Human remains date habitation to about 4000 BC. Other evidence of humans in the area dates from about 1400 BC, 1 AD, and later in the first millennium. The region becameuninhabited from 1 AD to European contact. Little European activity predates 1821.Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca may have visited the area in 1529. French traders recorded passing through in the 18th century. Spaniards attempted to establish a fort in the area around the same time, but did not persist for long.[4]
The first recorded European settlers in Harris County arrived in 1822. Theirschooner sailed intoGalveston Bay and ran aground on the Red Fish Bar. Some of those passengers traveled further up the bay system, but it is not known whether they settled upBuffalo Bayou or theSan Jacinto River. One of these passengers, a Mr. Ryder, settled at what is now known asMorgan's Point, Texas. Also in 1822, John Iiams settled his family atCedar Point after sailing fromBerwick's Bay, Louisiana. Dr. Johnson Hunter arrived just after Iiams. He also wrecked his boat near Galveston. He settled at Morgan's Point and was a grantee of land there. Nathaniel Lynch settled in the area and operated a ferry.[7]
In 1824, the land empresario,Stephen F. Austin convened at the house of William Scott for the purpose of conveying titles for Mexican headrights. He was joined by the land commissioner, Baron von Bastrop, and Austin's secretary,Samuel May Williams. About thirty families gained legal titles to land in what would later be known as Harris County. A few immigrants settled on Buffalo Bayou in these early years, including Moses Callahan, Ezekial Thomas, and the Vince brothers.[7]
Nicolas Clopper arrived in the Galveston Bay area from Ohio in the 1820s. He attempted to develop Buffalo Bayou as a trading conduit for the Brazos River valley. He acquired land at Morgan's Point in 1826.[8]John Richardson Harris (1790–1829), for whom the county was later named, arrived in 1824. Harris had moved his family to Sainte Genevieve, Missouri Territory, where they had been residing until the early 1820s.[9]
Harris was granted a league of land (about 4,428 acres) at Buffalo Bayou. He platted the town of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there. He ran boats transporting goods between New Orleans and Harrisburg until his death in the fall of 1829.[10]
TheFirst Congress of the Republic of Texas established Harrisburg County on December 22, 1836. The original county boundaries included Galveston Island, but were redrawn to its current configuration in May 1838.[4]
The area has had a number of severe weather events, such as the following hurricanes and tropical storms:
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,777.359 square miles (4,603.34 km2), of which 1,707.288 square miles (4,421.86 km2) is land and 70.071 square miles (181.48 km2) (3.94%) is water.[11] It is the 14th largest county in Texas by total area. Both its total area and land area are larger than the U.S. state ofRhode Island.
As of the 2023American Community Survey, there were an estimated 1,728,103 households in Harris County with an average of 2.73 persons per household; the median household income was $73,104, 16.0% of the population lived at or below thepoverty line, the employment rate was 67.3%, 33.7% of residents held a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 82.5% held at least a high school diploma.[2]As of 2023, Harris County had the second largest population of Black Americans in the United States, behind onlyCook County, Illinois, and the second largest Hispanic population in the nation, behind onlyLos Angeles County, California.[28]
As of the2020 census, Harris County had a population of 4,731,145, 1,692,730 households, and 1,156,059 families; thepopulation density was 2,771.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,071.7 per square kilometer).[29][30]
As of the2020 census, the median age was 34.3 years, with 25.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 11.5% aged 65 or older; there were 97.1 males for every 100 females and 94.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.[29]
As of the2020 census, 98.9% of residents lived in urban areas and 1.1% lived in rural areas.[32]
As of the2020 census, 36.9% of the county’s households had children under 18, 44.9% were married-couple households, 20.1% had a male householder without a spouse or partner, 28.6% had a female householder without a spouse or partner, 25.6% were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.[29][30]
As of the2020 census, there were 1,842,683 housing units, of which 8.1% were vacant; among occupied units, 53.3% were owner-occupied, 46.7% were renter-occupied, the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%, and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.[29]
As of the2020 census, 55.6% of residents aged five and older spoke only English at home while 44.4% spoke another language at home, alone or together with English; Spanish remained the second most spoken language at 35%.[33]
Harris County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Children At Risk—a local nonprofit research organization—estimated that 21% of Harris County children lived in poverty, 6.5 per 1,000 infants died before age one, and 38% dropped out of high school as of 2007.[39]
In 2000, 1,961,993 residents of Harris County spoke English only. The five most spoken foreign languages in the county were Spanish orSpanish Creole (1,106,883 speakers),Vietnamese (53,311),Chinese (33,003), French includingLouisiana French andPatois (33,003), andUrdu (14,595). Among these groups, 46% of Spanish speakers, 37% of Vietnamese speakers, 50% of Chinese speakers, 85% of French speakers, and 72% of Urdu speakers said that they spoke English at least "very well".[40]
In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Harris County was theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston, with 1,947,223 Catholics worshiping at 109 parishes, followed by 579,759Southern Baptists with 811 congregations, 348,461non-denominational Christian adherents with 577 congregations, 182,624United Methodists with 124 congregations, an estimated 117,148Muslims with 47 congregations, 44,472LDS Mormons with 77 congregations, 39,041Episcopalians with 43 congregations, 34,957PC-USA Presbyterians with 49 congregations, 33,525Churches of Christ Christians with 124 congregations, and 30,521LCMS Lutherans with 46 congregations. Altogether, 58.4% of the population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information.[41] In 2014, the county had 1,607 religious organizations, the third most out of all U.S. counties.[42]
County governments serve as agents of the state, with responsibilities defined in the Texas Constitution. Counties are governed by thecommissioners' court. Each Texas county has four precinct commissioners and a county judge. Although this body is called a court, it conducts the general business of the county and oversees financial matters.[43] The commissioners court may hire personnel to run major departments, such as health and human services.
