Population and Demographics - North Houston Association
The North Houston Association’s geographic boundaries include portions of Harris County, Montgomery County, and the City of Houston, and encompass 1,337 square miles of the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). This represents 15.0% of the Houston MSA’s total land area. The Houston MSA consists of 10 counties and contains 8,928 square miles of land. In land area, the Houston MSA is the third largest metropolitan area in the nation.
The North Houston Association’s geographic boundaries have been expanded based on the area on the 2001 NHA Aerial Land Use Map. This expansion includes 13 additional census tracts on the western edge of the North Houston Association’s previous boundary. These additional census tracts encompass the communities of Cypress and Magnolia. For the purpose of comparison, data for the North Houston Association’s previous geographic boundaries is included in several of the following tables and charts. Data from the new boundary is used through the remainder of this discussion.
The area within the North Houston Association’s boundaries grew at a substantial rate during the past two decades. In 1990, the north Houston area had a population of 689,314, 18.3% of the Houston MSA’s total population. By 2000, the population had grown to 975,893, making up 20.7% of the metropolitan area population. The projected 2010 population for the north Houston area is 1,370,930, containing 23.2% of the metropolitan area. The projected growth in the North Houston Association’s area population accounts for 33.1% of the Houston MSA’s total projected population growth. These figures can be seen in Table 1.
North Houston Association Population Growth
The population of the North Houston Association area is expected to have grown by 40.5% between 2000 and 2010, as shown in Table 1. More significant is the average annual growth in population during this time. The area averaged an increase of 39,504 persons annually, greater than half of the projected annual growth of all of Harris County and again, 33.1% of the growth in the entire Houston MSA. This data is illustrated in Chart 1. For a Population Summary by Census Tracts in the North Houston Area see data in Table 2.
The North Houston Association geographic area had previously been segmented into four high-growth market areas: the FM 1960 Corridor, Kingwood/Humble, the Sam Houston Parkway/Greenspoint corridor, and The Woodlands. The boundaries of these areas remain unchanged, and are joined by four more high growth areas, Tomball, Conroe, Magnolia, and Cypress. These eight areas are expected to contain 82.4% of the area’s total population in 2010. The remaining population is listed as “Balance” in Table 3.
Of these eight areas, Cypress is expected to have the largest percentage and largest total population growth from 2000 to 2010 at 119.4% and 66,887 respectively. Second in percentage population growth is Tomball at 111.6% while second in total population growth is the FM 1960 corridor, which added 54,799 persons during the past decade. This data is illustrated in Table 3 and Chart 2.
North Houston Association Profile
As the North Houston Association covers portions of both Harris County and Montgomery County, the demographic characteristics of north Houston are compared with the two counties and with the Houston MSA in Table 4. Excluding persons under the age of 18, the largest age range group in the north Houston area in 2010 is expected to be the 45-54 range with 15.0% of the population. Adding the age ranges from 25 to 54 years, considered the family and child-rearing ages, totals 43.3% of the area’s total population. This is further reflected in the 29.0% of the population that falls under the age of 18. Overall, the north Houston area is slightly older than Harris County, and slightly younger than Montgomery County and the Houston MSA as a whole.
The North Houston Association area’s projected 2010 ethnic makeup is quite diverse, with a significant but not overwhelming 57.9% majority of Non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic or Latino persons account for 25.1% of the population, Black or African-American population stands at 10.5%, Asian at 4.3%, and all others at 2.3% of the population. The Harris County section of the North Houston Association is predominately Black and Hispanic while the Montgomery County portion is largely Non-Hispanic White. The Houston MSA overall has significantly higher percentages of Black and Hispanic residents than the north Houston area.
North Houston Association area residents are slightly better educated than those in both Harris and Montgomery counties and in the Houston MSA as a whole. A sizable 48.7% of north Houston Area residents over the age of 25 have graduated high school and completed at least some college coursework while 37.1% have graduated from college with a two or four-year degree.
Households in the North Houston Association’s geographic area have substantial disposable income and discretionary buying power, as shown in Table 4. Household income has grown significantly between 2000 and 2010, is roughly the same as that of Montgomery County as a whole, and is significantly higher in the area than in Harris County or Houston MSA. The $50,000 to $74,999 income range contains the largest percentage of households at 19.3% while 65.1% of all households have incomes of $50,000 or greater. This compares with 52.4% in Harris County, 62.5% in Montgomery County, and 55.3% in the entire Houston MSA. Median household income grew from $56,274 in 2000 to $69,548 in 2010 and stands more than $10,000 greater than the projected 2010 median household incomes of Harris County and the Houston MSA as a whole.
The resident occupation breakdown for the North Houston Association’s geographic area shows slightly higher percentages of white-collar workers and slightly lower percentages of blue-collar workers and persons employed in service and farm than in either of the two compared counties and the Houston MSA as a whole.
Market Area Characteristics
The market area characteristics in Table 5 show the significant demographic variations in each of the eight market area segments. Median household incomes range from $97,566 in The Woodlands to $47,172 in the Sam Houston Parkway/Greenspoint segment.
Income figures are usually closely linked with white-collar employment and residents with degrees with higher education degrees. The north Houston market areas are no exception to this. The Woodlands and Cypress, the two areas with median household incomes of greater than $90,000, contain the highest percentages of white collar workers (both over 70%) and the highest percentages of those who have taken college courses (both over 70%) and college graduates (both around 50%).
The ethnic make-up of these areas varies significantly as well. Six of the eight market areas contain a Non-Hispanic White majority, the Sam Houston Parkway/Greenspoint area contains a Hispanic or Latino majority, while no ethnic group constitutes a majority in the Conroe area.