Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 5.7 million as of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate. The population of the metropolitan area is centered in the city of Houston—the largest economic and cultural center of Texas with a population of 2.14 million.

Houston is among the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas. The area grew 25.2 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses—adding more than 950,000 people—while the nation's population increased 13.2 percent over the same period.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area has a total area of 10,062 square miles (26,060 km²), 8,929 sq. mi. is land area, while 1,133 sq. mi. is water area.; slightly smaller than Massachusetts and slightly larger than New Jersey.

The metropolitan area is located in the gulf coastal plains biome, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland. Much of the metro area was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie—all of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. Scenic rolling hills can be seen in the far northern suburbs (Conroe, Magnolia, Willis, etc.).

Much of the Houston area is very flat, making flooding a recurring problem for its residents.

Geology: The Houston region is generally earthquake-free.

Components of the metropolitan area

Counties: There are 12 counties in the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan statistical area (MSA) defined by the U.S. Census. They are listed below with population figures as of the 2007 U.S. Census estimates.

Harris County — 3,935,855

Fort Bend County — 509,822

Montgomery County — 412,638

Brazoria County — 294,233

Galveston County — 283,987

Liberty County — 75,434

Walker County — 63,902

Matagorda County — 37,024

Waller County — 35,933

Chambers County — 28,771

Austin County — 26,610

San Jacinto County — 24,818

Total Metropolitan Statistical Area — 5,729,027

This Combined Statistical Area encompasses 12,475 sq. mi. of area. 10,830 sq. mi. is land while 1,645 sq. mi. is water.

Cities and towns

Main article: List of cities and towns in Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA

There are four "principal" cities defined by the U.S. Census as of 2003.Population figures are within the city limits as of the 2006 U.S. Census estimates.

Houston — 2,144,491

Sugar Land — 79,943

Baytown — 68,714

Galveston — 57,523

Economy

Port of Houston Among the 10 most populous metropolitan areas in the US, Houston ranked first in employment growth rate and second in nominal employment growth.[17] In 2006, the Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes.[18]

The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA's Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2005 was $308.7 billion, up 5.4 percent from 2004 in constant dollars—slightly larger than Austria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Only 28 nations other than the United States have a GDP exceeding Houston's GAP.[19] Mining, which in Houston is almost entirely oil and gas exploration and production, accounts for 11 percent of Houston's GAP—down from 21 percent as recently as 1985. The reduced role of oil and gas in Houston's GAP reflects the rapid growth of other sectors—such as engineering services, health services, and manufacturing.[20]

The area's economic activity is centered in Houston, the county seat of Harris County. Houston is second to New York City in Fortune 500 headquarters. The city has attempted to build a banking industry, but the companies originally started in Houston have since merged with other companies nationwide. Banking, however, is still vital to the region.

Houston is a major port and financial center for oil companies. Houston's energy industry is a world powerhouse (particularly oil), but biomedical research, aeronautics, and the ship channel are also large parts of the city's industrial base. The Houston metropolitan area comprises the largest petrochemical manufacturing area in the world, including for synthetic rubber, insecticides, and fertilizers. The area is also the world's leading center for building oilfield equipment.

Much of metro area's success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy man-made ship channel, the Port of Houston.[21] Because of these economic trades, many residents have moved to the Houston area from other U.S. states, as well as hundreds of countries worldwide. Unlike most places, where high gas prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston as many are employed in the energy industry. Baytown, Texas City, Freeport, and Galveston also have major ports and chemical plants. Galveston also has the largest cruise ship terminal in Texas (and the 12th-largest in the world) and is a recreational area for people in the region.

Sugar Land is home to the second-largest economic activities and third-largest city in the metropolitan area. Sugar Land has the most important and booming economic center in Fort Bend County. The city holds the Imperial Sugar (its namesake), Nalco/Exxon and Western Airways headquarters. Engineering firms and other related industries have managed to take the place as an economic engine.

