galveston Bay and the Buffalo Bayou together form one of the most important shipping hubs in the world. The

, the Port of Texas City, and the

Port of Galveston The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas, United States. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port o ...

are all major

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

s located in this Greater Houston area. The area is also one of the leading centers of the energy industry, particularly petroleum processing, and many companies have large operations in this region. The metropolitan area also comprises the largest

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

manufacturing area in the world, including for

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About of rubber is produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubber, just like natural ru ...

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

s, and

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

s. The area is also the world's leading center for building

oilfield A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

equipment. Greater Houston is also a major center of

biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

research, aeronautics, and high technology. FortBend 379

Much of the metro area's success as a petrochemical complex is enabled by its busy man-made

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel (geography), channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, ...

. Because of these economic trades, many residents have moved to the Houston area from other U.S. states, as well as hundreds of countries worldwide. Unlike most places, where high fuel prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston, as many are employed in the energy industry. Baytown,

, La Porte, and

have some of the area's largest petroleum/petrochemical plants, though major operations can be found in Houston, Anahuac, Clute, and other communities. Galveston has the largest cruise-ship terminal in Texas (and the 12th-largest in the world). The island, as well the

Clear Lake area Clear Lake, or the Clear Lake Area, is a region in parts of Harris and Galveston County in Texas, United States. It is part of the Galveston Bay Area, which itself is a section of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area.Kimb ...

, are major recreation and tourism areas in the region. Houston is home to the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a List of neighborhoods in Houston, neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States. It is immediately south of the Houston Museum District, Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 6 ...

—the largest medical center in the world. Galveston is home to one of only two national biocontainment laboratories in the United States. The

University of Houston System The University of Houston System is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas, comprising four separate and distinct universities. It also owns and holds broadcasting licenses to a public television station (KUHT) and a public radio s ...

's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated. This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston; after five years, 80.5% of graduates are still living and working in the region. Sugar Land is home to the second-largest economic activities and fifth-largest city in the metropolitan area. It has the most important economic center in Fort Bend County. The city holds the

Imperial Sugar Imperial Sugar Company is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. The company was established in 1843 and has undergone ownership changes mu ...

(its namesake), Nalco Champion, and Western Airways headquarters. Engineering firms and other related industries have managed to take the place as an economic engine.

Sports

Major professional teams

Minor league and semipro teams

College sports (Division I)

Greater Houston is home to five Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I programs, with four located within Houston proper. The University of Houston and Rice University play in Division I-A (FBS). The University of Houston plays in the Big 12 Conference, while Rice belongs to the American Athletic Conference. Both schools were once part of the Southwest Conference. Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University, which are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, plays in Division I-AA (FCS). Houston Christian University (formerly Houston Baptist University) currently plays in Division I (FCS), mainly in the Southland Conference. Rice and Houston Christian are widely noted for their student-athlete graduation rates, which number at 91% for Rice (tied for highest in the nation according to a 2002 ''Sports Illustrated'' issue on best college sports programs) and 80% for HBU.

Events

Houston is or has been home to various nationally known sporting events. The most notable is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which is the world's largest livestock, livestock exhibition and rodeo event. Other events of importance on greater Houston include the Shell Houston Open (a PGA Tour event), the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships (ATP tour), the Houston Marathon, and the Texas Bowl college football bowl game. From 1959 to 1987, Houston hosted the Bluebonnet Bowl. Houston has also played host to three Super Bowls (Super Bowl VIII, VIII, Super Bowl XXXVIII, XXXVIII, Super Bowl LI, LI), the 1968, 1986, and 2004 MLB All-Star Games, the 2022, 2021, 2019, 2017, 2005 World Series, and the 1989, 2006, 2013 NBA All-Star Games. Houston has also played host to various high school and college sporting events, including the Big 12 Football Championship Game, Big 12 Championship Game and hosted the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four, 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 2010 NCAA Men's Regional Finals, and 2010 MLS All-Star Game. Houston has held two WrestleMania events, WrestleMania X-Seven and WrestleMania XXV, which is considered the biggest pro-wrestling event of the year, seen as the Super Bowl of pro-wrestling. Houston was also considered a candidate for the 2012 Olympic Games, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

Higher education

Five separate and distinct state universities are located within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The University of Houston is a nationally recognized Tier One research university, and is the flagship institution of the

