Houston, Texas | |
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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 | |
Nickname: Space City (official) | |
![]() Location within and around Harris County | |
Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W / 29.76278°N 95.38306°W | |
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 | |
• 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 | |
• City | 2,304,580 |
• Rank | 4th in the United States 1st in Texas |
• Density | 3,598.43/sq mi (1,389.36/km2) |
• Metro | 7,122,240 (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 |
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]
Houston has many sports teams, including the Astros, Texans, Rockets, and Houston Dynamo. The Astros play baseball, the Rockets play basketball, the Texans play American Football, and the Houston Dynamo play soccer.
Houston has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Koeppen climate classification).