Houston, Texas had 2,397,315 residents as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025), ranking #4 nationally and #1 in Texas. cost of living runs 1.4% below the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $91,197/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID4835000
Last build2026-05-29
At a glance.
2025 population
2,397,315
Census Vintage 2025
Median HH income
$64,813
-16.6% vs US $77,719
Median home value
$277,800
-8.4% vs US $303,400
Avg July high
94°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
83%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
Unemployment
4.4%
Houston · BLS LAUS
Key statistics.
2025 population
2,397,315
Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025
2020 base
2,299,649
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+97,666
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+4.2%
Within V2025 only
1-yr change
+11,515
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+0.5%
Within V2025 only
Density
3,741
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
640.8
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#4
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#1
of 1,224 in Texas
Population history.
Population grew 4.2% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 2,299,649 → 2025: 2,397,315 (+4.2%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
2,299,649
April 1, 2020
2020
2,298,295
July 1, 2020
2021
2,291,811
July 1, 2021
2022
2,316,816
July 1, 2022
2023
2,345,418
July 1, 2023
2024
2,385,800
July 1, 2024
2025
2,397,315
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 10.7% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
2010 base: 2,095,517 → 2019: 2,320,268 (+10.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2010 base
2,095,517
April 1, 2010
2010
2,100,280
July 1, 2010
2011
2,126,032
July 1, 2011
2012
2,161,593
July 1, 2012
2013
2,199,391
July 1, 2013
2014
2,241,826
July 1, 2014
2015
2,286,908
July 1, 2015
2016
2,309,544
July 1, 2016
2017
2,316,750
July 1, 2017
2018
2,318,573
July 1, 2018
2019
2,320,268
July 1, 2019
What's the median income in Houston?
Median household income is 17% below the U.S. median ($64,813 vs $77,719); 19.9% live in poverty — 7.4 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Income and poverty estimates for Houston from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
64,813-16.6% vs US
±822
Per capita income
42,430-2.0% vs US
±513
Population in poverty
19.9%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 8% below the U.S. median ($277,800 vs $303,400); median rent is 1% above ($1,361 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio (4.3×) is roughly in line with the U.S. median (3.9×).
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Houston. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
4.4%
Houston (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
1,218,646
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
13.0%-7.1% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Houston spans 4 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Fort Bend County
7.7%
$115,538
4.1%
Harris County
16.7%
$74,682
4.4%
Montgomery County
9.1%
$96,049
4.0%
Waller County
13.6%
$83,520
4.7%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Houston's linked 4 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Health care and social assistance (62)
348,208
$1,283 / wk
#2
Accommodation and food services (72)
281,916
$544 / wk
#3
Retail trade (44-45)
279,615
$823 / wk
#4
Professional and technical services (54)
245,898
$2,452 / wk
#5
Manufacturing (31-33)
211,303
$1,952 / wk
What workers earn in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). See methodology §25.
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
89,540
$26,960
$12.96
Customer Service Representatives
64,180
$39,310
$18.90
Stockers and Order Fillers
63,070
$36,200
$17.40
Cashiers
61,310
$28,460
$13.68
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
60,390
$22,820
$10.97
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
52,970
$37,600
$18.08
Waiters and Waitresses
52,610
$26,830
$12.90
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
105,830
$108,090
$51.97
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
75,920
$30,260
$14.55
Registered Nurses · benchmark
65,300
$97,810
$47.02
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
49,210
$55,500
$26.68
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 1.4% below the U.S. average (RPP 98.6); other services run 4.4% below (RPP 95.6) — the metro's services savings is the main driver.
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 98.6
−1.4% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,573/mo
FY2026 · Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
0%
no state income tax · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$7,600/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,286/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Texas · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
29.3% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (37.2% of residents 5+).
Where Houston's residents come from and what they speak at home, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Foreign-born is the share of residents born outside the U.S. (any citizenship status); language-at-home is reported only for residents 5 and older.
Measure
Value
± margin / note
Foreign-born share
29.3%+109.6% vs US
share of residents born outside the U.S. · U.S. median: 14% · ACS B05002
Speak only English at home
52.9%
share of population 5+ · ACS C16001 line 2
Top non-English language at home
Spanish37.2%
most-spoken language other than English among residents 5+ · ACS C16001 collapsed buckets
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
21 districts serve Houston, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts. Expand the list below to see every district sorted primary first. See methodology §12.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What's the climate like in Houston?
Hottest month: August (94°F avg high). Coldest: January (44°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 53.7 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Houston from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
Composite risk spans 70.3–99.9/100 across 4 counties; most-cited top hazard is Lightning (in 2 of 4).
Natural-hazard exposure for Houston from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI March 2023). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
Houston spans 4 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Fort Bend County
97.5
Relatively High
Lightning · score 99.4 · Very High
Tornado · score 99.2 · Very High
Heat Wave · score 97.8 · Relatively High
Harris County
99.9
Very High
Tornado · score 100.0 · Very High
Hurricane · score 100.0 · Very High
Riverine Flooding · score 100.0 · Very High
Montgomery County
95.7
Relatively High
Lightning · score 99.7 · Very High
Tornado · score 99.4 · Very High
Cold Wave · score 97.9 · Relatively High
Waller County
70.3
Relatively Low
Drought · score 91.2 · Relatively High
Tornado · score 90.2 · Relatively High
Hurricane · score 83.3 · Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI March 2023 · methodology →
Internet & broadband.
32 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 83% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Houston from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
32 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
27
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
83.2%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
83.2%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
1,179,315
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Houston sits at state rank #1 among 1,224 cities in Texas. Nearby in the state ranking:
Houston is ranked #4 of 19,483 U.S. cities by 2025 population.
Just above in the profiled set: Chicago, IL · #3 · 2,731,585 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Phoenix, AZ · #5 · 1,665,481 residents.
Quick travel facts for Houston
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
William P. Hobby Airport(HOU) ·
12 mi 19 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Feb, Mar, Nov · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for Houston is 4835000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page.
