The Future of Houston and Texas
Our Case for Action explorer allows users to make comparisons across counties or statewide. See how Harris County stacks up! For example, projections for the 65+ population show that Harris County will not only have the largest share of the state’s 65+ population in 2050, but will also experience an above average increase for the 65+ population from 2010 (+261.4%) compared to the state of Texas overall (+219.3% increase from 2010). You can also check out county profiles in our Data Lab. All Texas 2036 data tools can be found here.
Population
By 2036, our state will be home to 10 million more Texans. Texas must add nearly eight million new jobs by 2036 to keep up with growth. That’s the equivalent of adding the number of jobs in DFW and Houston metro areas today.
Houston Metro vs. Texas
GDP (2018)
$
billion
$0
trillion
Estimated Population (2019)
7,000,000
People
29,000,000
People
Projected Population (2036)
10,000,000
People
38,000,000
People
Education
We have significantly fallen behind other states in terms of providing fundamental skills to thousands of Texans.
Workforce
Percent of high school graduates that earned a postsecondary degree or certificate within 6 years of graduating high school
0%
Houston ISD
0%
Texas
0%
Harris County
In order to meet economic demands, Texas must increase postsecondary completion. In 2025, 77% of jobs will require a 2 or 4 year postsecondary degree of certificate.
Infrastructure
In 2017, commuters spent 54 hours in traffic each year at a cost of $981 per year. From 2014-2017 congestion grew by about 8% in our five major urban areas. Houston commuters spent the most time in traffic at the highest cost of any city in the state with 75 hours stuck in traffic at a cost of $1,376 in 2017. Texas has 13 truck bottlenecks in the top 100 national bottlenecks, the most of any state, and nine of them are in Houston. Trucking is projected to nearly double in our state by 2045.
Workforce
35% of Texas households do not subscribe to fixed broadband services at the FCC’s basic speed standard, placing Texas 38th in broadband adoption among other states (as of 2017)
U.S. cities with population 100,000+ ranked by worst connection (2016 ACS data):
#6 Dallas
#14 HOUSTON
#15 San Antonio
#18 El Paso
#24 Corpus Christi
Natural Resources
Urban flooding is expected to become 30-50% more frequent compared to the 1950-1999 average. Houston is six times more likely to have an 8-inch rain event now than in 1900. Harris County already suffers a major flood somewhere within its boundaries every two years.
While Texas has made strides towards improving air quality, it remains a challenge. Texas has three of the 25 U.S. cities with the most polluted air: Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and El Paso. Houston ozone values have been the highest in the state, driving statewide values for three of the last 10 years.
Water Scarcity
Amount short of needs if a major drought hit today (in acre-feet)
110,000
4,700,000
In order to meet economic demands, Texas must increase postsecondary completion. In 2025, 77% of jobs will require a 2 or 4 year postsecondary degree of certificate.
Justice & Safety
Harris County Jail is the largest mental health facility in Texas. The jail has a daily average of 9,000 inmates, 2,400 of whom have a mental illness. The jail has a 108-bed unit for the most seriously mentally ill and more inmates on psychotropic medication than any single mental health hospital in Texas. The average cost in a mental health unit is $232 per day, compared to $45 per day for the general population.
Health
Overall rankings in Health Outcomes represent how healthy counties are within the state (out of 244). The healthiest county is ranked #1. The ranks are based on two types of measures: how long people live (length of life) and how healthy people feel while alive (quality of life). Harris County is ranked #53, compared to Dallas #47, Travis #7, and Bexar #121.
Rankings in Health Factors represent what influences the health of a county. Influences include health behaviors like tobacco use and exercise; access to and quality of health care; education and children in poverty; and physical environment like air/water quality and housing. Harris County is ranked #105, compared to Dallas #88, Travis #8, and Bexar #41.
Health Factors (2019)
0%
0%
Adult Obesity
0%
0%
Uninsured (under 65)
0%
0%
Children in Poverty