See also: List of companies in Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA

Health Care Industry

Houston is home to the largest medical center in the world (Texas Medical Center) employing over 73,000 workers and treating 5 million patients a year from all over the world. Galveston is home to one of only two national biocontainment laboratories in the United States.

Culture

Greater Houston is widely noted for its ethnic diversity and strong international community. The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network ranks Houston as a Gamma World City (minor world city), and also one point shy of being a Beta World City (which would make Houston a major world city). Houston ranks with six points, the highest in the Gamma category along with Washington, D.C., Boston and its cross-state arch rival, Dallas.

Houston's concentration of consular offices ranks third in the nation, with 86 countries represented. Many of these countries are in Latin America and South America, including Mexico. Houston has a sizable Hispanic community, with the third-largest Hispanic and third-largest Mexican-American populations in the United States, including over 400,000 illegal immigrants. Hispanics also have large population bases in a number of suburbs, most notably Pasadena and Rosenberg, whose Hispanic populations make up the majority of these cities. Greater Houston is also home to a large and growing Asian-American population, including the largest Vietnamese-American community in Texas.

CNN/Money and Money magazine have recognized cities in the Greater Houston area the past three years as part of its 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. In 2005, Sugar Land, southwest of Houston in northeast Fort Bend County, was ranked 46th in the nation, and one of only three Texas cities among the Top 100. In 2006, the magazine recognized Sugar Land again, this time as the third best city on its list. Also making the 2006 list were League City (65th) in northern Galveston County and The Woodlands (73rd) in southern Montgomery County. In 2007, another Houston suburb, Friendswood made the list ranked 51st in the nation. It should be noted that the 2006 list only includes cities with at least 50,000 residents and that the 2007 list contains only cities with less than 50,000 residents.

Transportation

Highways

State Highway 288 looking north to Downtown Houston Houston’s freeway system includes 575.5 miles (926.2 km) of freeways and expressways in the 12-county metro area.[25] The State of Texas plans to spend $5.06 billion on Houston area highways between 2002 and 2007. Houston freeways are heavily traveled and often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth.

The Greater Houston area has a hub-and-spoke freeway structure with multiple loops. The innermost is Interstate 610, forming approximately a 10-mile (20 km) diameter loop around downtown. The roughly square "Loop 610" is quartered into "North Loop," "South Loop," "West Loop," and "East Loop." The roads of Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, at a diameter of roughly 25 miles (40 km). A proposed highway project, State Highway 99 (The Grand Parkway), would form a third loop outside of Houston. Currently, the completed portion of State Highway 99 runs from just north of Interstate 10, west of Houston, to U.S. Highway 59 in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, and was completed in 1994. The next portion to be constructed is from the current terminus at U.S. Highway 59 to State Highway 288 in Brazoria County. Freeways also include the Westpark Tollway, which runs from U.S. Hwy 59 to Texas Hwy 99 and the Fort Bend Parkway, which runs from U.S. Hwy 90-A to Texas Hwy 6 in Missouri City.

Further information: List of highways in Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA

Mass transit

METRORail in Downtown HoustonThe Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys, and lift vans.

METRO began running light rail service (METRORail) on January 1, 2004. Currently the track is rather short—it runs about 8 miles (13 km) from Downtown Houston to the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park. Still the Red Line is traveled by about 45,000 people daily, giving it the second highest ridership per track mile in the nation. METRO's various forms of public transportation still do not connect many of the suburbs to the greater city, causing Houstonians to rely on the automobile as a primary source of transportation. Prior to the opening of METRORail, Houston was the largest city in the United States devoid of a rail transit system by a very large margin.

Following a successful referendum held locally in 2004, METRO is currently in the beginning design phases of a 10-year expansion plan to add five more sections to connect to the current rail system. An 8.3 mile (13.4 km) expansion has been approved to run the service from Uptown (the Galleria area) through Texas Southern University, ending at the University of Houston campus.

