Life in Houston
Houston is a large city in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census. Its residents come from many ethnic, religious, and international backgrounds, and its neighborhoods range from historic wards to planned communities and recognized super neighborhoods.
Who Lives in Houston
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the Southern United States. The Greater Houston metropolitan area has about 7.8 million residents, and the city itself had 2,304,580 residents at the 2020 U.S. census. Houston is located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and it is primarily in Harris County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.
The city’s population includes many ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. Houston is a majority-minority city, and Greater Houston has been described as one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse metropolitan areas in the country. In 2019, Hispanics and Latino Americans made up 45.8% of the population of Houston proper, blacks or African Americans 22.4%, non-Hispanic whites 23.3%, and Asian Americans 6.5%.
Neighborhoods and Communities
Houston contains many neighborhoods, ranging from planned communities to historic wards. The city recognizes 88 super neighborhoods that encompass broadly recognized regions. A super neighborhood is a geographically designated area where residents, civic organizations, institutions, and businesses work together to identify, plan, and set priorities for community needs and concerns.
The city is also divided into formal and informal regions, including special districts and individual subdivisions. Houston’s current Chinatown and the Mahatma Gandhi District are two major ethnic enclaves, with restaurants, bakeries, traditional-clothing boutiques, and specialty shops.
Culture, Food, and the Arts
Houston is located in the American South and has a large international community. The Greater Houston metropolitan area is home to an estimated 1.1 million residents who were born outside the United States. The city is also home to a large concentration of consular offices representing many countries.
Annual events reflect the city’s diverse cultures. They include the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Houston Gay Pride Parade, the Houston Greek Festival, the Art Car Parade, the Houston Auto Show, the Houston International Festival, and the Bayou City Art Festival. Houston is also highly regarded for its diverse food and restaurant culture, and locals use nicknames such as Space City, Bayou City, H-Town, and Culinary Capital of the South.
Houston has permanent, professional, resident companies in opera, ballet, music, and theater, including Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony Orchestra, The Alley Theatre, and Theatre Under the Stars. The Museum District’s cultural institutions and exhibits attract more than 7 million visitors a year, with facilities including The Museum of Fine Arts, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Holocaust Museum Houston, the Children’s Museum of Houston, and the Houston Zoo.
Parks, Recreation, and Sports
Houston is home to 337 parks, including Hermann Park, Terry Hershey Park, Lake Houston Park, Memorial Park, Tranquility Park, Sesquicentennial Park, Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, and Sam Houston Park. Within Hermann Park are the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Sam Houston Park contains restored and reconstructed homes originally built between 1823 and 1905.
Recreation and visitor destinations include Space Center Houston, the official visitors’ center of NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, along with the Galleria, Old Market Square, the Downtown Aquarium, and Sam Houston Race Park. The Theater District includes Bayou Place, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks, while Bayou Place contains restaurants, bars, live music, billiards, and Sundance Cinema.
Houston has sports teams for every major professional league except the National Hockey League. Teams include the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Houston Texans, Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash, and Houston Gamblers. Downtown venues include Daikin Park, home of the Astros, and Toyota Center, home of the Rockets; other facilities include Reliant Stadium, Shell Energy Stadium, Aveva Stadium, Fertitta Center, Rice Stadium, Reliant Arena, and TDECU Stadium.