About Houston

As the country’s fourth-largest city, the third-largest county (Harris), and the #1 real estate market, Houston is the ideal city for immigrant investors' EB-5 real estate investments. Click on the links above to learn more about Houston.

• Houston ranks sixth among U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of 5,867,489 and covers more than 8,800 square miles
• Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, aeronautics, and technology industries: only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters.
• Home to the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical center in the world, with a local economic impact of $10 billion and includes 49 member institutions-as well as M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the No. 1 cancer hospital in the country.
• Houston has a unique museum district offering a range of museums, galleries, art and cultural institutions, including the City's major museums.
• With more than 5,000 energy related firms, Houston is considered by many as the Energy Capital of the world.
• More than 90 languages are spoken throughout the Houston area.
• The Third Quarter 2010 ACCRA Cost of Living Index shows that Houston's overall after-taxes living costs are 9% below the nationwide average, largely due to housing costs that are 21% below the average.
• Recorded 2.54 million payroll jobs in November 2010, more than the job counts of 31 U.S. states, including Arizona, Colorado and Alabama.
• 23 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Houston
• 62 of the world's 100 non-U.S.-based corporations have a presence in Houston
• The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. It is the tenth largest port in the world.
• The Greater Houston area has more than 40 major institutions of higher learning, such as Rice University, the Harvard of the South.
• Houston has 5 professional sports teams (baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey), four major sports venues and is home to the Rockets with basketball stars Yao Ming & Jeremy Lin.
• Discover a thriving professional arts scene, with professional resident companies in ballet, opera, symphony and theater; only four other U.S. cities can say the same. And the nearby Museum District stakes its claim as the country’s fourth largest, with 18 cultural powerhouses set within blocks of one another.
• Houstonians eat out more than residents of any other city. While here you can choose to indulge in one of the more than 11,000 restaurants ranging from award-winning and upscale to memorable deli shops.
• Houston has a Theater District second only to New York City with its concentration of seats in one geographic area. Located downtown, the 17-block Theater District is home to eight performing arts organizations with more than 12,000 seats.
• Houston has more than 500 cultural, visual and performing arts organizations, 90 of which are devoted to multicultural and minority arts and is one of five U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts