HOUSTON REGION POPULATION Houston has a sustained history of exponential population growth. HOUSTON REGION POPULATION Millions City of Houston
Harris County
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015 Source: U.S. Census Bureau
From the first census in Texas in 1850 through the 2015 intercensal estimates, the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA — has averaged a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent. The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA is the nation’s fifth most populous metropolitan area. As Houston’s population has grown, the region has climbed in the rankings. In ’70, Houston was the nation’s 14th most populous metro, 10th in ’90, 8th in ’00, and 6th in ’10. Today, Houston is the nation’s fifth. Over that period, three metros—Cleveland, Detroit
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Greater Houston Partnership Research | December 2016
and San Francisco—have slipped from the top 10 and three metros—Atlanta, Miami and Houston—took their places. Between ’10 and ’15 (the period for which the Bureau of the Census released its most recent population estimates), metro Houston added 736,531 residents, the largest gain of any U.S. metro over that period. About 42 percent of this growth came from the natural increase (births minus deaths) and around 58 percent came from net in-migration (more residents moving in than out).