Mr. Daniel Bellow provided the Houston Association of Realtors Houston with some encouraging news October 21, 2010 at the Omni Hotel. He said the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA) consists of 10 counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller has a population of 5,867,489 with 2,508,000 jobs.
If Houston was a sovereign nation we would rank as the world’s 23rd economy. Last year Houston added 141,000 residents, more than any other city in the United States expect for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. While older cities in the United States are experiencing high rates of out-migration, Houston’s population has grown 24% on the past decade. Opportunity is the key to Houston’s success. That combined with lower government cost and cheap real estate make Houston the place to move to.
Houston’s workforce is 2.7 million people strong and highly educated-nearly 30% of the population has a college or graduate degree. Our engineering talent pool is particularly deep with numbers that greatly exceed national averages. For instance, when compared to those figures, Houston has 32% more aerospace engineers, 50% more computer hardware engineers and large numbers of electrical, electronic and mechanical engineers.
FOUR PILLARS OF THE HOUSTON ECONOMY
NASA
Houston is home to more than 450 companies with a connection to the space industry and more than 120 that are involved in aviation.1 From 2006 to 2007, Houston’s total trade in aircraft, spacecraft and parts grew 46.6% to $1.4 billion. We’re the center of today’s aviation and aerospace universe-and the ideal place for your company to locate or expand. With plenty of room to spread your wings.
Energy
The “Energy Capital of the World” is the center for all things energy-from petrochemicals to wind power. We’ve made a commitment to innovation that ranges from the laboratory to the farm. And leveraged a powerful, century-strong base of knowledge and resources to create the energy sufficiency we need for today and beyond.
- 500+ exploration and production firms
- 150+ pipeline transportation establishments
- 43 of the nation’s top 144 publicly traded oil and gas exploration/production firms
- 23.2% of US crude operable capacity
- 30% of US jobs in oil and gas extraction
- 15 of top 20 US natural gas transmission companies have offices in Houston
- 12 of top 20 oil pipeline companies have offices in Houston
PORT of Houston
In 2008, the Port of Houston ranked first among U.S. ports in volume of foreign tonnage for the 13th consecutive year.
- The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long (40-kilometer) complex of diversified public and private facilities just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico.
- More than 150 private industrial companies are included in the $16 billion industrial complex that lines both sides of the ship channel.
- A majority of the channel has a minimum width of 530 feet and a depth at mean low tide of 45 feet.
- Port of Houston has more than 100 wharves in operation, including private terminals.
- The Port of Houston Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston’s development as a center of international trade.
Texas Medical Center
Houston has more than 160 biotechnology companies and academic partnerships. Over 75 cutting-edge hospitals and health clinics, and some of the country’s top research facilities. World-class research and development is currently taking place in every key biotech cluster-agricultural, biomedical, oncology, environmental, genomics, medical devices and nanotechnology. In 2008 we had the 10th highest rating in the world for the number of patents by city. There are over 93,500 people employed in the Medical industry. Houston had over 18,000 international patients last year.
Source: Greater Houston Partnership