How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Houston, TX
2,390,125 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 4835000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Houston ranked #274 of 340 cities and 9th of 14 in its peer group, on 9 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Houston and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Dallas TX, San Antonio TX, Phoenix AZ, Los Angeles CA, Austin TX, Columbus OH, Memphis TN, Indianapolis IN, San Diego CA, El Paso TX, Jacksonville FL, Fort Worth TX, Philadelphia PA · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #274 of 340 cities · 9th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #288 | #283 | #293 | #273 | #269 | #274 | #216 | #249 | #213 | #232 | #210 | #284 | #281 | #268 | #274 | #152 | #272 | #268 | #274 | #306 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 1,995,773 | 2,038,721 | 2,044,612 | 2,060,477 | 2,087,334 | 2,100,280 | 2,126,032 | 2,161,593 | 2,199,391 | 2,241,826 | 2,286,908 | 2,309,544 | 2,316,750 | 2,318,573 | 2,320,268 | 2,298,945 | 2,291,070 | 2,314,258 | 2,346,908 | 2,390,125 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #234 of 340 cities · 5th of 14 in its peer group | -0.7 | +1.2 | -0.5 | -0.0 | +0.5 | — | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | -0.4 | -1.0 | -0.9 | -0.7 | -0.1 | -0.9 | -0.4 | -0.4 | -0.6 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #96 of 271 cities with data · 6th of 9 in its peer group with data | 5.9 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 9.1 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 5.0 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #238 of 340 cities · 11th of 14 in its peer group | 22.2% | 22.1% | 22.0% | 21.0% | 22.6% | 22.5% | 22.6% | 23.1% | 22.3% | 23.2% | 23.0% | 23.9% | 23.3% | 24.2% | 25.1% | — | 24.2% | 24.7% | 26.1% | 26.3% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #259 of 304 cities with data · 11th of 14 in its peer group | 16.7 | 18.5 | 17.2 | 14.3 | 13.7 | 12.8 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 10.8 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 11.6 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 18.0 | 20.7 | 18.8 | 15.0 | 13.8 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #270 of 295 cities with data · 10th of 12 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 161.3 | 244.7 | 276.1 | 256.6 | 223.2 | 224.2 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 1,431,108 | 1,474,645 | 1,524,094 | 1,577,036 | 1,541,146 | 1,568,595 | 1,635,513 | 1,624,249 | 1,677,732 | 1,726,140 | 1,780,862 | 1,752,134 | 1,736,007 | 1,751,173 | 1,785,136 | 1,796,436 | 1,746,560 | 1,851,257 | 1,921,526 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #227 of 329 cities with data · 8th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | -0.5 | -1.3 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 | -2.4 | -0.4 | -1.0 | -0.2 | -1.6 | -1.0 | -1.1 | -0.8 | +3.1 | -1.2 | -0.3 | -0.9 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1,009,829 | 1,022,819 | 1,079,655 | 1,104,857 | 1,134,035 | 1,121,834 | 1,105,198 | 1,146,374 | 1,136,407 | — | 1,119,499 | 1,160,271 | 1,174,516 | 1,178,301 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #275 of 340 cities · 12th of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10.2% | 9.7% | 7.9% | 6.6% | 5.9% | 6.6% | 6.3% | 5.3% | 5.3% | — | 8.4% | 5.9% | 6.2% | 6.4% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | 75% | 75% | 79% | 82% | 80% | 80% | 78% | 76% | 75% | 49% | 74% | 72% | 74% | 75% | 75% | 78% | 81% | 83% | 85% | 87% | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #160 of 314 cities with data · 6th of 14 in its peer group | 15% | 15% | 1% | 16% | 11% | 10% | 15% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 20% | 24% | 28% | 28% | 27% | 24% | 28% | 33% | 32% | 23% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #258 of 314 cities with data · 9th of 14 in its peer group | $8,720 | $8,703 | $8,195 | $8,418 | $8,721 | $8,945 | $8,963 | $8,578 | $8,294 | $7,814 | $7,781 | $7,864 | $7,549 | $7,882 | $7,536 | $7,601 | $7,542 | $5,909 | $5,319 | $5,202 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Houston. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.