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Houston Fast Facts

As the fourth largest city in the United States, Houston is a leader in business, entertainment, the arts and so much more. Visit Houston for yourself, and you'll understand why it is a city of infinite possibilities. 

SIZE
At 634 square miles, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.

POPULATION/DEMOGRAPHY
Houston, with 2.3 million residents, is the fourth most populous city in the United States, trailing only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Houston is the nation’s demographic future. In racial and ethnic composition, the Houston of today very much resembles the U.S. nearly 60 years hence.

• 42% Anglo • 33% Hispanic • 18% African American • 7% Asian/Other

Eighty-three languages are spoken in Houston.

GREEN SPACE
Houston rates first among the nation’s 10 most populous cities in total acreage of parkland and second behind only San Diego in park acreage per capita, according to a study by The Trust for Public Land.

Houston has 56,405 acres of total park space, with 27.2 acres per 1,000 residents. The national average is 18.8 acres per 1,000 residents.

Buffalo Bayou offers expansive hike and bike trails, kayaking and a boat tour along its main channel.

Houston is a coastal city with some of the country's most diverse saltwater fishing opportunities available in the nearby waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is also surrounded by 1.5 million acres of lakes and 80,000 miles of rivers and streams.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS
International trade directly or indirectly supports more than one-third of all jobs in the Houston metropolitan area.

Ninety-two foreign governments have offi cial representation here through consulates or trade offices.

THE ARTS
Houston’s cultural events and exhibitions report 9.2 million visits per year.

Houston’s nonprofit arts organizations support 14,115 full-time jobs locally. An additional 12,192 professional artists call Houston their home. In total, 29,729 jobs are sustained by the city’s nonprofit arts industry.

Houston is one of only a few U.S. cities with resident professional companies in the four disciplines of the performing arts: Ballet, opera, symphony and theater.

Theater Facts:

• Houston Ballet - Hailed by The New York Times as “...one of the nation’s best ballet companies”
• Houston Grand Opera - Only opera company in the world with Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards.
• Theatre Under the Stars is one of the largest nonprofit producers of musical theater in America.
• With more than 14,000 theater seats in a concentrated Theater District, Houston offers a variety of options for theater-goers. 
• The Fresh Arts Coalition is a collaboration of the most original and thought-provoking arts groups in Houston. The 19 dance, theatre, literary, musical and visual arts organizations collectively raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston.

Museum Facts:

• Fourth largest museum district in the country with 18 museums within walking distance.
• Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum - Holds the only intact Byzantine frescoes in the Western Hemisphere.
• Children’s Museum of Houston is the highest attended youth museum in the country for its size.
• The Health Museum - Most visited health museum in the country.
• The Cy Twombly Gallery at The Menil Collection - The only museum designed, built for and devoted to the work of a single living American artist.
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - The largest art museum in the Southwest United States.
• Rothko Chapel - The only ecumenical center of its kind in the world.

EDUCATION
The Greater Houston area has 14 major institutions of higher learning.

Houston (Rice University) is the birthplace of nanotechnology.

FASHION
Janet Gurwitch propelled Laura Mercier to top status in the high-end cosmetics industry from a warehouse in Stafford (a suburb of Houston).

For four generations, the Hamilton family has made high-quality men’s shirts for high-end stores like Barneys New York from a Richmond Avenue storefront.

Elaine Turner has built a thriving accessories business from her Houston headquarters. Today, her designs are carried in more than 200 specialty stores, at Turner’s boutiques, online and Nordstrom.

Former Carolina Herrera executive Greg Fourticq recently returned home to bankroll a children’s clothing line, Moo Boo.

Project Runway winner Chloe Dao has created a popular clothing line from her Lot 8 boutique.

Fashion designer and native Houstonian Cesar Galindo is recognized worldwide for his cocktail and evening wear collections, which have
appeared in print, television, film and the runway of New York Fashion Week.

For more than 60 years, the iconic footwear brand, Bernardo, has been based in Houston. Jackie O and Lilly Pulitzer were loyal supporters, while Reese Witherspoon and Courteney Cox are among the A-listers embracing the brand today.

FOOD
Houston is considered to have one of the best culinary scenes in the country, with cuisine from around the world. There are more than 8,000 restaurants in the Houston area with culinary choices that represent more than 35 countries and American regions.

Houstonians dine out more than residents of any other city—4.0 times per week, compared with the national average of 3.2. The average meal in Houston—$32.53—is less than the national average of $35.10.

SPACE
In 1969, “Houston” was the first word spoken from the moon. The Apollo 11 mission established a place in history for the city when astronaut Neil Armstrong spoke the now-famous line, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

FILM
Hollywood directors frequently film in Houston because of the vastly diverse terrain and unique locations found in the Greater Houston area, from the urban landscape seen in Jason’s Lyric and Reality Bites to the NASA favorites Apollo 13, Armageddon and Space Cowboys.

In fact, Houston’s varied topography can sometimes be unrecognizable. Who would have guessed that the lush, green landscape on the Rushmore campus was not filmed in New England but in Houston just 10 minutes from downtown? Or that Houston doubled for Arlington, Virginia in the thriller Arlington Road?

Other blockbusters filmed in Houston:

• Terms of Endearment
• Evening Star
• RoboCop 2
• Tin Cup
• Flags of Our Fathers
• Mao’s Last Dancer
• Tree of Life

MEDICINE
Texas Medical Center (TMC) with 49 member institutions—including M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the No. 1 cancer hospital in the country—is the largest medical complex in the world.

More heart surgeries are performed in the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world.

The first successful human heart transplant was performed in Houston by Dr. Denton Cooley (1968).

77030, the Texas Medical Center Zip code, is home to 21,000 physicians, scientists, researchers and other advanced degree professionals in the life sciences at 385 medical offices, the highest concentration in the country.

Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is the birth place of Life Flight™ (1976).

DOWNTOWN

Downtown Houston offers more than 5,000 hotel rooms, bringing the total number of hotel rooms in the Greater Houston area to more than 60,000.

The Houston Rockets, Astros and Aeros all play Downtown. 

The Downtown Aquarium, an underwater dining and entertainment adventure, features 500,000 gallons of marine life, a live white tiger exhibit, several themed restaurants, a Ferris wheel, boardwalk, dancing fountains and more.

Enjoy a cocktail, a live performance or dine at one of many restaurants at downtown's Bayou Place.

The METRORail takes riders from Downtown through Midtown, the Museum District and Medical Center all the way to Reliant Park.

The Houston Pavilions complex brings venues such as The House of Blues and Lucky Strike Lanes to Downtown.

SPORTS

Houston has sports fever 12 months out of the year. The city boasts nearly every major professional sports team including:

• The Houston Texans - NFL
• The Houston Astros - MLB
• The Houston Rockets - NBA
• The Houston Aeros - AHL (Hockey)
• The Houston Comets - WNBA
• Houston Dynamo - MLS (Soccer)
• Hit the links on more than 165 public and private golf courses, 365 days a year.

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Houston is a space of infinite possibilities. As a top convention and tourism destination you'll enjoy the very best hotels, convention facilities, sports, entertainment, dining, outdoor recreation and attractions. The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and its partner, Continental Airlines, encourage you to make Houston your choice for business or pleasure. For more information on Houston attractions, log on to www.visithoustontexas.com or call 1-800-4HOUSTON.