. The third-largest university in Texas, the University of Houston has nearly 43,000 students on its 667-acre campus in southeast Houston. The University of Houston–Clear Lake and the University of Houston–Downtown are standalone universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. The metropolitan area is home to the two largest historically black institutions in the state: Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University. The University of Texas Medical Branch and Texas A&M University at Galveston, a branch campus of Texas A&M University, are located in Galveston. Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized Tier One research university—are located within the metropolitan area. The University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of St. Thomas is the only Catholic institution of higher education in Houston. Houston Christian University, located in the Sharpstown area, was founded in 1960. Rice University is one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States and consistently ranks among the nation's top 20 universities by ''U.S. News & World Report''. Three community college districts exist with campuses in and around Houston. The Houston Community College System serves most of Houston. The northwestern through northeastern parts of the metropolitan area are served by various campuses of the Lone Star College System, while the southeastern portion of the city and some surrounding areas are served by San Jacinto College. Eastern portions of the area and small sections of the city are served by Lee College. Portions of Fort Bend County are served by Wharton County Junior College. Portions of Galveston County are served by College of the Mainland and Galveston College. Portions of Brazoria County are served by Alvin Community College and Brazosport College. Blinn College serves portions of Austin County. The Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems are within the List of United States colleges and universities by enrollment#US Department of Education Ranking, 10 largest institutions of higher learning in the United States.

Politics

Politically, the Greater Houston area has historically been divided between areas of strength of the Republican Party (United States), Republican and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic parties. Democrats are also stronger in the more liberal Neartown Houston, Neartown area, which is home to a large artist and LGBT community, and Alief, Houston, Alief, which houses a sizable Asian American population. In 2008, almost every county in the region voted for Republican John McCain; only Harris County was won by Democratic candidate Barack Obama, by a small margin (51%–49%). Galveston has long been a staunch Democratic stronghold, with the most active Democratic county establishment in the state.

United States Congress

Texas Legislature

Texas Senate

Texas House of Representatives

Culture

Houston's concentration of consular offices ranks third in the nation and first in the South, with 90 countries represented. The city of Houston is considered a major center of Black and African American political power, education, economic prosperity, and culture, often called the new black mecca after Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. CITED: p. 412. Houston and its metropolitan area also has a sizable Hispanic and Latin American community. CNN Business, CNN/Money and ''Money (magazine), Money'' magazine have recognized cities in the Greater Houston area the past three years as part of its "100 Best Places to Live in the United States". In 2005, Sugar Land, southwest of Houston in northeast Fort Bend County, was ranked 46th in the nation, and one of only three Texas cities among the Top 100. In 2006, the magazine recognized Sugar Land again, this time as the third-best city on its list. Also making the 2006 list were

(65th) in Galveston County, Texas, northern Galveston County and The Woodlands (73rd) in Montgomery County, Texas, southern Montgomery County. In 2007, another Houston suburb, Friendswood, Texas, Friendswood, made the list ranked 51st in the nation. The 2006 list only includes cities with at least 50,000 residents, and the 2007 list contains only cities with less than 50,000 residents. Greater Houston is widely noted for its ethnic diversity and strong international community. In its 2010 publication "Urban Elite", A.T. Kearney added the city to their list of the 65 most important world cities and ranks Houston 35th, as "...a magnet for a diverse population and business services...". The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network ranks Houston as a Beta- World City, "an important world city instrumental to linking their region or state to the world economy."

Media

Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area is served by a public television station and one public radio station. KUHT (HoustonPBS) is a Public Broadcast Service, PBS member station and is the first public television station in the United States. Houston Public Radio is listener-funded radio and comprises one NPR member station, KUHF (KUHF News). The

owns and holds broadcasting licenses to KUHT and KUHF. The stations broadcast from the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, located on the campus of the University of Houston. The metropolitan area is also served by KTRK-TV, ABC 13 (KTRK-TV) and KRIV (TV), Fox 26 (KRIV-TV), owned-and-operated stations of American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and NBC and CBS affiliates KPRC-TV, KPRC 2 and KHOU, KHOU 11. The Houston area is served by the ''Houston Chronicle'', its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Hearst Corporation, which owns and operates the ''Houston Chronicle'', bought the assets of the ''Houston Post''—its long-time rival and main competition—when ''Houston Post'' ceased operations in 1995. The ''Houston Post'' was owned by the family of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. The only other major publication to serve the city is the ''Houston Press''—a free alternative weekly with a weekly readership of more than 300,000. The ''Galveston County Daily News'', founded in 1842, is that city's primary newspaper and the oldest continuously printed newspaper in Texas. It currently serves as the newspaper of record for Galveston, as well as Galveston County. Radio station KGBC, on air since 1947, has also served as a local media outlet.

