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Houston (/ˈhjuːstən/ ^ⓘ HEW-stən) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census. The Greater Houston metropolitan area, at 7.8 million residents, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the nation and second-most populous in Texas. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is the county seat of Harris County. Covering a total area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km²),^[8] it is the ninth largest city in the country and the largest whose municipal government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Although primarily located within Harris County, portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. Houston also functions as the southeastern anchor of the Texas Triangle megaregion.^[9]

Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836,^[10] at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen’s Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837.^[11][12] The city is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas’s independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen’s Landing.^[12] After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century.^[13] The 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Houston, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas’s primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane, the subsequent construction of the Houston Ship Channel, and the Texas oil boom.^[13] In the mid-20th century, Houston’s economy diversified, as it became home to the Texas Medical Center—the world’s largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA‘s Johnson Space Center, home to the Mission Control Center.

Since the late 19th century, Houston’s economy has had a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits.^[14][15] The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled.^[16]

Nicknamed the “Bayou City”, “Space City”, “H-Town”, and “the 713“, Houston has become a global city, with strengths in culture, medicine, and research. The city’s population comprises various ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as a large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major city in the U.S.^[17][18] It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, such as the Houston Museum District and the Houston Theater District.^[19]