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Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of 2000 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 3,400,578 (though a 2007 estimate placed the population at 4,011,475[1]), making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston[2], the largest city in Texas. Harris County is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area.
[edit] HistoryThe county was founded on December 22, 1836 as Harrisburg County . The name was changed to Harris County in December 1839. [edit] GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,778 square miles (4,604 km²), of which, 1,729 square miles (4,478 km²) of it is land and 49 square miles (127 km²) of it (2.75%) is water. Its land area is larger than the state of Rhode Island. [edit] Major highwaysSee List of Highways in Harris County for more roadways in Harris County. [edit] Adjacent counties
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families residing in the county, making it the largest county by population in Texas. The population density was 1,967 people per square mile (759/km²). There were 1,298,130 housing units at an average density of 751 per square mile (290/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 58.73% White, 18.49% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 5.14% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.18% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. 32.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 7.2% were of German, 6.2% American and 5.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 63.8% spoke English, 28.8% Spanish and 1.6% Vietnamese as their first language. In 2006 Harris County had 3,886,207 residents. This represented 14.3% growth since 2000. 2005 saw Harris County with 37.5% of its population Latino. This represented an increase of over 120,000 in the number of Latinos in the county. 5.5% of the population was Asian. South Asians especially Indian Americans making up one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in Harris County, with 35,971 counted in the 2000 Census;.[4]. African Americans constituted 18.4% of the county's population, representing a slight decline in percentage. It however meant the total number of African-Americans in the county had risen.[5]. In 2000 There were 1,205,516 households out of which 37.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.38. In the county, the population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 19.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,598, and the median income for a family was $49,004. Males had a median income of $37,361 versus $28,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,435. About 12.10% of families and 14.97% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over. According to Children At Risk, a local non-profit research organization, 20.8% of the Harris County children live in poverty, 6.5 per 1,000 die before age 1, and 38% drop out of high school.[6] Harris County along with other Texas Counties has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, the county was ranked in the top 25 at #22nd in the nation for property taxes as percentage of the homes value on owner occupied housing, the list only includes counties with a population over 65,000 for accuracy [2] link title. [edit] Economy See also: Economy of Houston Various companies are headquartered in incorporated and unincorporated areas throughout Harris County. Academy Sports and Outdoors, a sporting goods retailer, has its corporate offices and product distribution center in unincorporated western Harris County.[7] Hewlett-Packard operates its United States region office in a complex northwest unincorporated Harris County; the complex formerly belonged to Compaq prior to Compaq's merger with HP.[8][9] Internet America, an internet service provider, is headquartered in northwest unincorporated Harris County.[10] Smith International has its headquarters in the Greenspoint district and in an unincorporated area in Harris County.[11][12] BJ Services Company has its headquarters in the Spring Branch district and in unincorporated Harris County.[13][14] FMC Technologies has its headquarters in an unincorporated.]].[15] General Electric operates an aeroderivative division facility on Jacintoport in unincorporated Harris County.[16][17] In 2008 KBR announced that it will open a new office facility in an unincorporated area in western Harris County.[18] In December KBR said that it would not continue with the plans due to a weakened economy.[19] In 2009 20% of the office space in northwest Harris County was vacant. As of that year, more office space is being built; in 2010 northwest Harris will have twice the amount of office space that it had in 2009. The vacancy rate in the area near Farm to Market Road 1960 and Texas State Highway 249 in north Harris County was 53% in 2009.[20] As Houston mostly resides in Harris County, much of the county's economy is related to Houston. See Economy of Houston. [edit] Diplomatic missions Various consulates are located in the county; one, the Consulate-General of Pakistan in Houston, which opened in June 2004, is at 11850 Jones Road in an unincorporated section of the county.[21] The other consulates are in areas of Houston. [edit] Government and politics
Harris County has tended to vote Republican at the presidential level since the mid-20th century; Barack Obama was the first Democrat to win the county since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Its electorate is comprised of the City of Houston proper, a diverse urban area that is heavily Democratic, and the sprawling suburbs that surround the city limits. Suburban areas such as Cypress, Spring, and Katy in the county's western and northern areas tend to be strongly Republican.