Airports

Houston's largest airport (and Texas's second-largest), George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is located in north Houston. Continental Airlines is headquartered in Downtown Houston. The southeast of Houston has William P. Hobby Airport, the second-largest commercial passenger airport. Houston's third-largest airport is Ellington Field, which houses several National Guard and Air National Guard units, as well as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center's fleet of jets that are used to train astronauts. Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, has the Sugar Land Regional Airport. Sugar Land Regional is the fourth-largest airport in the metropolitan area and the only general reliever airport in the southwest sector.

Intercity rail

Amtrak provides intercity rail service to the Houston station.

Politics

Historically, politics in the Greater Houston area are divided between the Republican and Democratic parties.[26]

The city of Houston itself has historically voted Democratic except for its affluent western and west-central portions, including the River Oaks, Westchase, Memorial and Uptown/Post Oak areas, as well as the Kingwood and Clear Lake City master-planned communities on Houston's far northeast and southeast sides, respectively. All these areas favor and are almost entirely represented both in Congress and in the Texas Legislature by Republicans. Democrats' strongest areas are within Loop 610, and also in the largely poor and minority northern, eastern and southern portions of Houston. Most of these areas have sizable Hispanic populations, though some northern and southern parts of the city have notable African-American communities. Democrats are also stronger the more liberal Montrose neighborhood, which is home to a large artist and LGBT community, and Alief, which houses a sizable Asian-American population. In 2004, every county in the region voted for George W. Bush, despite the city of Houston proper going for John Kerry. Galveston has long been a staunch Democratic stronghold, with the most active Democratic county establishment in the state.[27].

Houston's suburbs, while heavily Republican, are also politically divided. Such examples:

Houston's largest incorporated suburb, Pasadena, which went for John Kerry, is heavily Hispanic and lower-middle class on its north side, which favors Democrats, and slightly more affluent on its south side, which favors Republicans. A northwestern section of the city is represented by Democrat Ana Hernandez (District 143), while the city's central core, which contains most of its population, is represented by Republican Robert Talton (District 144). A small, largely unincorporated southeastern section of the city is represented by Republican John Davis (District 129), who also represents the NASA Johnson Space Center. Hernandez's district is also home to Galena Park and Jacinto City, which also have large Hispanic populations that favor Democrats.

In Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, Democrats are strongest in northern Missouri City and older sections of Rosenberg, which are home to large numbers of African-American and Hispanic voters, while more affluent areas of the county, such as Sugar Land, Katy, and Sienna Plantation, are heavily Republican. While these areas house sizable Asian-American populations, many of them are largely pro-business and generally favor Republicans, though a sizable community of Democratic business owners does exist among the area's Asian caucuses. Despite this divide, the county voted for George W. Bush by a double-digit margin and has one of the state's most active county Republican bases. Republicans control every county-wide elected office.

Montgomery County, north of Houston, is a staunch Republican stronghold, supported by voters in affluent communities on Lake Conroe and in The Woodlands. Rural residents of the county, though primarily lower- and middle-class, tend to be very socially conservative and also have a substantial Republican following. However, the city of Conroe proper, the county seat, tends to lean Democratic. Although The Woodlands is home to many corporate transplants from Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia, who tend to be of a more liberal persuasion, most of these people are not U.S. citizens and thus have little impact on the voting trends of the county.

The mainland areas of Galveston County, north of Galveston Island, has also become increasingly divided on political issues. Democrats have a presence in La Marque and Texas City, both of which are home to large numbers of unionized refinery workers and African Americans, a traditionally Democratic voting bloc. However, Democrats' strength in this area is increasingly being superseded by newer developments in the northern areas of the county around Friendswood and League City that favor Republicans.

