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Economy at a Glance - October 2024

This issue of Glance examines how the region’s economic, demographic, housing, and social characteristics have changed over the past 10 years.
Published on 9/27/24

WHO ARE WE?

Each fall, the U.S. Census Bureau releases the American Community Survey (ACS), its annual snapshot of the nation’s economic, demographic, housing, and social characteristics. By examining ACS data over time, one can see shifts in the population. In the first of a three-part series, this newsletter will examine ACS data for ’13 and ’23 and discuss the changes in Houston over that time. The November issue will focus on how Houston compares to the nation’s major metros. And the December issue will examine the differences in the 10 counties that comprise the Houston metro area.

Race and Ethnicity

Houston’s Asian, Black, and Hispanic communities have grown substantially over the past 10 years while the white population has remained relatively unchanged. The region has also seen a surge in residents self-identifying as being of more than one race, a trend that is more common than it was a decade ago.

Hispanics comprise the largest racial/ethnic community in the region. However, no single group constitutes a majority of Houston’s population. It’s been that way since the late ’90s.

The demographic shifts that began in Houston 30 years ago are filtering through the rest of the nation. Houston’s racial/ethnic composition today reflects the direction in which the U.S. is headed.

Foreign-Born Population

Individuals born outside the U.S. represent a record share of the region’s population. Ten years ago, the foreign-born comprised 22.6 percent of all area residents. Today, they comprise 24.8 percent. For the nation, foreign-born people represented 14.3 percent of the population in ’23, down from 15.0 percent in ’13.

Houston’s foreign-born population grew by more than 435,000 over the decade. Our foreign-born population now exceeds the total populations of 12 states (Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming) and the District of Columbia.

Well over half (62.1 percent) of Houston’s foreign-born residents came from Latin America, 25.8 percent came from Asia, 6.6 percent from Africa, 4.2 percent from Europe, 1.1 percent from North America, and 0.2 percent from Oceania.

Nearly two-thirds (59.5 percent) of Houston’s foreign-born entered the U.S. prior to ’10 while the remainder (40.5 percent) entered after ’10.

LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME

Among residents five years or older, 40.5 percent speak a language other than English at home, with 29.5 percent speaking Spanish, 5.1 percent an Asian/Pacific Islander language, 3.7 percent an Indo-European language, and 1.7 percent another language.

AGE

Houston has grown older. In ’13, the region’s median age was 33.6 years. In ’23, the median was 35.7. By comparison, the median for the U.S. was 39.0 last year.

To continue reading, download this report.

Note: The geographic area referred to in this publication as “Houston,” "Houston Area” and “Metro Houston” is the ten-county Census designated metropolitan statistical area of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX. The ten counties are: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller.

Key October Takeaways

Here are the facts to know about the Houston region this month
1
October Takeaway #1
Hispanics now represent the largest share of Houston’s population.
2
October Takeaway #2
More than 1.8 million Houstonians―one in every four residents―are foreign-born.
3
October Takeaway #3
The median age of Houston’s population is two years older than it was ten years ago.
4
October Takeaway #4
More Houstonians have finished high school or earned a college degree than a decade ago.

Want to learn more? Contact our Research Team:

Patrick Jankowski, CERP
Senior Vice President, Research
713-844-3616

Previous Issues of Economy at a Glance

SEPT
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The Fracking Boom and Bust, Energy Transition Investments
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AUG
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Hurricane Beryl, New Businesses, Demographics, and Employment Trends
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JUL
2024
Current state of Houston's economy
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JUN
2024
Population Growth, the Housing Market, and the latest Kinder Houston Area Survey
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MAY
2024
Houston’s Ties to the Global Economy
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APR
2024
Population Gains, Relocations and Expansions, Housing Affordability, and Job Growth
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MAR
2024
The pandemic’s impact on Houston
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FEB
2024
Local and U.S. economic trends
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JAN
2024
Employment Forecast Summary, Houston GDP, and Job Growth
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DEC
2023
Houston exports, employment, the business climate in Texas, and a peek into Partnership’s forecast for 2024
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NOV
2023
Houston’s population compared to other major U.S. metros
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OCT
2023
Shifts in Houston’s Demography
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SEPT
2023
The Houston Ship Channel, the outlook for business in Texas, and local employment trends
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AUG
2023
The Pivot from Recession to Resilience
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JUL
2023
Mid-Year Report
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JUN
2023
The Global Economy, Home Sales, and Construction
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MAY
2023
U.S. Economic Outlook and Houston's Energy Industry
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APR
2023
Houston's population growth and employment revisions
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MAR
2023
U.S. Recession and Houston's Key Indicators
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FEB
2023
The Year in Review
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JAN
2023
The U.S. Economy and Houston's GDP Estimates
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DEC
2022
Recovery in the Oil and Gas Industry
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NOV
2022
Metro Houston's Job Growth and the Apartment Market
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OCT
2022
Exploring Population Changes Through the ACS
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SEPT
2022
Recession? Maybe, Maybe Not
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AUG
2022
Houston at Mid-Year
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JUL
2022
The Houston Housing Market, Affordability, and Recent Shifts
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JUN
2022
Economic Recovery, Population Growth & Global Houston recap
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MAY
2022
Economic recovery, rising costs & labor force
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APR
2022
Population growth and employment data
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MAR
2022
Local Impact of a Global Event
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FEB
2022
Post-Analysis of 2021 Houston Economy
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JAN
2022
Omicron, GDP, Employment
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DEC
2021
2022 Employment Forecast
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NOV
2021
Job Gains, Real Estate, Exports
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OCT
2021
Inflation, Employment & Global Innovation
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SEP
2021
Employment, Oil & Gas, Containerized Exports, and Housing
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AUG
2021
Delta Variant, Rebounding Travel, Economic Growth and Population Gains
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JUL
2021
Energy Transition, Recovery Bottlenecks, & the Worker Shortage
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JUN
2021
Economic Recovery, Multifamily, Population & More
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May
2021
Housing Boom and Robust Recovery
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APR
2021
Pandemic Recovery, Tech Workforce
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MAR
2021
Pandemic Employment Data
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FEB
2021
Coronavirus Impact and 2021 Outlook
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JAN
2021
Racial Demographics and Population Shifts
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NOV
2020
U.S. Recovery, 2021 Outlook
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OCT
2020
U.S. Recovery, Houston Update
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SEP
2020
COVID-19 Impact on Economy
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AUG
2020
Energy Change Over Time
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JUL
2020
COVID-19 Update, Houston Unemployment
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JUN
2020
COVID-19 Update, Affected Sectors, Energy
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MAY
2020
U.S. & Texas Outlook, GDP
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APR
2020
COVID-19 Update, PMI, Industry Outlook
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MAR
2020
Economic Impact, Global Outlook, Recession Probability
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FEB
2020
U.S.-China Trade Deal, USMCA
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JAN
2020
Houston GDP, Energy, Jobs
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DEC
2019
Sector by Sector Forecast for 2020
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NOV
2019
Houston Region Demographic Update 2
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OCT
2019
Houston Region Demographic Update 1
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SEP
2019
Houston's Growth Engines
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AUG
2019
PMI, Commercial Real Estate & Housing
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