[edit] United States Congress
List above took effect January 4, 2007. [edit] Texas Legislature[edit] Texas Senate
[edit] Texas House of Representatives
[edit] Harris County elected officials
[edit] Communities[edit] Cities
[edit] Unincorporated areas[edit] Census-designated places
[edit] Other areas
[edit] Education[edit] Primary and secondary schools The Harris County Department of Education, a county division overseeing education by local school districts, is headquartered in the Ronald W. Reagan Building in the Northside district in Houston. It has an Adult Education Center in the Northside and an office in the North Post Oak Building in Spring Branch.[22][23][14] Several school districts serve Harris County communities. [edit] Colleges and universitiesSeveral colleges and universities exist in Harris County. Community college systems serving portions of the county include Houston Community College, Lone Star College System, and San Jacinto College. [edit] Public libraries Harris County operates its own public library system, the Harris County Public Library. In addition, Houston has the Houston Public Library, a city-controlled public library system. The cities of Baytown, Bellaire, Deer Park, and Pasadena have their own city-controlled libraries. [edit] Emergency services[edit] Police services Incorporated areas operate their own police departments. Harris County operates the Harris County Sheriff's Office, which serves unincorporated areas and supplements police forces of incorporated areas. Harris County also has a constable for each of its eight precincts and hundreds of deputies assigned to each. They mainly serve in a patrol function, established to maintain peace in the county as well as providing security to county buildings such as court houses and district attorney's offices. [edit] Fire services  Harris County maintains the Harris County Fire Marshall office to assist with fire investigations. The office is headquartered at 2318 Atascocita Road in an unincorporated area.[24] Incorporated cities operate their own fire departments. Fire departments serving unincorporated areas:[25]
[edit] Political organization The head of a Texas County, as set up in the Texas Constitution, is the County Judge, who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioners' Court. As of 2007, this position in Harris County is held by Judge Ed Emmett. The county is split into 4 geographical divisions called Precincts. Each precinct elects a Commissioner to sit as a representative of their precinct on the commissioners court and also for the oversight of county functions in their area. Other elected positions in Harris County include a County Attorney, a County Clerk, a District Attorney, a District Clerk, a Sheriff, 8 Constables, a Tax Assessor-Collector, a County Treasurer, and every judge in the county except municipal judges, who are appointed by the officials of their respective cities. Many of the organs of the Harris County government reside in the Harris County Campus in Downtown Houston. [edit] Hospital servicesWithin Harris County, hospital services for the indigent and needy are provided by the Harris County Hospital District, a separate governmental entity. Harris County Hospital District operates three hospitals: LBJ General Hospital, Quentin Mease Community Hospital, and Ben Taub General Hospital, as well as many clinics. Additionally, numerous private and public hospitals operate in Harris County, including institutions in Texas Medical Center and throughout the county. [edit] Transportation[edit] Mass transitMany areas in Harris County are served by Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO), a public transportation agency headquartered in Downtown Houston. [edit] Intercity busesGreyhound Bus Lines operates various stations throughout Harris County. [edit] AirportsTwo commercial airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport, are located in Houston and in Harris County. The city of Houston operates Ellington Field, a general aviation and military airport in Harris County. General aviation airports for fixed-wing aircraft outside of Houston include:
[edit] Corrections The Harris County jail facilities are in northern Downtown on the north side of the Buffalo Bayou. The 1200 Jail,[26] the 1307 Jail, (originally a TDCJ facility, leased by the county)[27], and the 701 Jail (formed from existing warehouse storage space) are on the same site.[28] The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates some correctional facilities in Harris County, including:
The South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility Unit, a parole confinement facility for males operated by Global Expertise in Outsourcing, is in Downtown Houston, west of Minute Maid Park.[32] [edit] Trivia
[edit] GalleryHarris County Campus
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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