Besides the county judge and commissioners, the other elective offices found in most counties include the county attorney, county and district clerks, county treasurer, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, and constables. As a part of the checks and balances system, counties have an auditor appointed by the district courts.[43]
Harris County was one of the earliest areas of Texas to turn Republican. It voted Republican in all but one presidential election from 1952 to 2004, the lone break coming when native TexanLyndon Johnson carried it in his 44-state landslide in 1964. In 2008,Barack Obama was the first Democrat to win the county since Texas nativeLyndon Johnson in 1964. The city ofHouston itself holds one of the highest concentrations of Democratic voters in the state, while suburban areas such asCypress,Spring, andKaty in the county's western and northern areas, tend to be strongly Republican. In 2016,Hillary Clinton won the county by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1964.[44] The Democratic Party performed very strongly in the county during the 2018 elections, as it did nationwide.[45]
In 2020,Joe Biden won the county by 13%, the widest margin for a Democratic nominee since 1964. In 2024, RepublicanDonald Trump increased his vote share by 4 points to earn 46% toKamala Harris's 51%, the closest margin since 2012. Though it has shifted towards Democrats in recent years, Harris County has nevertheless voted to the right ofDallas,Travis,Bexar, andEl Paso, each of which has a smaller population.[46]
In 2013, Allen Turner of theHouston Chronicle said that residents of Harris County were "consistently conservative in elections" and that they were, according to aRice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research opinion poll, "surprisingly liberal on topics such as immigration, gun control and equal matrimonial rights for same-sex couples".[47] Harris is regarded as a moderate or swing county in Texas, and has been a bellwether in presidential elections, voting for winners of every presidential election from 2000 through 2012 (both Barack Obama and Texas residentGeorge W. Bush won the county twice).[47]
As a result of the Obama sweep in 2008, many Democratic candidates in contests for lower-level offices also benefited, and many Republican incumbents were replaced by Democrats in the Harris County courthouse. Some of the defeated Republican district court judges were later re-appointed to vacant District Court benches by Governor Rick Perry. In 2018, Democrats swept the court capturing all 59 seats on the civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate courts.[48]
The Kinder Institute's Houston Survey in 2018 found that from 2014 through 2018 the number of Houston residents who supported adoption of children by same-sex couples climbed above 50% and remained there, while in 2017 over 56% of residents reported gay or lesbian persons among their circle of close personal friends. A 2013 opinion poll had found that 46% of Harris County residents supported same-sex marriage, up from 37% in 2001. Just above 82% favored offering illegal immigrants a path to citizenship provided they speak English and have no criminal record, holding from 83% in 2013, which was up from 19% in 2009. In 2013, 87% supported background checks for all firearms, the latest year that question was included in the Kinder Houston Survey. This measure has moved up steadily from 60% in 1985 to 69% in 2000.[49][47]
United States presidential election results for Harris County, Texas[50]
The 1910 county courthouse was renovated in the 1950s to update its systems. In the 21st century, the facility received another major renovation. Completed in 2011, the $50 million, eight-year project was designed to restore notable historic aspects of the courthouse while providing for contemporary communication and building needs.[52]
TheHarris County Jail Complex of theHarris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the largest in Texas, and one of the largest in the nation. In July 2012, the facility held 9,113 prisoners. To handle overcrowding in the facility, the county had to ship inmates to other counties and some are housed out of the state.[56]
The county has apotter's field, the Harris County Cemetery on Oates Road in Houston, which previously had housing for elderly people. It has 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land. It was established in 1921 on property taken from police officers who had acted corruptly. The county paid $80,000 for 100 acres (40 ha) of land, then put in the Harris County Home For the Aged, apoor farm for elderly people of all races which had a capacity of 100; the poor farm opened in 1922. Around that time, the county cemetery was also established there. The Harris County Commissioners closed the poor farm in August 1958.[57] In 2014, no more burials were allowed to occur at the Oates Road facility due to overcapacity.[58]
