2015 Houston Facts

2015

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Discover the Houston Region

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

AUSTIN | BRAZORIA | CHAMBERS | FORT BEND | GALVESTON | HARRIS | LIBERTY | MONTGOMERY | SAN JACINTO |WALKER | WALLER

Table of Contents The Houston Region: The Facts Speak for Themselves....................................................................4 Houston Region in Perspective.............................. 5 Area......................................................................... 5 People..................................................................... 5 Economy................................................................. 5 Geography............................................................. 5 Demographics.............................................................. 6 Population.............................................................. 6 Income............................................................................8 Per Capita Personal Income..............................8 Total Personal Income.........................................8 Weekly Wage.........................................................8 Houston Economy...................................................... 9 Corporate Economy...........................................10 International Business........................................ 11 Employment........................................................... 11 Industries...................................................................... 12 Aerospace............................................................. 12 Banking and Finance......................................... 12 Wholesale and Retail Trade............................. 12 Construction and Real Estate.......................... 12 Energy.................................................................... 14 Engineering.......................................................... 14 Health Care.......................................................... 15 Texas Medical Center........................................ 15 Manufacturing......................................................16 Technology..................................................................16 Government................................................................. 17 City of Houston.................................................... 17 Counties................................................................ 17 State Government............................................... 17 United States Congress.................................... 17 Council of Governments................................... 18 Taxation................................................................. 18 Public Safety......................................................... 18

Education.....................................................................19 Schools..................................................................19 Libraries................................................................20 Colleges and Universities................................20 Infrastructure............................................................... 21 Public Utilities...................................................... 21 Land Transportation........................................... 21 Seaports...............................................................22 Air Transportation.............................................. 23 Communications Media........................................... 24 Newspapers........................................................ 24 Broadcast Media................................................ 24 Environment............................................................... 24 Water..................................................................... 24 Clean Air............................................................... 24 Renewable Energy............................................ 25 Life in Houston...........................................................26 Cost of Living......................................................26 Weather................................................................ 26 Restaurants.......................................................... 27 Convention and Sports Facilities................... 27 Conventions and Major Events...................... 28 Hotels and Motels..............................................29 Golf........................................................................29 Racing...................................................................30 Biking and Hiking...............................................30 Arts and Cultural Industry................................30 Performance Arts Facilities.............................30 Performance Arts................................................ 31 Houston Museum District................................. 31 Additional Houston-Area Museums.............. 32 Parks...................................................................... 33 Forests.................................................................. 34 Wildlife Refuges.................................................. 34 Houston Zoo........................................................ 34 Houston: The City With No Limits........................ 35 History.......................................................................... 36

The Houston Region: The Facts Speak for Themselves Houston Facts. The title says much about this publication. No spin. No frills. No hyperbole. Just page after page of straightforward information from more than 300 sources to answer questions most frequently asked about the Houston region.

Downtown Skyline and the Rosemont Bridge overlooking Buffalo Bayou

Houston Facts has presented unvarnished information about the Houston region since 1959, and its predecessor publications — under different names, but with the same objective — date to 1906. Over the decades, Houston Facts has grown well beyond its original four pages so that we could expand the range and depth of its coverage, bringing you more information about parks, museums, schools, living costs, the regional economy and a host of other topics. It’s evolved into a concise almanac for the Houston region. Corporate planners, market analysts, students, relocation and site selection consultants, real estate professionals, government agencies and myriad others turn to it for authoritative information on this region.

You may find in these pages facts that surprise you, tantalize you and perhaps alter your image of Houston. For example: •

If Houston were a country, it would rank as the 25th largest economy in the world—exceeding Norway and Belgium’s GDP.

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The Houston region has no racial or ethnic majority.

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The Port of Houston ranks first in U.S. foreign tonnage.

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Living costs in the Houston region are 19.2 percent below the average for major metropolitan areas.

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Parks represent 14.3 percent of the city’s land area.

Of course, we believe the Houston region is one of the nation’s most attractive major metropolitan areas — an outstanding place to live, work, and build a business. We’d like you to share that view.

But we won’t try to persuade you. The facts need no embellishment. They speak for themselves.

HERE THEY ARE. 4 – Houston Facts | 2015

Houston Region in Perspective Area •

The nine-county Houston-The WoodlandsSugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) covers 9,432 square miles – an area smaller than Maryland but larger than New Jersey.

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Harris County covers 1,778 square miles – an area nearly half as large as Rhode Island.

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At 655 square miles, the city limits of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.

People •

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•

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If the nine-county Houston MSA were a state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it would rank 18th in population. The Houston MSA’s 6,490,180 residents as of July 1, 2014 would place it behind Tennessee (6,549,352) and ahead of Missouri (6,063,589) and Maryland (5,976,407).

If Harris County were a state, it would rank 26th in population. Its 4,441,370 residents as of July 1, 2014 would place it behind Louisiana (4,649,676) and ahead of Kentucky (4,413,457) and Oklahoma (3,970,239).

If the city of Houston were a state, it would rank 36th in population. The city’s 2,239,558 residents in 2014 place it behind Nevada (2,839,099) and ahead of New Mexico (2,085,572).

Among the nation’s metropolitan areas, the Houston MSA in 2013 ranked fourth in number of Hispanics (2,279,622), seventh in number of blacks (1,063,017) and seventh in number of Asians (438,349), according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Economy •

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates the Houston MSA had a nominal GDP of $517.4 billion in 2013. Among the states, Houston would rank ninth, after New Jersey ($537.4 billion) and ahead of North Carolina ($467.1 billion).

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If the MSA were an independent nation, it would rank as the world’s 25th largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund – behind Poland ($517.7 billion), but ahead of Norway ($512.6 billion) and Belgium ($508.3 billion).

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In June 2015, the Houston MSA had more jobs (2,987,000) than 35 states, including Wisconsin (2,931,800), Tennessee (2,903,200), and Minnesota (2,860,300).

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In 2014, the Houston Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service recorded closings on 91,261 properties (includes single-family homes, townhomes, condos, high rises, etc.) – an average of one every 5.8 minutes.

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In 2014, Houston MSA automobile dealers sold 373,998 new cars, trucks and SUVs – an average of one every 1.4 minutes.

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In 2014, the Houston Airport System handled 53,196,840 passengers – an average of 6,073 passengers per hour around the clock.

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In 2014, the City of Houston issued building permits for construction valued at $8.67 billion – an average of $275 per second.

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In 2014, contracts for the construction of new buildings in the Houston MSA totaled $30.5 billion – an average of $58,029 per minute.

Geography •

The city of Houston lies in three counties: Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery. Harris County contains the bulk of the city of Houston with small portions of the city lying in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

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Houston is the county seat, or administrative center, of Harris County.

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Harris County contains all or part of 34 incorporated cities.

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The Houston MSA includes 124 incorporated communities.

HOUSTON.ORG – 5

Geography

Montgomery

HOUSTON MSA: 9,432 square miles

Liberty Austin

Waller

Harris

HARRIS COUNTY: 1,778 square miles

TEXAS

Chambers

Houston

Fort Bend

CITY OF HOUSTON: 655 square miles

Galveston Brazoria

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2013 Delineation for the Houston region:

Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas (MSA) are geographic delineations defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use by federal statistical agencies in collecting, tabulating, and publishing federal statistics.

These geographic delineations change over time.

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2009 Delineation for the Houston region: •

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) contains nine counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller.

The longer titles are shortened to “Houston MSA” in Houston Facts.

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) contains 10 counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller.

Demographics Population •

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Houston, the fourth most populous U.S. city (estimated at 2,239,558 on July 1, 2014), is the largest city in the South and Southwest. The city of Houston had the second largest numeric increase (35,752) of any U.S. city from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014.

Geography

Population As of July 1, 2014*

Median Age (in Years)**

Total Households**

Harris County (estimated at 4,441,370 on July 1, 2014) is the third most populous U.S. county.

Among all U.S. counties, Harris County had the highest numeric population increase from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014—gaining 88,618 new residents.

Average Persons per Household**

Foreign-born Estimate**

Percent of Total Population Foreign-born**

Houston MSA

6,490,180

33.5

2,098,109

2.91

1,379,111

22.3%

Austin County

29,114

40.6

11,063

2.57

2,554

8.9%

Brazoria County

338,124

35.5

109,826

2.86

41,683

12.8%

Chambers County

38,145

36.8

12,602

2.84

3,517

9.7%

Fort Bend County

685,345

35.3

196,617

3.17

163,095

26.0%

Galveston County

314,198

37.4

110,891

2.67

29,358

9.8%

4,441,370

32.5

1,452,316

2.9

1,064,485

25.0%

Harris County Liberty County

78,117

36.4

24,793

2.84

5,464

7.2%

Montgomery County

518,947

36.4

166,348

2.9

63,136

13.0%

Waller County

46,820

30.7

13,653

2.91

5,819

13.1%

Sources: *U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Division, 2014 Population Estimates, **U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011-2013 American Community Survey, 3-Year Estimates

6 – Houston Facts | 2015

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Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA (estimated at 6,490,180 on July 1, 2014) ranks 5th in population among the nation’s metropolitan areas. The Houston MSA had the largest numeric increase (156,371) in population of any U.S. metro from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014, a 2.5 percent increase.

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Of the Houston MSA’s 1,379,111 foreign-born, 7.2 percent or 99,202 entered the U.S. since 2010.

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Top regions of birth for the Houston MSA’s foreign-born are: Latin America 65.8 percent, Asia 24.0 percent, Europe 4.5 percent, Africa 4.3 percent, Northern America 1.2 percent and Oceania 0.2 percent.

Educational Attainment:

DECENNIAL CENSUS POPULATION TOTALS Year

Houston MSA*

Harris County

5,920,416

2010

City of Houston

4,092,459

2,099,451

2000

4,693,161

3,400,578

1,953,631

1990

3,750,411

2,818,199

1,630,553

1980

3,135,806

2,409,544

1,595,138

1970

2,195,146

1,741,912

1,233,505

1960

1,594,894

1,243,158

938,219

1950

1,083,100

806,701

596,163

1940

752,937

528,961

384,514

1930

545,547

359,328

292,352

1920

348,661

186,667

138,276

1910

252,066

115,693

78,800

1900

202,438

63,786

44,633

1890

137,800

37,249

27,557

1880

112,053

27,985

16,513

1870

80,866

17,375

9,332

1860

55,317

9,070

4,845

1850

27,984

4,668

2,396

*Includes the counties of: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Texas Almanac

Houston MSA

Total Population Over Age 25

10.80%

20.1%

6.1%

Graduate or Professional Degree

Bachelor’s Degree

Associate Degree

21.2%

23.8%

8.4%

Some College, No Degree

High School Graduate or GED

9th to12th Grade, No Diploma

9.5%

82.0%

30.9%

Less than 9th grade

High School Graduate Bachelor’s Degree or Higher or Higher

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

Age Distribution 1% 8.6%

Race/Ethnicity

Houston MSA

Houston MSA

1.9% Under 5 years

7.5%

6.9%

5 to 19 years

Anglo

20 to 24 years

11%

22.3%

25 to 34 years

16.8%

38.3%

35 to 44 years

13.4% 7% 14.3%

3,984,848

15%

45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 to 84 years

Hispanic Black/ African American Asian

36.1%

Other

85 years & Over Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

HOUSTON.ORG – 7

COMPONENTS OF POPULATION CHANGE

RACE BY ETHNICITY

from April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014

Geography

Houston MSA

Population As of July 1, 2014*

6,490,180

Austin County

Net Domestic Migration 191,796

Net International Migration 129,729

Natural Increase Births 395,388

HOUSTON MSA

Natural Increase Deaths 148,318

29,114

198

166

1,477

1,116

703

797

6,053

11,113

3,816

14,301

Chambers County

38,145

1,987

126

1,956

1,065

3,049

Fort Bend County

685,345

58,395

16,646

34,534

10,877

100,448

Galveston County

314,198

13,009

2,873

16,703

9,984

22,894

4,441,370

63,037

100,542

286,753

99,111

348,359

78,117

856

238

4,412

3,032

2,474

518,947

40,967

6,384

27,488

13,171

63,183

Harris County Liberty County Montgomery County Waller County

46,820

2,044

210

2,439

1,161

Non-hispanic

White

2,415,820

38.3%

Black

1,063,017

16.8%

10,368

0.2%

438,349

6.9%

2,664

0.06%

12,351

0.2%

American Indian/ Alaska Native

569,690

338,124

Brazoria County

Race/Ethnicity

Total Population Change

Asian Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander Some Other Race Two or More Races TOTAL

90,967

1.4%

4,033,536

63.86%

Race/Ethnicity

3,583

Note: In some cases, the natural increase and the increase due to in-migration won’t sum to the change in population due to rounding errors and the bureau’s use of residual values in generating the estimates.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Division, 2014 Population Estimates, Release Date

Hispanic

White

1,728,744

27.38%

Black

22,799

0.36%

American Indian/ Alaska Native

16,443

0.26%

2,900

0.05%

172

0.01%

457,152

7.24%

51,412

0.81%

2,279,622

36.11%

Asian Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander Some Other Race Two or More Races TOTAL

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

Income Per Capita Personal Income

Weekly Wage

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U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data put the nine-county Houston MSA pretax per capita personal income (PCPI) in 2013 at $51,930.

