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People Statistics · City

Population of the urban area in Houston

1975 – 2025 · 11 data points 1 of 6 · Towns of Houston Updated Oct 21, 2026

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Population of the urban area, 1975 – 2025 people · Houston
1975 
 
1985 
 
1995 
 
2005 
 
2015 
 
4.3M
2025 

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

The series at a glance Houston · 1975 – 2025
Latest value 4,301,461 · 2025
First value 1,452,090 · 1975
Highest 4,301,461 · 2025
Lowest 1,452,090 · 1975
Average change +2.2% a year on average
Data points 11

By year

All years · 1975 – 2025

YearHoustonChange
2025 4,301,461 +6.1%
2020 4,055,411 +13%
2015 3,591,324 +13%
2010 3,192,089 +11%
2005 2,876,848 +11%
2000 2,583,802 +13%
1995 2,279,373 +13%
1990 2,009,063 +8.7%
1985 1,848,940 +8.3%
1980 1,706,848 +18%
1975 1,452,090

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Ranking · Towns of Houston

2015 · Place 1 is the highest value.

#TerritoryPopulation of the urban area
6 Atascocita 52,484
5 Webster 73,901
4 College Station 125K
3 Jacinto City 129K
2 The Woodlands 209K
1 Houston 3.6M

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 2015

What it means

How many people live in the built-up city as a whole, regardless of municipal borders.

How it is calculated

Satellite maps of buildings and census data are combined into a 1 km grid; the continuous dense area of at least 50,000 people is the urban centre. Every five years from 1975; 2030 is a projection.