Brazoria County, south of Houston, is heavily Republican, especially in rural areas and in central portions of the county, such as Manvel, Alvin, and Angleton. However, Democrats perform strongly in southern portions of the county such as Lake Jackson, Clute, and Freeport due to its large Hispanic population as well as its large base of unionized refinery workers. Additionally, the northern areas of the county around fast-growing Pearland have recently become more moderate and even Democratic compared to the rest of the county due to its ethnic diversity as well as large numbers of Northern and West Coast transplants.

In Liberty County, east of Houston, Republicans are represented at the state and federal levels in this county which went strongly for George W. Bush in 2004, but Democrats hold a near-monopoly in county politics, however in 2006 it elected a countywide Republican (the County Treasurer position) for the first time since Reconstruction.

Houston's two most notable congressional districts are the 7th congressional district, which comprises much of west Houston, and the 18th congressional district, which includes downtown Houston.

The 7th, one of the most heavily affluent and Republican in the state (among the first in Texas to elect a post-Reconstruction Republican), was previously represented by George H.W. Bush, who would eventually go on to become the 41st President of the United States. Its current representative is John Culberson, a conservative Republican who has continued the conservative record of George Bush's successor, Bill Archer.

The 18th is represented by Sheila Jackson Lee, a liberal African-American Democrat whose role model, Barbara Jordan, previously represented the same district. Jackson Lee's district is overwhelmingly African-American and poor, even though her 1994 victory in the primary (against the district's previous representative, Craig Washington) was largely funded by Republican businessmen who opposed

  18 Glenn Hegar Republican 2006 Austin, Waller and Wharton counties; western Fort Bend County

Sports teams

Listing of sports teams in the Greater Houston area:

Professional teams

Major Professional Sports Teams

Club Sport Founded League Venue

Houston Texans Football 2002 NFL Reliant Stadium

Houston Astros Baseball 1962 MLB Minute Maid Park

Houston Rockets Basketball 1967 NBA Toyota Center

Houston Comets Basketball 1997 WNBA Toyota Center

Houston Dynamo Soccer 2005 MLS Robertson Stadium

Other Professional Teams

Club Sport Founded League Venue

Houston Aeros Hockey 1994 AHL Toyota Center

Bay Area Toros Baseball 2007 CBL Robinson Stadium

Houston Takers Basketball 2006 ABA John H. Reagan HS

Galveston Tidalwave Football 2008 IIFA Galveston Island Convention Center

Houston Energy Football 2001 WPFL The Rig

Houston Wranglers Tennis 2005 WTT Westside Tennis Club

College and university sports

Houston is home to four NCAA Division I programs. The University of Houston and Rice University play in Division I-A and both belong to Conference USA. Both schools were also once part of the Southwest Conference. Texas Southern University, which is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, plays in Division I-AA. Houston Baptist University currently plays in NCAA Division 1 as an independent in it's first probationary year as part of their readmission into Division 1. Rice and Houston Baptist are widely noted for their student-athlete graduation rates, which number at 91% for Rice (tied for highest in the nation courtesy of a 2002 Sports Illustrated issue on best college sports programs) and 80% for HBU.

NCAA Division I college athletics

School Founded Nickname Conference

University of Houston 1927 Houston Cougars Conference USA

Houston Baptist University 1960 Houston Baptist Huskies Independent

Prairie View A&M University 1876 Prairie View A&M Panthers Southwestern Athletic Conference

Rice University 1912 Rice Owls Conference USA

Texas Southern University 1947 Texas Southern Tigers Southwestern Athletic Conference

Events

Greater Houston plays home to various sporting events. The most notable is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which is the world's largest livestock exhibition and rodeo event. Other events of importance to Greater Houston include the Shell Houston Open (PGA Tour), the Houston Marathon, and the Texas Bowl college football bowl game. Houston has also played host to two Super Bowls (VIII) and (XXXVIII), the 2005 World Series, the 2004 MLB All-Star Game, and the 2006 NBA All-Star Game. Houston has also played host to various high school and college sporting events, including the Big 12 Championship Game and will host the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four. Houston was also considered a candidate for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.