•

•

The Houston region’s PCPI was 16.0 percent above the U.S. average in 2013.

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PCPI increased 1.1 percent in the Houston MSA from 2012 to 2013.

Total Personal Income •

Total personal income (TPI) in the nine-county Houston MSA in 2013 was $327.8 billion, up 3.4 percent from 2012.

Average weekly wage in the Houston MSA in 2014 was $1,240 – 25.5 percent above the U.S. average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Self-employed persons were not included in the data.)

TOTAL WAGES AND SALARIES 2014 Total (thousands)

Houston MSA Austin County Brazoria County

$182,562,351 $453,509 $5,139,060

Chambers County

$650,801

Fort Bend County

$8,442,785

Galveston County

$4,586,378

Harris County Liberty County Montgomery County Waller County

$153,694,151 $711,957 $8,158,105 $725,605

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages

8 – Houston Facts | 2015

Commuting to Work – Houston MSA Total Workers – Age 16 and Over 2,942,781

OCCUPATIONS: HOUSTON MSA Employed Persons Age 16 and Over

Total Civilian Employed Population

2,995,320

Management

298,755

Business and Financial Operations

165,789

Computer and Mathematical

74,152

Architecture and Engineering

91,302

Life, Physical, and Social Science

34,326

Community and Social Services

33,165

Legal

39,895

Education, Training, and Library

3.7% 1.4% 0.5% 1.5% 2.4%

Drove Alone in Car, Truck or Van Carpooled in Car, Truck or Van Public Transportation

79.7%

Walked

10.9%

Bicycle Other Means

174,944

Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Worked at Home

47,858

Health Diagnosing and Treating

Mean travel time to work (in minutes)

112,823

Health Technologists and Technicians

41,471

Healthcare Support

60,884

Protective Service

57,930

Food Preparation and Serving Related

160,594

Building and Grounds Maintenance

126,903

Personal Care and Service

Household Income in Most Recent 12 Months– Houston MSA Total Households 2,158,139 Median income $57,366 17.1%

84,408

Sales and Related

325,272

Office and Administrative Support

371,044

Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

13.8%

13.2% 11.4% 9.5%

5,349

Construction and Extraction

214,897

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

106,361

Production

188,460

Transportation

107,916

Material Moving

29.4

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

7.2%

10.5%

6.4%

6.4% 4.5%

$200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $75,000 $50,000 $35,000 $25,000 $15,000 $10,000 Less than or more to to to to to to to to $10,000 $199,999 $149,999 $99,999 $74,999 $49,999 $34,999 $24,999 $14,999

70,822

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates.

Income is in 2013 inflation-adjusted dollars.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2013 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates

Houston Economy Population & Employment Forecast Metro Houston, Millions

6.6

5.9

2.6

7.9

7.2

10.2

9.4

8.6

Total Payroll Employment - Houston Metro Area* Millions

3.0

2.9 2.8 2.7

3.0

3.3

3.6

4.2

3.9

4.4

2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2

2010

2015

2020 Population

2025

2030

2035

2040

Employment

Source: The Perryman Group

During the most recent national recession, the Houston Metro’s lowest employment count bottomed-out at 2.524 million in December 2009. However, Houston

Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 * Not Seasonally Adjusted

Source: Texas Workforce Commission

has since experienced a full recovery, reaching a record high of 2.989 million employees in July 2015.

HOUSTON.ORG – 9

Corporate Economy Houston, a major corporate center, ranks third among U.S. metro areas in the number of corporate headquarters contained on the 2015 Fortune 500 list.

Many other Fortune 500 firms maintain U.S. offices in Houston.

Houston’s corporate headquarters are represented on the following lists:

Number of Houston-based companies

2015 Fortune 500 2014 Fortune Global 500 2015 Forbes Global 2000

26 8 26

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Of the world’s 100 largest non-U.S.-based corporations, 70 have a presence in Houston.

•

County Business Patterns shows that the Houston MSA in 2013 had 129,490 business establishments with payroll. These establishments fall into the below employment size categories.

Employment Size

Number of Establishments

Percent of Establishments

1,000+

158

0.12%

500-999

261

0.20%

250-499

834

0.64%

100-249

2,806

2.17%

50-99

4,637

3.58%

20-49

12,713

9.82%

10-19

16,815

12.99%

5-9

24,009

18.54%

1-4

67,257

51.94%

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY

Houston MSA 2014 Annual Average Industry

Jobs (000)

% of total

GOODS PRODUCING

568.8

19.45%

Mining and Logging

110.4

3.77%

54.6

1.87%

Oil and Gas Extraction Support Activities for Mining

54.1

1.85%

Construction

203.5

6.96%

Manufacturing

254.9

8.71%

Durable Goods

174.8

5.98%

80.2

2.74%

2356.2

80.55%

Wholesale Trade

168.5

5.76%

Retail Trade

294.3

10.06%

Transportation/ Warehousing/Utilities

134.2

4.59%

Information

32.9

1.12%

Finance and Insurance

93.6

3.20%

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

54.2

1.85%

Professional and Business Services

463.4

15.84%

Nondurable Goods SERVICE PRODUCING

Educational Services

52.6

1.80%

Health Care and Social Assistance

298.2

10.19%

Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

30.1

1.03%

255.6

8.74%

104

3.56%

Accommodations and Food Services Other Services Government TOTAL

374.7

12.81%

2,925.00

100.00%

Sum of individual sectors may not equal the total due to rounding.

Source: Texas Workforce Commission, Employment Estimates

10 – Houston Facts | 2015

Source: County Business Patterns, 2013 data released May 2015

NOMINAL GROSS AREA PRODUCT Houston MSA

Industry Agriculture Mining

$ Billions

% of Total

0.437

0.08

102.936

19.3

Construction

24.784

4.7

Manufacturing

97.734

18.3

Nondurable Goods

68.547

12.9

Durable Goods

29.187

5.5

Transportation/Warehousing/Utilities Trade (Wholesale and Retail) Information Finance/Insurance/Real Estate Services Government TOTAL

37.08

7

56.093

10.5

7.753

1.5

63.388

11.9

111.633

20.9

31.158

5.8

$533.00

100

Source: The Perryman Group, Winter 2014 (last available data)

International Business

Employment

Houston, a major international city, consistently ranks among the top three U.S. cities in the number of foreign consulates.

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Total nonfarm employment in the Houston MSA stood at 2,987,000 in June 2015, up 55,700 from June 2014.

It is the base of operations for the international oil and gas exploration and production industry and for many of the nation’s largest international engineering and construction firms.

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From June 2014 to June 2015, local nonfarm employment in the Houston MSA rose 1.9 percent.

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Houston MSA unemployment in June 2015 was 4.5 percent, versus a national unemployment rate of 5.5 percent. The rates are not seasonally adjusted.

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A key center for international finance, Houston leads the Southwest with 21 foreign banks from 9 nations. The Houston operations of these banks account for 12 of Texas’ 15 foreign bank representative offices and seven of Texas’ nine foreign bank agencies.

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Ninety-one nations have consular representation in the city, ranking Houston’s consular corps third largest in the nation.

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Fourteen foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices here, and the city has 32 active foreign chambers of commerce and trade associations.

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Consumers can search the Houston Association of Realtors® properties database (HAR.com) in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Vietnamese. The association’s more than 5,600 multilingual realtors speak 94 languages.

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Houston has 17 sister-city relationships promoting business opportunities across five continents: Australia (1), Asia (6), Europe (7), Africa (1) and Americas (2).

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In May 2015, the Greater Houston Partnership’s database listed 5,700 Houston area firms, foreign government offices and nonprofit organizations involved in international business.

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430 Houston area companies report having offices abroad in 144 countries.

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More than 800 firms in Houston report foreign ownership.

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More than 150 foreign-owned firms invested in office expansions, new plants and expanded distribution facilities in Houston since the beginning of ’11.

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At least $12.5 billion in capital investments made by foreign-owned firms in Houston since January ’11.

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At least 2,800 local manufacturers engage in global commerce.

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Eleven of Houston’s 32 skyscrapers (at least 150 meters tall) are owned, co-owned, or financed by foreign investors.

Largest Houston-Area Employers - 2015 Number of Local Employees

Memorial Hermann Health System 19,500 The University of Texas MD Anderson 19,290 United Airlines 17,000 Exxon Mobil Corporation 13,191 Shell Oil Company 13,000 Houston Methodist 13,000 Kroger Company 12,000 National Oilwell Varco 10,000 Schlumberger Limited 10,000 BP America, Inc. 9,537 UTMB Health 9,318 Baylor College of Medicine 9,232 Chevron 9,000 ARAMARK Corp. 8,500 HCA 7,855 Hewlett-Packard 7,000 Macy’s 7,000 AT&T 6,900 CHI St. Luke’s Health 6,800 The Dow Chemical Company, Freeport 6,600 Jacobs 6,220 Halliburton 6,200 H.E.B. 6,000 Texas Children’s Hospital 6,000 Baker Hughes 6,000 Fiesta Mart, Inc. 5,500 KBR 5,089 LyondellBasell Industries 5,080 JPMorgan Chase 5,000 CenterPoint Energy 5,000 Reliant, An NRG Company 4,900 Note: Ranked by number of employees. The list does not include casual dining establishments, municipalities, school districts, community colleges, public universities (except UTMB Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson) and governmental agencies.

Source: Greater Houston Partnership Database, June 2015

HOUSTON.ORG – 11

Industries Aerospace Home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), and a diverse network of research and education organizations with ties to aerospace technology, the Houston region is a worldwide leader in the aerospace industry.

Economic Impact: The Johnson Space Center manages an annual budget of approximately $4.4 billion in contracts, grants, civil service payroll and procurements. Of that amount, about $1.7 billion is spent on salaries alone in the Houston region.

Tourism: Space Center Houston is the official visitor’s center for Johnson Space Center. Approximately 800,000 visitors each year come to learn about the past, present, and future of America’s space program.

Banking and Finance

Establishments: In 2014, the Houston MSA averaged 10,824 wholesale trade establishments and 16,886 retail trade establishments.

Retail: At the end of 2014, CBRE reported a retail base of 212.1 million square feet (msf) for 3,325 Houston area regional malls, multi-tenant centers and single-tenant buildings over 20,000 square-feet. The vacancy rate was 6.6 percent, total net absorption for 2014 was 2.1 million square-feet and the average annual lease rate was $22.15 per square foot.

2014 GROSS RETAIL SALES County Houston MSA

122,931,240,803

5.60%

1,850,028,576

-8.40%

Brazoria

3,796,943,609

-2.80%

Chambers

1,680,062,483

-26.20%

Fort Bend

7,937,204,047

7.00%

Galveston Harris

Institutions and Deposits: As of June 30, 2014, the Houston MSA’s 103 FDIC-insured institutions had 1,514 local offices and local deposits of $242.540 billion.

Commercial banks accounted for 94 institutions, 1,487 offices and $240.969 billion in deposits; savings institutions numbered 9, with 27 offices and $1.571 billion in deposits. The Houston MSA in 2013 ranked 9th among U.S. MSAs in total deposits.

Waller

•

Fourteen of the nation’s 30 largest FDIC-insured banks, as measured by domestic deposits, operate full-service branches or commercial loan offices in the Houston region. These 14 include the four largest banks in the nation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 County Business Patterns, the Houston MSA had 9,104 finance and insurance establishments with a total annual payroll of $8.723 billion.

Wholesale and Retail Trade Employment: Wholesale trade employment in the Houston MSA averaged 159,076 in 2014, increasing 2.5 percent from the 150,378 employed in 2013. Retail trade employment in the Houston MSA averaged 291,887 in 2014, increasing 2.2 percent from the 283,321 employed in 2013.

12 – Houston Facts | 2015

% Change from 2013

Austin

Employment: In 2014, the Houston MSA employed an average of 89,635 workers in the finance and insurance sector.

•

Gross Retail Sales

Liberty Montgomery

3,763,784,425

5.90%

93,615,285,041

8.00%

935,446,882

8.80%

8,761,164,181

-4.50%

591,321,559

17.30%

Source: Texas Comptroller’s Office

Shopping: The Houston MSA is home to 25 shopping centers that encompass at least 500,000 square feet.

The Galleria is the largest of the malls with 2.5 msf followed by Greenspoint Mall (1.6 msf), Willowbrook Mall (1.5 msf) and Baybrook Mall (1.4 msf).

Construction and Real Estate Employment: Construction employment in the Houston MSA averaged 206,453 in 2014, increasing 6.4 percent from the 194,097 employed in 2013.

Building Permits: In 2014, the City of Houston issued building permits valued at $8.7 billion, up 40.3 percent from $6.2 billion in 2013. Nonresidential permits rose 47.4 percent, from $3.8 billion in 2013 to $5.6 billion in 2014. Permits for residential construction totaled $3.0 billion in 2014, up 30.4 percent from $2.3 billion in 2013. According to McGraw Hill, more than $30.5 billion in construction contracts were awarded in the 10-county Houston metro area last year, up 146.0 percent from the $12.4 billion awarded in 2013.

Residential contracts totaled $9.8 billion in 2014, up

15.3 percent from $8.5 billion in 2013. Commercial contracts totaled $20.6 billion in 2014, five times more than the $3.8 billion in 2013. The large increase in commercial contracts is a result of several billiondollar chemical plants under construction in the Houston area. These atypical mega projects will skew contract data over the next several years.

Office: At the close of 2014, CBRE reports that the Houston area — the nation’s sixth largest office market — counted 1,247 general purpose office buildings containing 199.2 million square feet (msf) of completed net rentable space (42.6 msf in the Central Business District, or CBD).

•

•

Net absorption (net change in leased space in completed buildings) for all general purpose office space was 5.5 msf in 2014. The submarkets with the highest absorption rates were the Energy Corridor (1,776,482 sf), The Woodlands (967,068 sf) and North Houston (567,867 sf). The vacancy rate for the entire Houston market was 11.6 percent by the end of 2014.

Average rent for the entire Class A office market was $36.13 per square foot ($45.30 for CBD Class A and $33.80 for suburban Class A). Both CBD and Suburban Class A average rent increased compared to year-end 2013 numbers.

price for resale single-family detached homes was $199,000 in 2014, up 10.6 percent from $180,000 in 2013. The inventory of unsold homes at year-end decreased from 2.6 months in December 2013 to 2.5 months in December 2014. (Months of inventory is the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months of sales activity.)

Multi-family: For the fourth quarter of 2014, CBRE reported that Houston area multi-family occupancy stood at 91.1 percent, with an inventory of 588,846 units in 2,553 complexes. Rental rates increased 8.1 percent in 2014 and averaged $1.05 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2014. The Montrose/Museum District posted the highest rent, averaging $1.77 psf.

Net absorption totaled 16,084 units in 2014, slightly down from 16,412 in 2013. Proposed construction as of the fourth quarter of 2014 totaled 18,781 units.

HOUSTON AREA HOUSING STARTS AND MULTI-FAMILY UNITS DELIVERED Year

Single-Family Starts

Multi-Family Units Added

Total Units

2014

30,325

17,628

47,953

2013

28,233

12,103

40,336

2012

23,616

5,874

29,490

Industrial: Houston’s 474.0 msf of industrial space in buildings of 10,000 sf or more rank it as the sixth largest U.S. market. CBRE reported year-end 2014 occupancy remained tight at 95.0 percent. During 2014, construction of 12.0 msf was delivered and 8.1 msf was absorbed. Across the market, average asking rates increased from $0.63 per sf per month in 2013 to $0.67 per sf per month in 2014.

2011

18,353

5,383

23,736

2010

18,853

3,784

22,637

2009

18,687

14,640

33,327

2008

26,141

21,862

48,003

2007

37,568

14,729

52,297

2006

49,543

10,126

59,669

2005

47,968

12,714

60,682

Single-Family: According to the Houston Association of Realtors®, MLS single family closings (largely resale homes) in the Houston area totaled 75,319 in 2014, up 2.8 percent from 73,266 in 2013. Median sales

2004

40,712

12,328

53,040

2003

38,160

14,405

52,565

Source: Metrostudy and CBRE

Photo courtesy of david a brown/ dabfoto creative

HOUSTON.ORG – 13

Energy

Engineering

Houston is the leading domestic and international center for virtually every segment of the energy industry – exploration, production, transmission, marketing, service, supply, offshore drilling and technology.

Employment: Houston has more than 92,550 engineers, architects, drafters and technicians of all disciplines, the most numerous being: petroleum, civil, mechanical, industrial, chemical, and electrical.

Employment: As of May 2015, the Houston MSA held 28.3 percent of the nation’s jobs in oil and gas extraction (54,700 of 193,000), 17.1 percent of jobs in support activities for mining (52,900 of 308,400) and 16.7 percent of agriculture, construction and mining machinery manufacturing jobs (41,300 of 248,000).

Top Employers: National Oilwell Varco Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., Cameron International Corp., BP Corporation North America Inc., Chevron Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Halliburton Co., CenterPoint Energy Inc., and KBR Inc. Establishments: The Houston MSA has more than 3,700 energy-related establishments, both upstream and downstream. In the first quarter of 2015, there were 1,022 establishments in oil and gas extraction and 945 establishments in support activities for oil and gas operations.

•

Houston is home to 40 of the nation’s 134 publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production firms, including 10 of the top 25; nine more among the top 25 have subsidiaries, major divisions or other significant operations in Houston.

•

The logistics for moving much of the nation’s petroleum and natural gas across the country are controlled from Houston. Fifteen of the nation’s 20 largest U.S. interstate oil pipeline companies have a presence in the Houston region that includes corporate or divisional headquarters or ownership interests. These 15 control 66,746 miles or 44 percent of all U.S. oil pipeline capacity. Thirteen of the nation’s top 20 natural gas transmission companies have corporate or divisional headquarters in Houston, controlling 103,108 miles of U.S. pipeline, which is 52 percent of total U.S. gas pipeline capacity.

•

For every 100,000 workers in the Houston MSA, there are 3,255 engineers and architects. In comparison, for every 100,000 workers in the U.S., there are 1,789 engineers and architects.

Civil & Structural Engineering Firms: According to the Houston Business Journal, Houston’s 10 largest civil and structural engineering firms (ranked by local gross billings) include Burns & McDonnell, LJA Engineering Inc., Brown & Gay Engineers Inc., Furgo Consultants Inc., Aecom Technology Corp., Jones & Carter Inc., BEI Engineers, HNTB Corp., Cobb, Fendley & Associates Inc., and Walter P Moore.

These 10 companies alone generated $541 million in local billings in 2013 and locally employed more than 2,300 people.

Energy Engineering Firms: According to the Houston Business Journal, Houston’s 10 largest energy engineering firms (ranked by local licensed engineers) include Jacobs Engineering, KBR Inc., Wood Group Mustang Inc., Flour Corp., CB&I, Technip USA Inc., S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd., Gulf Interstate Engineering Co., UniversalPagasus International, and CDI Corp.. These 10 companies alone employed 3,587 licensed engineers and more than 18,000 local full-time employees.

In Houston

100,000 Workers (Houston)

100,000 Workers (U.S.)

Aerospace engineers

2,510

88

51

Biomedical engineers

200

7

15

4,320

152

25

Chemical engineers Civil engineers

10,850

382

195

Electrical engineers

4,250

149

129

Electronics engineers, except computer

3,040

107

99

Environmental engineers

1,060

37

39

Health and safety engineers

1,160

41

18

Industrial engineers

6,140

216

175

Marine engineers and naval architects

1,620

57

6

660

23

19

9,260

326

200

670

24

6

11,570

407

25

2,790

98

92

Materials engineers Mechanical engineers Mining and geological engineers Petroleum engineers All other engineers

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2014

14 – Houston Facts | 2015

Texas Medical Center institutions include:

Health Care

•

Six general hospitals: Ben Taub General Hospital; Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital; Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center; Houston Methodist Hospital; CHI St. Luke’s Health; and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

•

Eleven specialized hospitals: Harris County Psychiatric Center; Quentin Mease Community Hospital; Shriners Hospitals for Children– Houston and Galveston; Texas Children’s Hospital; DePelchin Children’s Center; The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR); The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital; The Menninger Clinic; and the Michael E. DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center Houston.

•

Two specialized patient facilities: Texas Heart Institute; and Houston Hospice.

•

Four medical schools: Baylor College of Medicine; Texas A&M University Health Science Center; The University of Texas Medical School; and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

•

Five schools of nursing: Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing; Texas Woman’s University Institute of Health Sciences; The University of Texas School of Nursing; Houston Community College; and the University of Houston-Victoria School of Nursing.

•

Two schools of pharmacy: Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; and University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

•

A dental school: The University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School.

•

Houston Community College focused on 19 health science fields.

•

Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions.

Employment: The Houston MSA employs over 335,500 employees in the health care industry.

•

The region has 16,070 physicians and 136 hospitals (123 general and special, 13 psychiatric) with 21,057 beds.

•

Harris County, with 13,167 physicians, has 96 hospitals (86 general and special, 10 psychiatric) with 17,354 beds.

•

Clinics, nursing homes facilities are plentiful.

•

Virtually every medical specialty is represented in the region.

and

assisted-living

Largest Hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital (1,118 beds); Memorial Hermann Hospital (1,034 beds); CHI St. Luke’s Health-Baylor St Luke’s Medical Center (881 beds); St. Joseph Medical Center (744 beds) and Texas Children’s Hospital (606 beds).

Establishments: The Houston region is home to over 17,800 health care establishments. This includes 267 licensed emergency medical services firms (ambulance services), each required by law to have a physician medical director. The Houston MSA also has 56 registered first responder organizations.

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center is the world’s largest medical complex by any measure – number of hospitals, number of physicians, square footage, patient volume. The Texas Medical Center member institutions have been consistently recognized as some of the best hospitals and universities in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

56

106,000 Employees

Member Institutions

7,000

Patient Beds

50,000

25,000

7.2 million

Babies Delivered (annually)

Annual Patient Visits

16,000

Annual International Patient Visits

17,500

15,000 5,000 Physicians

10,000

5,700 Nurses

Researchers Life Science Students

Faculty

Volunteers

171,000

Annual Surgeries

1,345 acres

Total Size (all campuses) HOUSTON.ORG – 15

Manufacturing Employment: Manufacturing employment in the Houston MSA stood at 249,000 jobs in May 2015 – 67.5 percent in durable goods and 32.5 percent in nondurables. Chemicals accounted for 15.0 percent of total manufacturing employment; fabricated metals and machinery, 47.7 percent.

Value of Shipments: In 2012 (the most recent Census of Manufactures for which data are available), the Houston MSA recorded $290.3 billion in shipments, accounting for 41.3 percent of Texas’ 2012 total. Key Houston MSA industries in 2012 include petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, and fabricated metal products.

•

Value added by manufacturers in the Houston MSA in 2012 totaled $81.7 billion, accounting for 36.4 percent of the Texas total. Leading Houston MSA industries in value added in 2012 are chemicals, petroleum products, machinery, and fabricated metal products.

•

Value added per production worker in the Houston MSA in 2012 was $558,218; value added per production payroll dollar was $10.51, reflecting the high concentration of capital-intensive industries in the region. Capital expenditures in Houston MSA manufacturing totaled $5.7 billion in 2012. Chemicals ($3.0 billion) accounted for 52.4 percent of the total.

•

Manufacturing in 2014 accounted for $109.5 billion, or 18.2 percent, of Houston MSA Gross Area Product according to The Perryman Group.

Nondurable goods represented 69.6 percent of the manufacturing total.

the Texas Gulf Coast. It gives the Houston area a unique economic advantage through convenient and low-cost transfer of feedstocks, fuel and chemical products among plants, storage terminals and transportation facilities.

•

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Refinery Capacity Report issued January 2015, the Texas Gulf Coast had a crude operating capacity of 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products per calendar day — 87 percent of the Texas total and 25 percent of the U.S. total.

Chemicals/Petrochemicals: With more than 540 chemical manufacturing establishments and employment exceeding 36,800, the Houston MSA has 42.0 percent of the nation’s base petrochemicals manufacturing capacity. According to IHS, the Houston MSA annual base petrochemicals production capacity in 2014 was: Million Metric Tons

% of U.S. Total

Benzene

3.4

57.6

Butadiene

1.2

51.4

Ethylene

12

43.7

11.9

40.7

Toluene

2

33.7

Xylenes

3

33.8

Propylene

•

Petroleum Refining: The Spaghetti Bowl is a complex of several thousand miles of product pipeline connecting hundreds of chemical plants, refineries, salt domes and fractionation plants along

Base petrochemicals are the raw materials for producing some of the more important plastics and resins. The Houston MSA dominates U.S. production of three major resins — polyethylene, with 28.3 percent of U.S. capacity; polypropylene, with 31.2 percent; and polyvinyl chloride, with 34.4 percent.

Technology NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest concentration of energy and petrochemical companies, and the region’s major universities make Houston a focal point of U.S. research and development (R&D) activities.

Health Care and Bioscience •

BioScience Research Collaborative

•

Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling

•

Pumps and Pipes, annual conference

Aerospace:

•

Alliance for NanoHealth

NASA’s Johnson Space Center

•

Galveston National Laboratory

•

Center for Biodefense Infectious Diseases

•

Institute of Biosciences and Technology

16 – Houston Facts | 2015

and

Emerging

Energy

•

Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

•

Composites Engineering & Applications Center for Petroleum Exploration and Production

•

BioHouston

•

•

Processes in Porous Media Consortium

Technology Transfer and Commercialization Office (TTO) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center

•

Offshore Technology Research Center

Nanotechnology

•

Offshore Technology Conference

•

The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology

•

Consortium for Nanomaterials for Aerospace Commerce and Technology

•

Nanotech centers at the University of Houston include: The Nanosystems Manufacturing Center; The Center for Materials Chemistry; the nanoscience group at the Texas Center for Superconductivity; and The Center for Integrated Bio & Nano Systems

University Research •

•

University of Houston spent $130.8 million in expenditures during the FY 2014 for research & development.

Rice University spent $131 million in expenditures during the FY 2014 to support research & development.

Technology Transfer •

Houston Technology Center (HTC)

Environment

•

University of Houston Center for Industrial Partnerships

•

The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)

•

Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC)

Government City of Houston

State Government

•

The City of Houston is a home rule municipality, which provides the city with inherent powers to manage their own affairs with minimal interference from the state.

•

•

The city’s elected officials, serving concurrent two-year terms, are: the Mayor, the City Controller and the 16 members of City Council. No elected city official may serve in one position for more than three terms. Eleven council members are elected from single-member districts and five are elected citywide or “at-large”.

The chief executive of the State of Texas is the governor. Other elected officials with executive responsibilities include the lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, commissioner of the General Land Office and commissioner of agriculture. All of these elected offices have a term of four years.

•

The Texas Legislature has 181 members: 31 in the Senate, who are elected to four-year overlapping terms, and 150 in the House of Representatives, who are elected to two-year terms. Regular sessions of the state legislature convene on the second Tuesday of January in odd-numbered years. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days; however, the governor may call special sessions.

•

Legislative districts partly or entirely within the Houston MSA:

•

The city’s adopted General Fund budget for fiscal year 2015 is $2,411,126,650.

Counties •

•

Each county in Texas is run by a five-member Commissioners’ Court consisting of four commissioners elected from single-member districts, called commissioner precincts, and a county judge elected “at-large” or countywide.

The county commissioners and county judge serve staggered four-year terms and are not term-limited.

Texas has 254 counties with Harris County being the most populous county in the state and the third most populous in the nation.

State Senate: 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18 State House of Representatives: 3, 15, 26-28, 126-135, 137-150

United States Congress Legislative districts partly or entirely within the Houston MSA: •

U.S. House of Representatives: 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 18, 22, 29, 36 HOUSTON.ORG – 17

Council of Governments

Public Safety

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is a voluntary association of local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast Planning Region. Organized in 1966, H-GAC is comprised of 35 elected officials that represent all 13 counties (Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller and Wharton), 107 cities and 11 school districts.

Houston Police Department (HPD):

•

•

H-GAC is not an additional level of government, a regulatory agency or a taxing authority. Its activities are financed by local government dues; state appropriations; and through grants and contracts with local, state and federal entities.

The Council’s mission is to serve as the instrument of local government cooperation, promoting the region’s orderly development and the safety and welfare of its citizens.

Taxation •

•

The maximum sales and use tax rate in the state of Texas is 8.25 percent (6.25 percent for the state and up to 2 percent for local jurisdictions); certain food and drug items are exempt.

•

HPD’s budget for FY 2015 is $758.4 million.

•

The budget calls for 5,194.0 full-time-equivalent (FTE) police personnel, 1,158.9 FTE civilian personnel and 112.5 FTE police cadets in training.

•

HPD’s 2014 estimated average response time was 4.97 minutes for priority one calls and 9.59 minutes for priority two calls.

•

In 2014, HPD dispatched calls.

HCSO is the largest sheriff’s office in Texas and the third largest in the United States.

•

HCSO’s FY2015-2016 $437.5million.

None

City of Houston

$0.63

Harris County

$0.64

Houston Independent School District

$1.20

Houston Community College

$0.11

TOTAL TAX RATE

$2.57

•

Houston $181,772,750,376 ISD: City of $246,385,503,374 Houston: Harris County:

$463,192,251,793 Source: Harris County Appraisal District

18 – Houston Facts | 2015

budget

is

HCSO employs more than 4,400 salaried personnel – of those more than 2,200 are certified peace officers and nearly 1,400 are detention officers that work in the jails. Additionally, it has more than 200 volunteer reserve deputies.

Houston Fire Department (HFD): •

HFD is the nation’s third largest fire department with 93 fire stations equipped with 87 engine companies; 86 ambulances and advanced life support units; 11 boosters; 2 cascade units; 5 towers; 11 squads; and 18 evacuation and rescue boats.

•

In 2014, HFD performed 254,228 fire responses with an average response time of 9.65 minutes and 316,220 emergency medical service responses with an average response time of 8.77 minutes.

•

HFD’s FY 2015 budget is $506.7 million and calls for 4,169.6 FTE employees, of whom 115.6 are civilians.

Full Market Value of Tax Roll 2014

operating

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement protection in the unincorporated parts of the county, which constitutes some 1,700 square miles with 1.5 million residents and growing.

2014 Tax Rate

State of Texas

1,114,314

•

SAMPLE PROPERTY TAX RATES Tax Jurisdiction

with

Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO):

Ad valorem property tax is the primary source of local government revenue in the Houston region.

The table below shows typical tax rates for property located within the city limits of Houston. The tax rates are expressed as dollars per $100 taxable value.

responded

Harris County Fire Protection: •

In all, 54 fire departments operate in Harris County; 42 provide fire protection in unincorporated parts of the county, coordinated by the Harris County Fire Marshal. In addition, 31 Emergency Service Districts provide fire protection, emergency medical service or both to specific areas within the county.

Education Schools •

Houston Independent School District (HISD), with 2014 enrollment of 215,157 students, is the seventh-largest public school system in the nation and the largest in Texas. Encompassing 301 square miles within greater Houston, HISD has 283 campuses: 10 early childhood centers; 153 elementary schools; 37 middle schools; 40

high schools; and 43 combined/other campuses.

•

The Houston MSA contains 62 school districts and 50 state-approved charter schools that reported 2013 enrollment of 1,252,660 students, of whom 868,475 were in the 19 districts and 45 charter schools largely or entirely in Harris County.

SELECTED* HOUSTON-AREA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS - 2014-2015 School District

Number of Campuses

Fall 2014 Enrollment

Students per Teacher Ratio

Operating Expenditure per Student1

County

Aldine

76

67,204

16.7

$8,044

Alief

46

46,207

14.7

$8,725

Harris

Alvin

23

19,667

16.3

$7,875

Brazoria

Barbers Hill

7

4,676

14.8

$10,268

Chambers

Brazosport

20

12,364

16.3

$7,873

Brazoria

Clear Creek

45

39,808

15.9

$7,369

Galveston

Conroe

54

54,808

16.6

$6,862

Montgomery

Cypress-Fairbanks

82

111,173

16.7

$6,795

Harris

9

5,069

15.9

$7,451

Liberty

Dayton

Harris

Deer Park

14

12,968

15.7

$13,633

Harris

Fort Bend

73

70,512

17.1

$7,435

Fort Bend

Galena Park

23

22,515

15.3

$8,488

Harris

Goose Creek

27

22,228

15.3

$8,646

Harris

Houston

283

215,157

18.5

$8,211

Harris

Humble

42

38,056

15.5

$7,650

Harris

Katy

59

67,015

15.6

$7,665

Harris

Klein

47

48,003

15.3

$7,862

Harris

Lamar

37

27,024

17.5

$7,544

Fort Bend

Magnolia

16

12,176

15.7

$7,503

Montgomery

New Caney

18

12,282

15.2

$8,215

Montgomery

Pasadena

61

54,382

15.4

$8,519

Harris

Pearland

24

19,964

16.5

$7,538

Brazoria

Sealy

4

2,766

13.7

$8,592

Austin

Spring

37

36,358

15.4

$7,741

Harris

Spring Branch

46

35,218

16.6

$8,317

Harris

Tomball

15

12,444

16.4

$7,921

Harris

8

5,895

16.8

$8,392

Waller

Waller

Class of 2014 *The list includes all ISDs with enrollment greater than 10,000, plus the largest ISD in each Houston MSA county with no ISD as large as 10,000.

Source: Texas Education Agency, 2014 Snapshot: School District Profiles

1

HOUSTON.ORG – 19

Libraries

Colleges and Universities

•

The Houston Public Library is comprised of 44 units with a 2014 total circulation of 4,195,878.

•

Harris County Public Library is a system of 26 branch libraries with a 2014 total circulation of 9,758,250.

The Houston region has approximately 380,000 students in more than 60 degree-granting colleges, universities and technical schools.

•

Specialized schools exist for acupuncture, art, legal, health care, funeral, religious, and various other disciples.

•

In addition, the region has some 100 trade, vocational and business schools.

Universities* Total Enrollment 174,492 Texas A&M University

Texas Southern University

University of St. Thomas

56,507

9,233

3,420

University of Houston

Prairie View A&M University

Houston Baptist University

40,914

8,343

3,128

Sam Houston State University

University of Houston-Clear Lake

Texas A&M University at Galveston

19,573

8,665

2,305

University of Houston-Downtown

Rice University

Texas Woman’s University-Houston

14,436

6,621

1,347

Note: Tier One Research Universities in the Houston region include: Rice University, University of Houston and Texas A&M University.

Community Colleges* Total Enrollment 200,294 Lone Star College System

Wharton County Junior College

73,559

7,152

Houston Community College System

Lee College

47,415

6,481

San Jacinto College District

Alvin Community College

31,967

College of the Mainland

3,858 Brazosport College

4,131 Galveston College

4,914

2,048

Blinn College

18,769

Medical Schools and Colleges* Total Enrollment 12,139 University of Texas Health Science Center

4,556

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

3,211

Baylor College of Medicine

1,582 University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

303

Texas A&M University Health Science Center

2,487

*Fall 2014 Enrollment, Sources: College Navigator; Texas Association of Community Colleges; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

20 – Houston Facts | 2015

Infrastructure accounted for 72 percent of the surface water used by the City; Lake Houston supplies 15 percent; and the remaining 13 percent comes from different permitted sources.

Public Utilities Electricity and Natural Gas: Headquartered in Houston, CenterPoint Energy (CNP) is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution; natural gas distribution; competitive natural gas sales and services; interstate pipelines; and field services operations.

•

•

Wastewater:

CNP’s assets total more than $23.2 billion and employs 7,400.

•

In 2014, CNP delivered 82 million megawatt hours of electricity to 2,010,036 residential, 280,327 commercial, 767 municipal and 2,035 industrial customers in its 5,000 square mile service area in the Houston region.

•

In 2014, CNP delivered 468 billion cubic feet of natural gas to 3,124,542 residential and 249,277 commercial/industrial customers.

The City has three purification plants: East Water Plant, 350 mgd Southeast Water Plant, 200 mgd Northeast Water Plant 80 mgd

•

The City of Houston operates 40 wastewater treatment plants; 13 biosolid processing units; three wet weather facilities; and 383 sanitary lift stations. It maintains 6,950 miles of sanitary sewer lines with more than 440,000 connections.

Land Transportation Motor Freight Lines:

Telecommunications:

•

998 long-distance trucking operate in the Houston MSA.

Four overlaid area codes serve the Houston area: 281, 713, 832 and 346. Phone calls placed within or between these area codes are local calls, but must be placed with the full 10-digit phone number.

Railroads: •

The Houston area is served by BNSF Railway Company, Kansas City Southern Railway Company, and Union Pacific Railroad Company.

Businesses along the Houston ship channel are served by the Port Terminal Railroad Association.

Fourteen mainline tracks radiate from Houston.

Amtrak provides passenger service to the New Orleans-San Antonio-Los Angeles route.

•

The Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUC) has certified 403 active Competitive Local Exchange Carriers to provide local phone service in the state.

•

The Texas PUC has registered 350 active long distance Interexchange Carriers.

•

•

More than a dozen cellular service providers offer mobile voice and data communications in the Houston MSA.

Intracoastal Waterway: •

406 miles of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The main channel is 12’ deep and 125’ wide. The entire Gulf Intracoastal Waterway spans 1,300 miles from Brownsville, TX to St. Mark’s, FL.

•

In 2013, Texas’ portion of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway facilitated the transportation of 74,651,503 short tons of cargo.

Water: Water supply now available or under development will meet Houston’s needs beyond 2050.

•

The San Jacinto River Basin of Lakes Houston and Conroe provides the City an estimated 258 million gallons per day (mgd); wells add approximately 253 mgd.

•

The City owns water rights to 914 mgd.

•

The City of Houston has, on average, used approximately 220 mgd of industrial water and 450 mgd of treated water.

•

Groundwater accounted for approximately 16 percent of treated water. Lake Livingston

establishments

Freeways, Highways and Toll Roads: In the Houston MSA, 4,206.41 lane miles of freeways and expressways are in operation.

•

High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes: Houston has more miles of HOV lanes than any other U.S. city. There are currently 118.42 miles of HOV lanes on Houston freeways.

HOUSTON.ORG – 21

•

•

Highway Spending: In FY 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation - Houston District has $1.0 billion in planned projects to let, versus $818.2 million in planned projects during FY 2014.

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): According to TxDOT, in FY 2013, a total of 136,731,505 vehicle miles were traveled per day in the Houston region. The average daily VMT per vehicle was 28.81 miles – based on the 4,746,244 vehicles registered in the region during FY 2013.

PORT OF HOUSTON - FOREIGN TRADE — 2014 LEADING EXPORT COMMODITIES

By Value ($000) Petroleum/petroleum products

$33,547,895,973

Machinery

$15,100,645,705

Organic chemicals

$12,230,465,772

Plastics

$6,318,050,509

Electric Machinery

$3,176,598,121

Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO): Created and funded with a one-cent sales tax in a 1978 voter referendum, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County began operations in January 1979.

•

•

•

METRO serves an area of 1,303 square miles – with 2,663 route miles; 20 transit centers; 9,816 bus stops; and 28 Park & Ride lots that offer 32,802 parking spaces.

In FY 2014, METRO’s fleet includes 1,416 buses and 118 paratransit vans, and 70 light-rail train cars. At weekday peak, 1,034 buses operate on 126 routes.

FY 2013 total system ridership, including fixed route buses and METRORail, METROLift, METROVan and HOV vanpools/carpools, was 110 million, up 3.5 percent from FY 2012.

By Weight (Short Tons) Petroleum/petroleum products

56,115,603

Organic chemicals

9,834,567

Cereals

7,283,137

Plastics

4,060,053

Inorganic Chemicals

1,108,285

LEADING IMPORT COMMODITIES

By Value ($000) Petroleum/petroleum products

$30,442,287

Articles of iron and steel

$8,139,477

Machinery

$6,046,271

Organic chemicals

$4,983,888

Iron and Steel

$3,250,090

By Weight (Short Tons)

•

Passenger boardings in FY 2013 averaged 9.1 million per month.

•

Daily fixed-route weekday ridership in FY 2013 averaged 269,144 boardings.

Articles of iron and steel

6,276,910

Organic chemicals

5,385,138

•

All 126 bus routes and the METRORail are fully accessible to disabled patrons. METROLift offers prescheduled curb-to-curb service for physically or mentally disabled patrons who cannot use METRO’s fixed-route service.

Natural Stone

4,779,176

Iron and Steel

4,304,984

Petroleum/petroleum products

46,743,142

LEADING TRADING PARTNERS (COMBINED IMPORTS AND EXPORTS)

By Value ($000)

Seaports The Houston region contains four seaports.

Mexico

$20,618,337

Brazil

$12,333,476

China

$9,149,890

Germany

$7,690,470

Colombia

$7,060,331

U.S. Rank

Port

Total Trade in Metric Tons

1

Houston

147,846,000

15

Texas City

25,126,000

Colombia

8,182,807

26

Freeport

11,372,200

China

7,462,869

South Korea

6,391,008

37

Galveston

7,228,700

22 – Houston Facts | 2015

By Weight (Short Tons) Mexico

33,045,302

Brazil

13,830,779

Source: Adapted from WISERTrade: International Trade Database, WISER LLC, Copyright 2004. No Claim to Original United States Government Works. All Rights Reserved.

Port of Houston •

In 2014, the Port of Houston ranked 1st in foreign tonnage among U.S. ports for 18 consecutive years, 1st in import tonnage for 23 consecutive years, and 2nd in total tonnage for 23 consecutive years.

•

Total foreign shipments in 2014 were 163.1 million short tons that were valued at $167.0 billion.

Foreign imports were 76.6 million short tons, valued at $75.0 billion and foreign exports were 86.5 million short tons, valued at $92.0 billion.

•

•

The Port’s Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ-84) ranks number one in the nation in total shipments through a zone. In 2013, FTZ-84 value of shipments into the U.S. market were over $60.0 billion; exports out of the US market topped $2.6 billion; and domestic and foreign shipments were valued at $62.7 billion. Since 2012 companies operating within FTZ-84 have increased from 36 to 50, an increase of 56.3 percent.

Container service was initiated in Houston in 1956, and today, the Port of Houston is the largest Gulf Coast container port handling 67 percent of U.S. Gulf Coast container traffic – and 95 percent of the Texas container traffic. In 2014, the Port of Houston Authority recorded the highest volume of container TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and the largest amount of container tonnage in its history, at 19.4 million tons and more than 1.9 million TEUs.

•

The Port of Houston ranked as the 6th largest U.S. container port in 2014.

•

The Bayport Cruise Terminal, a 96,000-squarefoot facility located on the western shores of Galveston Bay, provides access to passenger cruise lines.

Houston Ship Channel: The Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile inland waterway, connects Houston with the sea lanes of the world. Its turning basin is eight miles east of Houston’s central business district.

•

A majority of the channel has a minimum width of 530 feet and a depth at mean low tide of 45 feet.

•

Houston has more than 100 wharves in operation, including private terminals for the industrial complexes that line both sides of the channel.

•

•

The Houston region contains one of the world’s largest petrochemical complexes, with the majority being in close proximity to the ship channel and the region’s sea ports.

Each year, more than 200 million tons of cargo move through the Houston Ship Channel, carried by more than 8,000 vessels and 200,000 barge calls.

Air Transportation Houston is the international air gateway to the south central United States. Scheduled passenger aircraft fly to some 124 domestic and 74 international destinations from Houston airports; 32 airlines provide scheduled passenger service for the Houston Airport System (HAS).

Air Carriers Serving the Houston Airport System

Bush (IAH) 7 U.S. Carriers Alaska Airlines, American Airlines* (also serves HOU), Delta Air Lines (also serves HOU), Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, Wings of Alaska *US Airways is counted with American Airlines as the merger has been approved.

22 International Carriers AeroMexico, Air Canada, Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Atlas Air (scheduled charter to Luanda, Angola, Africa), ANA (All Nippan Airways), AVIANCA, British Airways, Emirates, EVA Air, Interjet, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines), Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, VivaAerobus, Volaris, Westjet

11 Dedicated Cargo Freighters Air France Cargo (France), Cargolux (Luxemburg), Cathay Pacific Cargo (Hong Kong), China Airlines Cargo (Taiwan), DHL (Germany), Emirates Sky Cargo (United Arab Emirates), Etihad Cargo (United Arab Emirates), Federal Express (U.S.), Lufthansa (Germany), Qatar Cargo (Qatar), United Parcel Service (U.S.)

Hobby International Airport (HOU) 5 Domestic Passenger Airlines American Airlines (also serves IAH), Branson Air Express, Delta Air Lines (also serves IAH), JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines

Ellington Airport (EFD) Added to the Houston Airport System in 1984, Ellington serves commercial, general and military aviation.

EFD received FAA approval to be a licensed commercial spaceport.

(Source: Houston Airport System, July 2015)

PASSENGER NON-STOP SERVICE DESTINATIONS IAH Domestic Destinations International Destinations TOTAL

121

HOU 52

HAS TOTAL* 124

74

9

74

195

61

198

*The HAS totals represent the number of unique destinations served by the airport system and is not cumulative.

(Source: Houston Airport System, July 2015)

HOUSTON.ORG – 23

Houston Airport System (HAS) Aviation Statistics: •

In 2014, HAS served 53,196,840 passengers, up 4.5 percent from 2013.

•

International traffic increased 9.2 percent to 9,812,287 passengers in 2014, setting a new record. Domestic passengers in 2014 totaled 43,384,553, a 3.5 percent increase over 2013.

•

At IAH, domestic passengers numbered 31.4 million, up 2.0 percent from 2013. HOU passenger traffic (all domestic) increased 7.5 percent to 11.9 million passengers in 2014.

•

Launch Vehicles, making it the 10th commercial spaceport in the United Sates.

•

The Houston Airport System handled a total of 474,210 metric tons of air freight in 2014, excluding airmail. Domestic cargo accounted for 46.7 percent of total air freight, while international cargo accounted for 53.3 percent.

General Aviation: •

Houston offers excellent general aviation facilities for corporate aircraft. In addition to IAH, HOU and EFD, the FAA lists 36 Houston MSA public-use airports: Austin County (1), Brazoria (8), Chambers (3), Fort Bend (7), Galveston (3), Harris (9), Liberty (2), Montgomery (2), and Waller (1).

•

Houston has many weekly and specialty publications including the Houston Business Journal, which provides weekly business coverage.

EFD had no commercial passenger traffic. In July ’15, the City of Houston received a launch site license from the FAA to enable EFD to establish itself as a launch site for Reusable

Communications Media Newspapers Houston’s major daily newspaper is the Houston Chronicle.

•

Average paid circulation (according to Alliance for Audited Media, during the six-month period ending March 31, 2013): Daily - 360,251 (13th highest among U.S. city papers); Sunday 1,042,389 (2nd highest among U.S. city papers).

Broadcast Media •

Houston MSA Radio Stations: 26 AM stations; 33 FM stations

•

Digital TV stations: 17

•

Comcast Xfinity provides cable service for most of the Houston area.

Environment Water The City of Houston’s drinking water system maintains a “Superior” rating, the highest rating for water quality issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

•

The City of Houston owns a 70 percent share of Lake Livingston, a 70 percent share of Lake Conroe, a 100 percent share of Lake Houston and a 70 percent share of the future Allens Creek Reservoir.

Clean Air Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established National

24 – Houston Facts | 2015

Ambient Air Quality Standards for six major air pollutants: particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead and groundlevel ozone. Houston is currently in attainment for all “criteria” pollutants, except for ozone.

•

Houston’s population is growing; however, air quality is improving year over year.

•

On Air: Houston, an initiative of the Greater Houston Partnership, launched a new website in 2014. The site offers information about Houston’s significant progress in improving regional air quality through the decades.

•

According to Houston Regional Monitoring (HRM), in 2014 there was one day when the one-hour ozone standard was exceeded at one monitoring station. For comparison, in 1987 there were 66 days when the standard was exceeded at one or more stations.

City of Houston’s Green Transportation Initiative: •

The City of Houston has the third largest municipal hybrid fleet in the nation, and the second largest electric vehicle municipal fleet.

•

In August 2012, the City of Houston launched a municipal electric vehicle green fleet sharing program, called Houston Fleet Share.

•

Greenlink buses provide free transportation downtown through a partnership among the Downtown District, BG Group and Houston First Corporation. The route spans 2.5 miles with 18 stops.

•

B-cycle, a program of Houston Bike Share allows members to pick up a bike at any B-station and return it to that same station or any other B-station. A total of 29 stations and 225 bikes are currently available for use.

•

The Wave, a Houston jitney shuttle service, can be acquired Downtown by calling, emailing, or app requesting a pick-up anywhere on the City approved downtown route.

•

Zipcar Houston is a “car sharing” program which helps keep fewer cars on the road and less nasty stuff in the air. There are 8 convenient locations in downtown Houston alone and many more across the city.

•

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) named the City of Houston as one of 25 U.S. cities as Solar America Cities. DOE recognizes Solar America Cities as partners highly committed to solar technology adoption at the local level. The awards are intended to accelerate solar adoption in cities by supporting cities’ with financial and technical assistance.

•

The City of Houston received a 2008 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The annual awards recognize the country’s leading green power purchasers for their commitment and contribution in helping advance the development of the nation’s green power market.

In June 2013, the City of Houston, Texas, signed a two-year agreement to purchase more than 620 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) annually.

This purchase accounts for half of the city’s municipal power needs, and makes Houston the largest municipal purchaser of renewable power in the Green Power Partnership as of July 2014.

•

The city also has on-site solar arrays that generate more than 125,000 kWh at municipal buildings, and actively supports the development of new solar technologies through funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. The city has also installed 17 mobile solar-powered shipping containers/generators at city fire stations, parks, neighborhood centers, and schools.

•

When measured by square footage of Energy Star certified buildings, the Houston metro area ranks fifth in the nation with 82.6 million square feet.

Renewable Energy The City of Houston signed an agreement in June 2013 to purchase more than 140 MW of renewable power over a two-year period.

The B-Cycle program allows users to rent bicycles by the hour.

HOUSTON.ORG – 25

Life in Houston Cost of Living The C2ER Cost of Living Index for the first quarter of 2015 shows that Houston’s overall after-taxes living costs are 6.1 percent below the nationwide average.

In the context of the 20 most populous metropolitan areas, Houston’s cost-of-living advantage is even

more pronounced. Houston’s housing costs are 33.4 percent below the average for the large metro areas, and its overall costs are 19.2 percent below the average for this group.

COST OF LIVING INDEX: 20 MOST POPULOUS METROPOLITAN AREAS FIRST QUARTER 2015 DATA (AVERAGE FOR 265 URBAN AREAS = 100) All Items

Grocery Items

Housing

Utilities

Transportation

Health Care

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA*

158.2

127.7

266.6

107.6

125.4

117.4

110.7

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA*

154.3

115.7

245

111.9

120.8

111.6

124.1

Metropolitan Statistic Area

Misc

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

141.9

109.4

219.5

122.4

123.9

111.4

105.2

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH*

140.3

108.2

178.8

156.1

116.1

124.3

127.1

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA*

136.9

106.3

209.1

111.9

119.9

109.2

105.2

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV*

136.2

112.3

225.1

99.1

114.8

90.1

95

116

106.4

133

98.9

113.5

121.6

110.8

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA* Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL*

113.8

104.1

137.9

97.4

117.1

101.6

102.5

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD*

113.6

109.9

121.2

117.5

106.6

100.8

111.7

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

111.4

110.7

145.1

96.7

108.7

89.5

90.7

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI*

107.9

106.7

119.7

103.4

106

102

101.2

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI*

106.7

105.1

112.8

91.9

101.2

103

109.5

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA*

101.6

106.8

98.7

91.2

109.2

103.3

102.2

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX*

100.8

99.6

86.1

101

110.5

102.8

110.2

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

94.7

89.6

90.2

105.4

98.2

99.3

95.6

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX*

93.9

84.8

95.5

96.5

89.3

96.3

96.9

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ*

93.6

100.5

92

92.5

93.5

97.2

91.9

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL*

92.6

98.5

78.5

102.9

101.7

91.3

95.9

St. Louis, MO-IL

91.8

101.3

71.7

114.3

91.6

101.1

96.7

* Data are unweighted averages for two or more reporting places within the MSA. Note: Riverside, CA is a 20 most populous metro, but did not submit data for the Q1 2015 survey.

Source: Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) Cost of Living Survey, First quarter 2015, published in May 2015

Weather

Precipitation: •

Annual average precipitation: 49.77 inches.

Temperature:

•

Thunderstorms occur, on average, 65.1 days per year.

•

Normal daily maximum temperatures: January 62.9˚F; April 79.6˚F; July 93.7˚F; October 82.0˚F

•

Record monthly rainfall: 19.21 inches in June 2001.

•

Normal daily minimum temperatures: January 43.2˚F; April 59.4˚F; July 75.1˚F; October 60.9˚F

•

Highest daily total: 10.34 inches fell on June 26, 1989.

•

Record extremes: 109˚F on August 27, 2011; 5˚F on January 18, 1930.

•

Houston has had 15 measurable snowfalls since 1939.

•

The Houston MSA lies in a zone with 260-275 frost-free days per year.

•

Record monthly February 1973.

26 – Houston Facts | 2015

snowfall:

2.8

inches

in

•

Record daily snowfall: 2.0 inches in January 1973.

•

Annual average relative humidity: 86 percent at midnight; 90 percent at 6:00 a.m.; 60 percent at noon; 65 percent at 6:00 p.m.

•

In the first quarter of 2015, the Houston MSA was home to 10,104 food services and drinking establishments and employed more than 234,000. These establishments included: 4,030 full-service restaurants; 3,821 limited-service eating places; and 636 drinking establishments.

•

In 2007 (the most recent Economic Census data available), the 8,863 Houston MSA food services and drinking establishments had sales of $8,425,427,000.

•

In 2014, Yelp.com listed Houston restaurants as having more than 70 national categories.

•

Happycom.com, in August 2015, listed over 170 vegan friendly restaurants, more than 30 farm to table restaurants and over 150 food trucks in Houston.

Sunshine: •

Houston averages 59 percent of possible sunshine annually, ranging from 45 percent in January to 70 percent in July.

•

Related annual averages:

•

“Clear” on 90.3 days, concentrated in October and November.

•

“Partly cloudy” on 114.5 days, typical of June through September.

•

“Cloudy” on 160.3 days, common in December through May.

•

Fog limiting visibility to a quarter of a mile or less occurs on average 26.3 days per year.

•

Wind: •

Convention and Sports Facilities

Prevailing wind in Houston is south-southeasterly at a mean speed of 7.5 miles per hour.

WEATHER DATA 2014* Average High Temperature ˚F

Average Low Temperature ˚F

Total Precipitation Inches

61.9

37.1

0.96

64

45.4

2.39

69.4

48.3

2.45

April

79

59.8

1.56

May

83.8

64.4

11.71

June

90.7

74.2

2.18

July

93.1

74.3

5.4

94

75.2

1.24

September

89.2

72

3.88

October

84.8

60.8

2.95

November

67.6

47.2

3.4

December

65.2

48.7

5.6

Year

78.6

59

43.72

January February March

August

*As recorded at George Bush Intercontinental Airport’s weather station.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

•

George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center, opened in 1987 and expanded in 2003, offers 1.2 million square feet of exhibition, registration and meeting space; seven exhibit halls; retractable seating for 6,500; a 31,500 square foot grand ballroom; and a 3,600-seat tiered amphitheater.

•

Adjacent to the GRB is the 12-acre Discovery Green park and the 1,200-room Hilton Americas hotel.

•

In April 2013, the City of Houston finalized an agreement to construct a second convention hotel that will be a 1,000-room Marriott Marquis with completion targeted for spring 2016.

NRG Park, which occupies 350 acres and offers 26,000 parking spaces, is among the most versatile meeting complexes in the United States.

NRG Park includes the following venues: •

NRG Stadium, a $453-million, 71,500seat football stadium with a retractable roof, opened in 2002. It is home to the NFL Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™.

•

NRG Center, a $150-million convention center, opened in 2002. It has 1.4 million square feet, which includes 706,213 square feet of contiguous exposition space and 72 meeting rooms.

•

NRG Arena has 325,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 5,800-seat arena and a 1,700-seat pavilion.

Restaurants Houston restaurants feature outstanding regional and traditional American dishes as well as diverse international cuisine.

HOUSTON.ORG – 27

Professional Teams in the Houston MSA Houston Dash National Women’s Soccer League BBVA Compass Stadium

Houston Astros

Houston Texans

Major League Baseball’s American League Minute Maid Park

American Football Conference in the National Football League NRG Stadium

Houston Energy Independent Women’s Football League Pearland High South

Houston Red Storm American Basketball Association League America Sports Complex Houston Roller Derby Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Bayou Place

Houston Rockets

Houston Dynamo

Western Conference in the National Basketball Association Toyota Center

Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference BBVA Compass Stadium

•

•

•

Toyota Center, a $235-million sports arena/ entertainment center located downtown, seats 18,300 for basketball and as many as 19,000 for concerts. Opened in 2003, it has covered parking for 2,500 vehicles.

Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros’ retractable-roof downtown baseball stadium with seating for 40,950, opened in 2000.

BBVA Compass Stadium, the state-of-the-art, open-air stadium designed to host Dynamo matches, as well as additional sporting and concert events, opened in May 2012. The 22,000-seat stadium is the first soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer located in a city’s downtown district.

•

Constellation Field, opened in 2012, is located in Sugar Land, Texas. The stadium hosts sporting events as well as concerts. It has a capacity of 7,500 spectators for baseball games and 9,500 for concerts.

•

TEDCU Stadium, opened in August 2014, is located on the campus of the University of Houston in the Third Ward. It cost $120 million to build. The stadium features 40,000 seats including 5,000 in club and suite areas. Sun and shade studies were also conducted to improve the best level of comfort for Houston fans and not affect student-athletes.

•

Rice Stadium, opened in 1950, is located in the historic museum district. It seats up to 70,000 fans. It is the location where President John F. Kennedy made his famous challenge to America to place a man on the moon.

Sugar Land Skeeters Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Constellation Field

Texas City Rangers American Basketball Association La Marque High School

Conventions and Major Events •

With more than 4.44 million sq. ft. of convention space, metropolitan Houston ranks at the top of American cities when comparing convention venues.

•

According to the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, in 2014, Houston hosted 364 conventions, events and shows that drew 774,152 attendees to Houston, translating into an economic impact of $485 million, based on attendance.

•

Houston has served as host to the following major conventions and events: 2002 World Space Congress; 2008 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony; 2013 American Association for Clinical Chemistry; and the 2013 National Rifle Association. In 2017, Houston will host its second Super Bowl (Super Bowl L). The first time Houston hosted a super bowl (Super Bowl XXXVIII) was in 2004.

George R. Brown Convention Center

28 – Houston Facts | 2015

Hotels and Motels

Golf

The Houston MSA in Spring 2015, according to PKF Consulting, had:

•

In 2015, PGA.com lists 175 golf courses within a 50-mile radius of downtown Houston.

•

798 major hotels and motels, totaling 76,721 rooms.

•

•

Room occupancy averaged 71.8 percent with an average room rate of $106.93.

The City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department maintains seven municipal golf parks.

•

The Houston area has three Top Golf locations.

•

Houston’s Central Business District has eight hotels planned to open before the Super Bowl comes to town in 2017.

2015 Selected Recurring Events and Festivals January

February

March

Black Heritage Society’s Annual “Original” MLK Birthday Parade

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™

Azalea Trail

Mardi Gras! Galveston

Bayou City Art Festival Memorial

Chevron Houston Marathon

Buffalo Bayou Regatta

Martin Luther King Jr. Grande Parade

Houston’s Children’s Festival Shell Houston Open South West International Boat Show

April

May

June

BP MS 150

Art Car Parade and Festival

Caribbean Heritage Month Festival

Houston Barbecue Festival

Carnival Houston Show + Parade

Houston Beer Fest

Japan Festival

Cinco de Mayo Parade and Celebration

Juneteenth Freedom Festival

Art Car Parade

Dragon Boat Festival

Pride Houston

WorldFest: Houston International Film Festival

Pasadena Strawberry Festival

July

August

September

Freedom Over Texas Festival

Fiestas Patrias

Star-Spangled Salute

Houston Black Heritage Music and Arts Festival

Houston International Jazz Festival

Houston Shakespeare Festival

Houston Fine Arts Fair

White Linen Nights in the Heights

October

November

December

Bayou City Art Festival Downtown

Day of the Dead

Candlelight Tour in the Park

Festa Italiana

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at Rothko Chapel

Dickens on the Strand

Texas Championship Native American Pow Wow

The Mayor’s Official Downtown Houston Holiday Celebration

International Quilt Festival Texas Renaissance Festival The Original Greek Festival Turkish Festival Wings Over Houston Airshow

Fiesta Guadalupana

The Nutcracker Market Uptown Houston Lighting Zoo Lights

HOUSTON.ORG – 29

Racing

Performance Arts Facilities

Racing facilities include:

Theater District:

•

Alkek Velodrome – concrete bicycle racing track, one of 29 velodromes in the United States

•

Galveston Bay Cruising Association – an all volunteer non-profit sailboat racing club

•

Gulf Greyhound Park – dog racing

•

Houston Motorsports Park – NASCAR speedway and National Hot Rod Association drag strip

•

Houston Raceway Park – dragstrip complex

•

Sam Houston Race Park – Thoroughbred and American Quarter horse racing

Biking and Hiking Biking options are found throughout the region and include paved and unpaved paths, mountain-bike trails, and shared-road lanes.

•

•

•

The City of Houston offers a more than 300mile interconnected bikeway network spread over 500 square miles. The network includes bike lanes, bike routes, signed-shared lanes and shared-use paths.

The City of Houston also offers more than 128 miles of hike and bike trails that loop within its parks or are linear and run along bayous and outside park boundaries.

Harris County offers 45 hike and bike trails totaling 228.8 miles.

Arts and Cultural Industry

Houston’s Theater District, located in downtown Houston, features nine renowned performing arts organizations, and many smaller ones, in four venues – Jones Hall, Wortham Theater Center, Alley Theatre and Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Houston Ballet’s Center of Dance is also located in the heart of the Theater District.

•

Alley Theatre, home to Houston’s leading repertory company, offers two stages – the 824seat Hubbard Stage and the 310-seat Neuhaus Stage. A wide-ranging repertoire of 11 productions is presented each season.

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Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, opened in 2002, is home to Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), Broadway Across America, the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre and Uniquely Houston.

Its two stages have seating for 2,650 and 500.

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Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home to the Houston Symphony and the Society for the Performing Arts, seats 2,912.

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Wortham Theater Center, built entirely with private funds and opened in 1987, is home to the opera and ballet companies. Its two halls seat 2,405 and 1,100.

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Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance, opened in April 2011, is a 115,000-square-foot, $47-million, six-story structure.

Outside the Theater District: •

Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park offers free performances by Houston’s performing arts organizations. The city-owned theatre is located on approximately 7.5 acres of land in Hermann Park, site of the Houston Zoo and the Garden Center. Seating is provided for 1,700 patrons under the covered pavilion, plus a sloping lawn that accommodates approximately 4,500 more on blankets or lawn chairs.

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Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located in The Woodlands, offers outdoor performance space and accommodates 16,267. Established in 1990, it presents an eclectic range of programs featuring nationally and internationally recognized artists.

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The Grand 1894 Opera House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, presents more than 25 productions annually. The Romanesque Revival style theater is located in Galveston and has seating for 1,000.