Transportation

Highways

Houston's freeway system includes of freeways and expressways in the 10-county metro area. The State of Texas plans to spend $65 billion on Houston area highways by 2025. Houston freeways are heavily traveled and often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth. The Greater Houston area has a Spoke-hub distribution paradigm, hub-and-spoke freeway structure with multiple loops. The innermost is Interstate 610 (Texas), Interstate 610, forming a roughly -circumference loop around downtown. The nearly square Loop 610 is quartered into "North Loop", "South Loop", "West Loop", and "East Loop". The roads of Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, at a diameter around . A planned highway project, Texas State Highway 99, State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), will form the third loop outside of Houston. Currently, a completed portion of State Highway 99 runs clockwise from Interstate 69 in Texas, I-69/U.S. Highway 59 (Texas), US 59 in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston to Texas State Highway 146, State Highway 146 in Baytown, east of Houston and was completed in 2022. When completed in the future, I-69 will start at the Mexico–US border, go through the Greater Houston area, and continue on to Michigan at the Canada–US border. All of I-69 has been completed in the Greater Houston area and is co-signed with U.S. Highway 59. Interstate 45, which starts at State Highway 75 in Dallas provides transport from Houston to Dallas.

Mass transit

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) provides public transportation in the form of buses, light rail, High-occupancy vehicle lane, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and paratransit to fifteen municipalities throughout the Greater Houston area and parts of unincorporated Harris County. As of 2016, METRO's service area covers containing a population of 3.6 million. The Woodlands Express provides a park and ride service for transit between The Woodlands and Houston. Some areas in east Harris County are served by Harris County Transit.

Airports

Houston's largest airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is located in north Houston. It is the second largest hub for United Airlines. In 2010, Continental Airlines moved its headquarters from downtown Houston to downtown Chicago upon its merger with United Airlines. The southeast of Houston has William P. Hobby Airport, the second-largest commercial passenger airport. Houston's third-largest airport is Ellington Field, which houses several United States National Guard, National Guard and Air National Guard units, as well as a United States Coast Guard air station and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center's fleet of jets that are used to train astronauts. Sugar Land has the Sugar Land Regional Airport, which is the fourth-largest airport in the metropolitan area. Both Sugar Land Regional and Ellington Field serve as reliever airports for the Houston Airport System.

Intercity rail

Amtrak provides intercity rail service to the Houston (Amtrak station), Houston station.

Intercity bus

Greyhound Bus Lines operates services from three bus stations in the City of Houston: * Houston Greyhound Station at 2121 South Main Street * Americanos U.S. L.L.C. (Houston Southeast) at 7218 Harrisburg Boulevard. * Agencia Autobuses (Houston Southwest) at 6590 U.S. Highway 59 (Texas), Southwest Freeway In addition, Greyhound operates services from two stops * Houston Aau * Houston (Amtrak station), Houston (Amtrak station) Greyhound also operates services to stops within other cities in the Greater Houston area, including: * Angleton, Texas, Angleton (at Save Step Food Mart) * Baytown (at Baytown Travel Express) * Conroe (at Royal Dutch Shell, Shell) * Katy (at Sunmart Texaco) * Prairie View, Texas, Prairie View (at Unco Food Store) * Rosenberg, Texas, Rosenberg (at Shell-McDonald's) Three Megabus (North America), Megabus stations additionally serve the Houston area: * Downtown – a parking lot located at 815 Pierce Street across the street from Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, METRO's Downtown Transit Center * Northwest Houston – a Shell gas station located at 13250 FM 1960 * Katy Mills Mall – at Entrance 5, 5000 Katy Mills Circle

Notes

References

External links

The Center for Houston's Future
{{coord, 29, 45, 46, N, 95, 22, 59, W, region:US-TX, display=title Greater Houston, Geography of Houston Geography of Harris County, Texas Geography of Fort Bend County, Texas Geography of Montgomery County, Texas Geography of Galveston County, Texas Regions of Texas Metropolitan areas of Texas