county

Harris County, TX

Demographic and economic profile of Harris County, TX, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Harris County anchors the U.S. petrochemical and energy sector, with a GDP per capita of $88,227 that substantially outpaces its median household income of $74,983, reflecting the capital intensity of its industrial base. The labor force spans roughly 3.4 million residents with 33.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, median worker earnings of $41,738, and a 6.4% unemployment rate. At a median home value of $255,000 and median gross rent of $1,349/month, occupancy costs remain relatively contained for a county of 5 million people that added 3.4% population growth over five years, with a notably young median age of 34.6 and a foreign-born share of 26.8%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

5,009,302

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$74,983

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

34.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.4% since 2018

Harris County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone1,666,127 (34.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,011,994 (20.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone919,291 (19.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone675,377 (14.0%)
  • Asian Alone355,427 (7.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races156,109 (3.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,552,844
  2. 2.Other Indo-European92,378
  3. 3.Vietnamese91,149
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)47,690
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island36,009

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

26.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

151,833

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$88,227

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$39,978

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance469,433
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services334,138
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)247,915
  4. 4.Construction (Group)236,070
  5. 5.Manufacturing (Group)211,796

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations922,572
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations465,191
  3. 3.Service Occupations386,587
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations318,215
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations250,631

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.59×)58,367
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.49×)238,430
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.25×)66,315
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.23×)165,734
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.11×)317,003

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$255,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,349/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

54.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999174,625 (18.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999155,037 (16.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999127,730 (13.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99992,708 (9.6%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99977,157 (8.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99959,934 (6.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

33.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

67.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,738

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,614,103 (70.3%)
  • Worked At Home296,070 (12.9%)
  • Carpooled246,342 (10.7%)
  • Public Transit46,621 (2.0%)
  • Other43,778 (1.9%)
  • Walked32,867 (1.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.