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Stafford Centre, located in Stafford, Texas,

More than 500 institutions are devoted to the performing and visual arts, science and history in the Houston area.

Houston’s nonprofit arts and culture industry is on the rise with annual expenditures of $579 million according to the Arts & Cultural Heritage Community Indicator Report 2014, a study by the Center for Houston’s Future. Arts and culture industry expenditures in Houston grew twice as fast as the area’s population from 2000 to 2010. The sector employs more than 16,000 according to Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, a study conducted by the Houston Arts Alliance and Americans for the Arts. Of the 16.2 million arts and culture patrons in 2011, 2.2 million were from outside of the Houston region.

30 – Houston Facts | 2015

major international competitions. Houston Ballet has toured to critical praise in Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Asia (including the People’s Republic of China) and cities throughout the United States. The company presents more than 75 performances during eight months per year.

includes a performing arts theater with seating for 1,154 and more than 24 acres of outdoor festival green space.

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Berry Center, located in Cypress, Texas, includes an 11,000-seat athletic stadium, a conference center, an 8,300-seat arena and a 456seat theater.

Performance Arts Houston is one of the few U.S. cities with resident companies in drama, ballet, opera and orchestra.

Theater: Houston is one of the nation’s foremost centers of live dramatic and musical theater.

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Alley Acting Company was founded in 1947 and is one of the few American theater companies that support a company of actors, designers, artisans and craftspeople throughout the year.

The company has toured U.S. cities and abroad.

The Alley is also home to educational programs for students and teachers, including the Young Performers Studio, From Stage to Page, HYPE (Houston Young Playwrights Exchange) and Playwright 360°.

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Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) offers lavish musical theater productions, both new works and revivals, in a winter subscription season and in popular free summer productions at Hermann Park’s Miller Outdoor Theatre. It also operates the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre.

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Main Street Theater enjoys growing critical acclaim for dramatic and musical productions. In 35 years, its MainStage program has presented over 30 world premieres. MST’s Youth Theater produces plays directed to young audiences.

Its Kids On Stage classes emphasize theatrical traditions from cultures worldwide.

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Ensemble Theatre, located in midtown Houston and established in 1976, is the only professional theater in the Southwest devoted to the AfricanAmerican experience. This theatre offers two stages and a full season of productions.

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Stages Repertory Theatre offers southwestern and world premieres; experimental productions of classic works; and revivals of American masterpieces.

Music: Houston is a haven for classical music, with the Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera at the fore.

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Houston Symphony, founded in 1913, has an annual budget of more than $30.7 million and maintains an internationally acclaimed orchestra of nearly 90 full-time musicians. Some 300,000 attend its season of more than 280 classical, pops, educational and family concerts. The symphony’s free summer concerts at Miller Outdoor Theatre have been a tradition since 1940. The symphony’s long tradition of touring in recent years has included Europe, Japan, Singapore and many U.S. cities. The symphony devotes approximately $1 million per year to educational outreach programs, most of which are offered for free or at a nominal cost.

Houston Grand Opera performs October through May each year at the Wortham Theater Center downtown. Founded in 1955, the company is known worldwide and enjoys a reputation for commissioning and presenting new works by important contemporary composers, including 50 world premieres. Its tours have included the U.S., Japan, Italy, Egypt, Scotland and France. Houston Grand Opera is the only opera company to have won a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. In 2014, the Houston Grand Opera fund raised $12.9 million to help support the company’s operations and endowment.

Dance: Houston has an active dance community that includes diverse styles and genres.

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Houston Ballet, founded in 1955 and established as a professional company in 1969, is the nation’s fifth largest ballet company, with annual operating expenses of more than $27 million and 55 dancers, many of whom have won medals at

Houston Museum District The Houston Museum District is one of the most visited and diverse cultural centers with 19 member organizations within close proximity. These museums provide rich experiences in art, history, culture, nature and science.

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Asia Society Texas Center (1370 Southmore Blvd.) – opened in 2012, this facility houses an art gallery along with a theater.

HOUSTON.ORG – 31

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Buffalo Soldiers National Museum (3816 Caroline St.) – founded in 2000, is dedicated primarily to preserving the legacy and honor of the AfricanAmerican soldiers that served on behalf of the United States of America.

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Children’s Museum of Houston (1500 Binz) – founded in 1980, the museum, which receives more than 850,000 visits annually, has hands-on galleries and offers a multitude of exhibits and programs for children through age 12.

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Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (5216 Montrose) – founded in 1948, is a non-collecting museum presenting regional, national and international art of the past 40 years through exhibitions accompanied by publications and educational programming.

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Czech Center Museum Houston (4920 San Jacinto) – established in 1995, was created to celebrate, share and promote the rich culture of a major Slavic ethnic group and their history.

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Holocaust Museum Houston (5401 Caroline) – opened in 1996, educates the public about the dangers of prejudice and hatred in society.

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Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 Main) – a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to advancing education about the process, product and history of craft.

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Houston Center for Photography (1441 W. Alabama) – founded in 1981, brings together a community of people interested in photography and lens-based work. The center is home to an on-site library housing more than 3,000 books on photography.

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Houston Museum of Natural Science (5555 Hermann Park Drive) – established in 1909, the museum includes four floors of permanent exhibit halls; the Wortham IMAX® 3D Theatre; Cockrell Butterfly Center; Burke Baker Planetarium; the George Observatory in Fort Bend County; a satellite facility in Sugar Land; and world-class touring exhibitions.

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Houston Zoo, Inc. (6200 Hermann Park Dr.) – provides a fun, unique, and inspirational experience fostering appreciation, knowledge, and care for the natural world. Currently there are over 6,000 permanent residents (animals) attracting over 2 million guests each year.

Health Museum (1515 Hermann Drive) – founded in 1996, this museum is a member institution of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. The museum currently serves more than 180,000 visitors annually.

32 – Houston Facts | 2015

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Jung Center of Houston (5200 Montrose Blvd.) – founded in 1958 in honor of Carl Gustav Jung, the revolutionary psychologist. The center displays new exhibits each month. Much of the featured artwork is generated by local and regional artists.

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Lawndale Art Center (4912 Main) – founded in 1979, the center is one of the only institutions in Houston that is dedicated to the presentation of contemporary art with an emphasis on work by regional artists.

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Menil Collection (1515 Sul Ross) – opened in 1987, features a highly acclaimed collection of some 17,000 works of art concentrated in four areas: antiquities; Byzantine and medieval treasures; worldwide tribal art; paintings and sculpture. The museum includes the Cy Twombly Gallery (1501 Branard) and Richmond Hall (1500 Richmond).

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Museum of African American Culture (4807 Caroline) – exhibits the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora.

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Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) (1001 Bissonnet) – the first art museum in Texas, opened in 1924. Today, it houses nearly 65,000 works from antiquity to the present and ranks as the largest art museum in the Southwest. MFAH includes: The Caroline Wiess Law Building; Cullinan Hall; Brown Pavilion; and the Audrey Jones Beck Building. Other MFAH facilities include: Glassell School of Art; the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden; Blaffer Memorial Wing; Rienzi; Central Administration and Junior School Building and Bayou Bend. Beginning in summer 2015, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will start a new master planned campus transformation.

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Rice University Art Gallery (6100 Main Street) – the only university art museum in the nation dedicated to site-specific installation art, presents temporary, large-scale environments that visitors can enter and explore.

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Rothko Chapel (3900 Yupon) – founded in 1971, it is an intimate sanctuary welcoming over 80,000 visitors each year.

Additional Houston-Area Museums •

Alliance Gallery (3201 Allen Parkway) – managed by the Houston Arts Alliance, showcases recent work by contemporary Houston artists.

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Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston (4800 Calhoun Road) – furthers the understanding of contemporary art.

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Bryan Museum (1315 21st St. Galveston TX) – opened in 2013, this facility is home to the world’s largest collection of historical artifacts, documents, and artwork relating to the Southwestern United States.

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Of the 55 largest parks located within cities, the city of Houston contains three: #10 – Cullen Park with 9,270 acres; #15 – George Bush Park with 7,800 acres; and #55 – Bear Creek Pioneers Park with 2,163 acres inside the city limits of Houston.

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Harris County Heritage Society (1100 Bagby) – has restored and furnished ten early Houston homes and a church that are on display in Sam Houston Park. Its Museum of Houston Heritage chronicles Texas history since 1519.

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George Bush Park is the largest countymaintained park in the United States.

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Hermann Park attracts more than 5.4 million visitors annually.

O’Kane Gallery, University of HoustonDowntown (One Main Street) – is a conduit for the visual arts and contemporary culture.

City of Houston parks:

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Orange Show Center for Visionary Art (2402 Munger) – a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1980 to promote the legacy of folk art and traditional visual artists.

San Jacinto Monument and Museum of History – located at San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, features a wealth of artifacts and documents covering four centuries of Texas history. This 1,200-acre site is also a National Historic Landmark and consists of the San Jacinto battleground, monument with observation floor, museum of history and Battleship Texas.

Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) oversees 366 developed municipal parks and more than 220 green-spaces, which together encompass approximately 37,851 acres.

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Major City of Houston parks: •

Buffalo Bayou Park (160 acres)

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Cullen Park (9,270 acres)

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Cullinan/Oyster Creek Park (754.83 acres)

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Eisenhower Park (682.5 acres)

Space Center Houston – the $75-million, Disneydesigned visitors’ center for Johnson Space Center, opened in 1992 and attracts more than 800,000 visitors per year. It features an IMAX theater, Kids Space Place, live demonstrations, Apollo, Mercury and Gemini capsules, a space suit collection, and the world’s largest collection of moon rocks.

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Herman Brown Park (717.35 acres)

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Hermann Park (445 acres)

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Keith-Wiess Park (499.46 acres)

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Lake Houston Wilderness Park (Approximately 5,000 acres)

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Law Park (313.57 acres)

University Museum at Texas Southern University (3100 Cleburne Ave.) – presents art created by African and African American artists.

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MacGregor Park (82.79 acres)

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Memorial Park (1,503.68 acres)

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Metropolitan Multi-Service Center provides access to year-round activities for children and adults with disabilities.

Parks Parks within the city limits of Houston: Houston contains 52,915 acres of parks managed by five different entities, according to The Trust for Public Land’s 2015 City Park Facts.

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HPARD owns and operates 60 community centers across the city, along with the Metropolitan MultiService Center.

Parks represent 14.3 percent of the city’s land area, ranking in the top ten of U.S. cities with similar density.

There are 24.1 acres of total parkland per 1,000 residents—well above the median of 12.8 acres per 1,000 residents for cities of similar density monitored by The Trust for Public Land.

Major downtown parks: •

Allen’s Landing Memorial Park, located on the banks of Buffalo Bayou.

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Discovery Green, a 12-acre park adjoining the George R. Brown Convention Center, opened in 2008.

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Eleanor Tinsley Park, a 124-acre linear park along Buffalo Bayou immediately west of downtown.

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Market Square, bounded by Preston, Milam, Travis, and Congress streets, was donated to the city in 1854 by Augustus Allen.

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Martha Hermann Square Park is located at the front steps of City Hall.

HOUSTON.ORG – 33

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Sam Houston Park, the city’s first park, was acquired in 1899. The park’s 19.7 acres contain nine restored historic buildings.

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Sesquicentennial Park, is a 22.5 acre urban oasis in the heart of Houston’s downtown theater district.

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Tranquility Park, between Walker and Rusk Streets, was officially dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the first lunar landing.

Forests •

Sam Houston National Forest, one of four national forests in Texas, is 50 miles north of Houston. The forest contains 161,508 acres in Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker counties.

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W.G. Jones State Forest, a largely native loblolly pine forest covering 1,722 acres, is located 40 miles north of Houston near The Woodlands in Montgomery County. The forest is owned and administered by the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Harris County parks: The Harris County Park System consists of four separate park departments that maintain a total of 179 parks totaling 25,126 acres.

Wildlife Refuges

Major Harris County parks:

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Houston, situated on two of the four major North American bird and butterfly flyways, offers a bounty of avian species. According to the Houston Audubon Society, the Houston region has more than 400 species of birds as of 2015.

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Texas National Wildlife Refuges in the Houston MSA include the Anahuac and Moody National Wildlife Refuges in Chambers County; the Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuges in Brazoria County; and the 23,000-acre Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge in Liberty County.

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Houston Audubon, one of the largest chapters of the National Audubon Society, is headquartered at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary in West Houston. Prominent among its several other sanctuary locations are Bolivar Flats and High Island.

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Alexander Deussen Park (309 acres)

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Armand Bayou Nature Center (2,500 acres)

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Arthur Storey Park (175 acres)

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Bear Creek Pioneers Park (2,153 acres)

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Challenger Seven Memorial Park (326 acres)

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Congressman Bill Archer Park (926 acres)

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Cypress Creek Parks (2,700 acres)

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Gene Green Beltway 8 Park (230 acres)

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George Bush Park (7,800 acres)

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Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center (300 acres)

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Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens (300 acres)

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Roy Campbell Burroughs Park (320 acres)

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Terry Hershey Park (500 acres)

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Tom Bass Regional Park (more than 300 acres)

Houston Zoo

African Forest at the Houston Zoo

34 – Houston Facts | 2015

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Founded in 1922, the Houston Zoo serves more than 2.38 million visitors annually, ranking in the top 10 nationwide in attendance.

