Houston

Houston, Texas
City
Top to bottom, left to right: Downtown Houston, Sam Houston Monument at Hermann Park, Texas Medical Center, Uptown Houston, Johnson Space Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Buffalo Bayou
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Space City (official)
Location within and around Harris County
Houston Location within Texas Show map of Texas Houston Location within the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W / 29.76278°N 95.38306°W / 29.76278; -95.38306
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery
Incorporated	June 5, 1837
Named for	Sam Houston
Government
• Type	Strong Mayor-Council
• Body	Houston City Council
• Mayor	John Whitmire (D)
Area [1]
• City	671.67 sq mi (1,739.62 km2)
• Land	640.44 sq mi (1,658.73 km2)
• Water	31.23 sq mi (80.89 km2)
Elevation	80 ft (32 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• City	2,304,580
• Rank	4th in the United States 1st in Texas
• Density	3,598.43/sq mi (1,389.36/km2)
• Metro [3]	7,149,642 (5th)
Demonym	Houstonian
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	770xx, 772xx (P.O. Boxes)
Area codes	713, 281, 832, 346
FIPS code	48-35000[4]
GNIS feature ID	1380948[5]
Major airports	George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Interstates
U.S. routes
State routes
Rapid transit	Houston Metro
Website	www.houstontx.gov

Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the 4th most populous city in the United States. As of 2020, more than 2 million people lived there. John Whitmire became the mayor of Houston in 2024. Houston is named after Samuel Houston, who fought for Texas to leave Mexico in 1836. The Johnson Space Center of NASA is in Houston.

Houston has the largest medical center and complex in the world, the Texas Medical Center.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the main international airport serving Houston, and William P. Hobby Airport is the other international airport that is close to downtown Houston.

Houston has the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. city within its city limits after New York City.^[6][7]

1. ↑ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
2. ↑ "QuickFacts: Houston city, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
3. ↑ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
4. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
5. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
6. ↑ Fortune 500 2010: Cities Archived August 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 25, 2011
7. ↑ "A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index 2019" (PDF). A.T. Kearney. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2015.