What is the population of Houston?
Houston has a city population of 2,314,157. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · United States · North America
Houston
City population
2,314,157
#6
in United States
#1
in Texas
#170
worldwide
29.763, -95.363 · 1,960 km from Washington
About Houston
With a metropolitan population of 7,340,000, Houston ranks among the largest urban areas in North America. The city proper holds 2,314,157 residents at a density of 730 people per km², growing at 1.5% annually. Founded in 1836, Houston sits at just 12 meters elevation on flat terrain.
The city is served by two major airports: William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). John Whitmire serves as mayor.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
7,340,000
0.088% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+1.45%
Archive estimateDensity
730/km²
10,062 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 187
Founded
1836
Leadership
John Whitmire
Coordinates
29.763, -95.363
Record updated
8 May 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured.
Nearby Cities
All 3,112 in United StatesClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Houston | 2.31M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- William P. Hobby AirportHOU
16 km from the city centre
- George Bush Intercontinental AirportIAH
25 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in United States
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 154,202,680 |
| 1960 | 180,274,555 |
| 1970 | 207,796,339 |
| 1980 | 229,858,655 |
| 1990 | 253,373,387 |
| 2000 | 281,484,131 |
| 2010 | 311,062,790 |
| 2020 | 339,436,159 |
| 2030 | 355,649,881 |
| 2040 | 370,209,316 |
| 2050 | 380,846,910 |
| 2060 | 388,918,394 |
| 2070 | 398,218,088 |
| 2080 | 407,079,816 |
| 2090 | 414,457,640 |
| 2100 | 421,278,889 |
Houston Population FAQ
Where is Houston?
Houston is in Texas, United States, 1,960 km from the capital, Washington. Its coordinates are 29.763, -95.363.
How big is Houston compared with other cities in United States?
It is the 6th largest of the 3,112 cities listed in United States, holding 0.7% of the national population.