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Profile for Houston, Texas, TX

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"Space City, USA"

Houston is a city in Harris County. (The community straddles Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties; ePodunk links to the county with the greater share of population.)

It is the county seat.

The community was named after Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas

The latitude of Houston is 29.763N. The longitude is -95.363W.

It is in the Central Standard time zone. Elevation is 39 feet.

The estimated population, in 2003, was 2,009,690.

INCOME SNAPSHOT

Median household income

Local

$36,616

National

$41,994

Source: 2000 census, U.S. Census Bureau

For more census details and comparisons, see our Houston demographic reports

ESSENTIALS

EMPLOYMENT:
  Local jobs
  Post a job
HOUSING:
  Find Foreclosure
  Local homes for sale
LODGING:
  Nearby hotels
PEOPLE:
  Houston family histories
RECORDS:
  Birth, marriage & death
  Court, land & probate
  Military

Houston is on Buffalo Bayou.

In 1836 the Republic of Texas chose Houston as its temporary capital

Public transportation: Metropolitan Transit Authority (See the transit and travel sections below.)

Crime: The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 23,988. The number of murders and homicides was 278. The violent crime rate was 11.8 per 1,000 people.

Ranked No. 7 among Best Cities for Singles, Forbes magazine, 2002

Ranked No. 7 on the Best Places to Live and Work in America list, compiled by BestJobsUsa.com, 2002

Houston received national attention for the financial collapse in 2001-2002 of energy trader Enron Corp. The Houston Astros baseball park, once called Enron Field, was renamed Minute Maid Park.

Filming location for:
· 1995 movie, "Apollo 13"
· 1994 movie, "Reality Bites"
· 2004 movie, "Friday Night Lights"
· 2006 movie, "Fast Food Nation"
· 2006 movie, "Flags of Our Fathers"
· 1983 movie, "Terms of Endearment"

Census 2000 highlights: Fourth largest city in the U.S., by population; city with the third largest population growth in the 1990s (255,758 people); at 579.4 square miles, Houston is the fourth largest U.S. city, in terms of land area

Well-known residents have included:
· Howard Hughes, movie mogul, aviator, billionaire
· Shelley Duvall, actress
· Brothers Dennis and Randy Quaid, actors
· Patrick Swayze, actor

More well-known residents

Local bands (past and present) have included Crusaders, Archie Bell and the Drells, Destiny's Child, Geto Boys

Coffee: National and regional coffee companies with outlets here include Diedrich Coffee, Gloria Jean's, Greenberry's Coffee & Tea, It's a Grind, Panera Bread, Starbucks

More info about local coffee quotients

Local festivals include:

Bayou City Art Festival - Memorial Park - March 23-25, 2007
International Festival - April 21-22, 28-29, 2007
Dragon Boat Festival - May 5, 2007
International Jazz Festival - Aug. 4-6, 2007
Worldfest - Houston International Film Festival - April 20-29, 2007
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo - Feb. 27-March 18, 2007
Bayou City Cajun Fest - March 31-April 1, 2007
Festa Italiana - Oct. 13-14, 2007
Bluegrass Festival - Sept. 8-9, 2007
Hot Sauce Festival - Sept. 22-23, 2007
Taiko Festival - Sept. 28-29, 2007
Festival Chicano - Oct. 4-6, 2007
Highland Scottish Games & Celtic Festival - May 11-13, 2007

Dates often change. Check Houston web sites and events links in the sections below.

Send us festival info for Houston

Performing arts: Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, A.D. Players, Alley Theatre, Theatre Under The Stars, Ensemble Theatre, Theater LaB

Nearby parks & recreation: Sheldon Lake State Park, Hermann Park, Armand Bayou Nature Center

More parks info

Houston attractions: Downtown Aquarium

Sports teams: Astros (NL), Aeros (AHL), Rockets (NBA), Dynamo (Major League Soccer), Texans (NFL), Houston Comets (WNBA)

Historic sites and museums: San Jacinto State Historic Park, Space Center Houston, Museum of Printing History, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Funeral History, Menil Collection

Colleges and universities: Rice University, Texas Southern University, University of Houston, Houston Baptist University, University of St. Thomas

More colleges info

Support for libraries: Local government funding for the local library system, in fiscal years 2001-2002, was below the national average. (See library links below.)

Gays & lesbians
National index: 100
Local index: 150

More info

Quotes:
For the tourist, Houston at night is as gloomy as Buffalo.
-- America Day by Day
Simone de Beauvoir

More quotes

Listed places near Houston

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Neighborhoods in Houston include Alief, Braeswood, Clear Lake City, Kingwood, Meyerland, Montrose, River Oaks, Sharpstown, Southampton Place, Southside Place ... More neighborhood info

Profile for Houston, Texas, TX

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