Houston, Texas
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Nickname: Space City (official)
Location within and around Harris County
Location within Texas
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Show map of the United States Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W / 29.76278°N 95.38306°W / 29.76278; -95.38306 Country United States State Texas Counties Harris , Fort Bend , Montgomery Incorporated June 5, 1837 Named for Sam Houston • Type Strong Mayor-Council • Body Houston City Council • Mayor John Whitmire (D ) • City 671.67 sq mi (1,739.62 km2 ) • Land 640.44 sq mi (1,658.73 km2 ) • Water 31.23 sq mi (80.89 km2 ) Elevation
80 ft (32 m) • City 2,304,580 • Rank 4th in the United States1st in Texas • Density 3,598.43/sq mi (1,389.36/km2 ) • Metro 7,122,240 (5th ) Demonym Houstonian Time zone UTC−6 (CST ) • Summer (DST ) UTC−5 (CDT )ZIP Codes 770xx, 772xx (
P.O. Boxes )
Area codes 713, 281, 832, 346 FIPS code 48-35000[4] GNIS feature ID1380948[5] Major airports George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)Interstates U.S. routes State routes Rapid transit Houston Metro Website www .houstontx .gov
Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas . It is the 4th most populous city in the United States . As of 2020, more than 2 million people lived there. John Whitmire became the mayor of Houston in 2024. Houston is named after Samuel Houston , who fought for Texas to leave Mexico in 1836. The Johnson Space Center of NASA is in Houston.
Houston has the largest medical center and complex in the world, the Texas Medical Center.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the main international airport serving Houston, and William P. Hobby Airport is the other international airport that is close to downtown Houston.
Houston has the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. city within its city limits after New York City .[6] [7]
↑ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2021 .
↑ "QuickFacts: Houston city, Texas" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 19 August 2021 .
↑ "2020 Population and Housing State Data" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 August 2021 .
↑ "U.S. Census website" . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008 .
↑ "US Board on Geographic Names" . United States Geological Survey . October 25, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2008 .
↑ Fortune 500 2010: Cities Archived August 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 25, 2011
↑ "A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index 2019" (PDF) . A.T. Kearney . Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2015 .