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Occupying 55 acres in Hermann Park, it is home to more than 6,000 exotic animals, representing more than 900 species.

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The Houston Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

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Since 2002, the non-profit corporation, Houston Zoo, Inc. has operated the zoo and invested more than $100 million in an extensive renewal and upgrading of its facilities.

Houston: The City With No Limits

In order to attract new businesses and the best and brightest talent to the area, the Partnership launched the Houston Image Coalition to coordinate the implementation of the Houston: The City With No Limits campaign. The plan positions Houston as not just a city with an innovative and growing business community, but a dynamic cultural and livable city with a great quality of life.

LIMITLESS LIVING IN

HOUSTON 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW 1

2

NO.1 TOP 10

GLOBAL DESTINATION FOR

DESTINATION CITY

FOOD &

-According to

3

- According to The New York Times

4 MOST DIVERSE REGION Houston Region 22% of Residents are foreign born

MORE THAN 100+ LANGUAGES SPOKEN

5

ONE OF THE

LEAST

13% OF U.S. RESIDENTS ARE FOREIGN BORN

EXPENSIVE CITIES TO LIVE IN THE U.S. LOWER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

CONFIDENT Regardless of inevitable changes and challenges, Houstonians have always believed that Houston’s best days are ahead.

SUPPORTIVE Houstonians love to see each other succeed and are willing to get involved to make it happen.

7

PARK SPACE MOST

WITH 6.5 MILLION

26 FORTUNE 500

C O M PA N I E S 3RD IN THE NATION

350+

MILES OF HIKE

th

POPULOUS MSA in U.S.

10

There are 6.5 million Houstonians with 6.5 million versions of Houston. The attributes that follow, however, remain constant and are the foundation of a city with infinite possibilities - Houston.

-ACCORDING TO CreditDonkey

62,900+

5

WHAT IS HOUSTON?

AMBITIOUS Even when others lag, we dream big and have the staying power to see our dreams through.

TOTAL ACRES OF

8

From the moment Houston was founded, the limits of what’s possible here were forever defined. The first domed stadium, the first word heard from the moon, the first artificial heart transplant – all were achieved from that spirit of endless possibilities.

BEST CITIES FOR YOUNG

ENTREPRENEURS 6

HOUSTON: THE CITY WITH NO LIMITS

Today, that spirit is alive and well, and there’s no limit to what Houston has to offer for those who want the American dream and are willing to work hard for it.

CULTURE

U-HAUL INTERNATIONAL

INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

& BIKE TRAILS 9

TOP CITY FOR NEW GRADUATES -According to msnNOW

HARMONIOUS Houston is not only the most diverse U.S. city, it is also a city where people of all backgrounds live side by side and are embraced according to their attitudes and actions.

OPEN Houstonians readily enjoy the benefits of living in a global metropolis because the perks are well within reach.

FORWARD LOOKING Houstonians would much rather hear about your plans for the future than stories from your past. Even our finest historical moments were forward looking in their time.

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For more information, visit: TheCityWithNoLimits.com HOUSTON.ORG – 35

History 1830s 1836 —

On April 21, General Sam Houston’s army wins Texas’ independence from Mexico in the Battle of San Jacinto.

1836 —

Houston founded on Aug. 30 by brothers Augustus C. and John K. Allen, who pay just over $1.40 per acre for 6,642 acres near headwaters of Buffalo Bayou.

1836 —

1837 —

Allen Brothers call on Gail Borden (publisher, surveyor, originator of condensed milk) and Thomas H. Borden to survey the site. Gail Borden lays out the town’s streets 80’ wide, with the principal east-west street (Texas Ave.) 100’ wide.

General Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas, signs an act authorizing Houston to incorporate.

Houston is capital of the Republic from 1837-1839.

1837 —

The Laura is the first steamship to visit Houston.

1838 —

A bucket brigade, Protection Fire Company No. 1, is formed to fight fires.

1840s 1840 — 1841 — 1842 — 1846 —

On April 4, seven Houston businessmen form the Houston Chamber of Commerce.

Houston Police Department is formed.

Texas’ oldest newspaper, The Galveston County Daily News, is first published.

1853 — 1853 — 1859 —

1867 —

Houston Stonewalls defeat Galveston Robert E. Lees 35-2 in first recorded baseball game in Houston.

1868 —

Houston’s first trolley cars (muledrawn) appear.

1868 —

Houston’s first gaslights are installed.

1900 —

A Category 4 hurricane strikes Galveston, claiming more than 6,000 lives and causing property damage exceeding $30 million ($846 million in 2012 dollars).

First census after Texas joins the United States counts 2,396 Houstonians. Galveston, with 4,117 residents, is the state’s largest city.

Houston’s first railroad — the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad — begins operations.

1899 —

Texas readmitted to the Union.

1901 —

Houston Left Hand Fishing Club purchases the city’s first automobile from Olds Motor Works of Detroit.

1901 —

Oil discovered at Spindletop.

Spindletop, and later discoveries at Humble in 1905 and Goose Creek in 1906, put Houston in the center of new oil and oilfield equipment development.

1902 —

Congress appropriates $1 million for work on the Houston Ship Channel.

1908 —

Houston city council sets speed limit of 8 mph.

1909 —

Houston Museum and Scientific Society, Inc., predecessor of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, is organized.

1909 —

Houston police begin using motorcycles to enforce speed limits.

1909 —

Houston Country Club opens with Houston’s first professionallydesigned 18-hole golf course.

1870 — 1870 —

Census shows Houston’s population up to 9,332. Harris County’s has reached 17,375, ranking it second in the state.

1870 —

Congress designates Houston a port; first survey of Houston’s proposed ship channel is conducted.

1872 —

Congress makes its first appropriation — $10,000 — for ship channel improvements.

1874 —

Houston Board of Trade and Cotton Exchange are organized.

1875 —

First grain elevator is built on the Houston Ship Channel.

1877 —

Houston’s first free public schools is established.

1880s 1880 —

Houston’s first telephone exchange is created.

1882 —

Houston Electric Light Co. is organized. Houston and New York are the first cities to build electric power plants.

1910s 1910 —

Congress accepts, from a group of Houston businessmen headed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce, a novel plan to split ship channel development costs between Houston and the federal government.

1912 —

Rice Institute (now Rice University) begins classes.

1913 — 1914 —

Houston Symphony is established.

1914 —

The 25 foot-deep Houston Ship Channel is completed and formally dedicated.

1915 —

First deepwater vessel, the S.S. Satilla, calls at Houston.

Houston gets its first arc light.

Sisters of Charity open Houston’s first general hospital.

1890s

First Houston city park opens.

(This site, now Sam Houston Park, contains several of Houston’s earliest buildings.)

1900s

1870s

1882 — 1887 —

1891 —

Houston is first Texas city with electric streetcars.

Texas Legislature appropriates $4,000 for Buffalo Bayou improvements.

1895 —

Houston Business League is founded (became Houston Chamber of Commerce in 1910).

Three competing firefighting companies combined into the Houston Volunteer Fire Department.

1895 —

Houston Fire Department replaces Houston Volunteer Fire Department.

1897 —

Automobile first appears in Houston as an advertising gimmick.

1897 —

Houston’s first asphalt street paving is laid on Franklin St.

1920s

1898 —

Galveston Country Club opens with Texas’ first recorded professionally designed golf course.

1920s-1930s — Oil refineries proliferate

1860s 1861 —

Houston’s first bank, First National Bank, is founded.

Texas becomes the 28th state.

1850s 1850 —

1866 —

Houston and Harris County vote to secede from the Union. During the Civil War, the closest fighting is at Galveston.

36 – Houston Facts | 2015

George Hermann donates 285 acres to the city for a public park near Rice Institute.

along the Ship Channel, taking advantage of inexpensive waterborne shipping.

1921 —

Houston adopts ordinance dedicating tax monies to its library system.

1950s

1923 —

Second National Bank becomes Houston’s first airconditioned building.

1953 —

KUHT-TV, the nation’s first public broadcast TV station, goes on the air.

1924 —

Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the first fine arts museum in Texas, opens.

1955 —

Houston Grand Opera Association and Houston Ballet founded.

1926 — 1927 —

Natural gas first piped into Houston.

1955 —

Houston metro area population reaches 1,000,000.

Houston Colored Junior College, the forerunner of Texas Southern University, established.

1960s

1927 —

Houston Junior College (now the University of Houston) is established.

1962 —

1928 —

National Democratic Convention is held in Houston.

NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center moves to Houston.

1965 — 1969 —

First event held in the Astrodome.

1928 —

Municipal airport opened; air mail service to Houston begins.

1929 —

City Planning Commission recommends that Houston adopt a zoning ordinance but finds scant support.

1930s 1930 —

Census ranks Houston as state’s most populous city at 292,352.

1932 —

First Houston Fat Stock Show & Rodeo (now Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™) held.

1934 — 1935 —

Intracoastal Canal links Houston to Mississippi River navigation system.

Braniff International inaugurates first scheduled air passenger service to Houston.

1940s 1940s — Petrochemical complex develops,

1969 —

Leonel Castillo becomes Controller, first Hispanic elected to city office.

2002 —

1971 —

Shell Oil Co. relocates corporate headquarters to Houston. More than 200 major firms move headquarters, subsidiaries and divisions here in the 1970s.

NRG Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Houston Texans, opens.

2002 —

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts opens.

2003 —

Toyota Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets, opens

2004 —

Houston’s first modern light rail line — 7.5-miles long — begins operations.

2004 —

Houston hosts NFL Superbowl XXXVIII

2005 —

More than 100,000 evacuees flee to Houston from southern Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

2008 —

Hurricane Ike makes landfall Sept. 13 at Galveston as a Category 2 storm, claiming at least 70 lives and causing some $27 billion in property damage along the Texas Gulf Coast, ranking it third most costly among U.S. hurricanes.

2009 —

Houston elects Annise Parker, one of the first openly gay mayors of a major U.S. city

1973 —

Arab oil embargo quadruples oil prices in 90 days, fueling Houston’s 1973-1981 economic boom.

1978 —

Voters approve and fund Metropolitan Transit Authority.

1980s

Voters approve creation of Harris County Toll Road Authority.

1987 —

Trough of recession in January; net recession loss of 221,900 jobs.

1987 —

Wortham Center, home to Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera, and the George R. Brown Convention Center opens.

1989 —

Houston Chamber of Commerce, Houston Economic Development Council and Houston World Trade Association combine to form Greater Houston Partnership.

Engineering begins on the Gulf Freeway, Texas’ first freeway.

KLEE-TV broadcasts first Houston commercial TV program.

2000s

The Galleria opens.

1983 —

1949 —

Former Police Chief Lee Brown elected City of Houston’s first black mayor.

1970 — 1971 —

Texas Medical Center is founded.

Port of Houston ranks second nationally in total tonnage.

1997 —

Tropical Storm Allison inundates Houston June 5-9, claiming 22 lives and inflicting $4.9 billion in property damage, with storm precipitation as high as 35.67 inches.

1943 — 1946 —

1948 —

The Houston Rockets bring Houston its first national sports title after winning the NBA Championship.

2001 —

1970s

155 office buildings completed in 12 months.

Dec. 31 annexation expands Houston’s area from 74.4 to 216 square-miles.

1994 —

Minute Maid Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros, opens.

1983 —

1948 —

Republican National Convention held in Houston.

2000 —

New master plan for Houston thoroughfares emphasizes a loop system.

Alley Theatre established.

1992 —

“Houston” is the first word spoken from the lunar surface.

1941 —

1947 — 1947 —

Houston City Council mandates first zoning regulations.

Census finds Houston MSA has no racial or ethnic majority.

Employment peaks at 1,583,400 in March before onset of recession.

Houston College for Negroes acquired by Texas Legislature; established as Texas State University for Negroes (now Texas Southern University).

1991 —

2000 —

1982 —

1947 —

Houston hosts 16th annual Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations.

Houston Intercontinental Airport begins operations.

taking feedstocks from nearby refineries.

Houston Golf Assn. hosts its first PGA Tour event — now the Shell Houston Open, 10th oldest event on the PGA schedule.

1990 —

2010s 2011 —

By November, Houston returns to 2008 pre-recession employment levels; first major metro to do so.

2012 —

BBVA Compass Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, opens.

2014 —

Metro Houston employment reached an all-time high of 2.992 million in December

1990s 1990 —

Houston economic recovery complete; April job count above March 1982 level.

HOUSTON.ORG – 37

2015

HOUSTONFACTS 1200 SMITH, SUITE 700 | HOUSTON, TX 77002 | 713-844-3600 38 – Houston Facts | 2015