By 2013 the county was building a second potter's field due to overcapacity at the first.[57] Harris County Eastgate Cemetery had started operations in 2014.[58] It is near theCrosbycensus-designated place and has a Crosby postal address.[59]
The county had a poor farm in what is nowWest University Place that closed in 1923. The county cemetery was formerly there; the bodies were transferred to the new property.[57]
There are 67 District Courts — 24 Civil, 29 Criminal, 11 Family, and 3 Juvenile — in Harris County; each District Court is randomly assigned cases within their specialization from across Harris County. District court judges are elected countywide to serve 4 year terms. In addition to the 67 presiding judges, there are 20 Associate Judges.[61]
Aldine, Channelview, East Houston, Fall Creek portion of Humble, Galena Park, Jacinto City, northern Pasadena, North Shore, western Sheldon, South Houston
Clear Lake City, NASA Johnson Space Center, southern and central Pasadena, Deer Park, Baytown, Crosby, La Porte, eastern Sheldon, Dayton, Seabrook, Morgan's Point, Shore Acres, El Lago, Nassau Bay, Taylor Lake Village
Inner western portions of Houston (including Meyerland, River Oaks and Memorial Park), Texas Medical Center, West University Place, Bellaire, Southside Place, WesternMontrose
The county has an elections administrator and elections office, which was non-partisan but under the oversight of DemocratLina Hidalgo, the Harris County Judge. The State of Texas Legislature passed a law, SB 1750, that asks for the position to be abolished effective September 2023, as the law states that any county with at least 3,500,000 persons should have elections done by the clerk and tax assessor-collector; of all Texas counties, only Harris would be affected. This was done following failings in the 2022 election, as confirmed by the investigation initiated by Harris County District AttorneyKim Ogg's office.[63] In August 2023, Karin Crump, the presiding judge of the 250th civil district court of Travis County, stated that this went against theTexas Constitution, citing how the law only affected one county.[64] Crump's ruling was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court.[65]
TheHarris County Sheriff's Office operates jail facilities and is the primary provider of law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of the county. The sheriff is the conservator of the peace in the county. The Harris County jail facilities are in northern downtown on the north side of the Buffalo Bayou. The 1200 Jail,[66] the 1307 Jail, (originally a TDCJ facility, leased by the county),[67] and the 701 Jail (formed from existing warehouse storage space) are on the same site.[68]
The Community Services Department provides community services. The department maintains the 20 acres (8.1 ha) Oates Road Cemetery (also known as the Harris County Cemetery) for indigents in easternHouston, near the formerSouthern Bible College. In March 2010, the county adopted a cremation first policy, meaning that the default preference for most indigents is to have them cremated instead of buried. As of 2010, the county authorized the Community Services Department to purchase about 50 acres (20 ha) of land in theHuffman area so the county will have additional spaces for indigent burials.[69]
The Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA) is a governmental nonprofit corporation which addresses the need for quality affordable housing.[70] The HCHA has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the highest performing housing authority in the region and was named one of America's 10 best Public Housing Authorities.[71]Guy R. Rankin, IV is chief executive officer of Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA).
Kegans Unit, located inDowntown Houston, is a state jail for men. It is in the north of downtown along the north side of the Buffalo Bayou, next to the county facilities.[72]
As of 2001, Kegans and Lychner serves male state jail offenders from Harris County, with Kegans getting lower-risk offenders and Lychner getting higher-risk and special-needs offenders. If both of the male state jails in Harris County are full, excess offenders go to the Gist Unit inJefferson County. Female state jail offenders from Harris County go to thePlane Unit inLiberty County.[75]
The South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility Unit, a parole confinement facility for males operated byGlobal Expertise in Outsourcing, is in downtown Houston, west ofDaikin Park.[76]
The combined yearly sum spent by these agencies circa 2018 was $1.6 billion. That year theRice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research released a report advocating for consolidating several of these agencies as a way of saving taxpayer money.[77]
The chief administrative officer of a Texas County, as set up in theTexas Constitution, is theCounty Judge, who sits as the chair of the county'sCommissioners' Court (the equivalent of aBoard of Supervisors in some other states). In 2019, JudgeLina Hidalgo was sworn in as the County Judge. The county is split into four geographical divisions called precincts. Each precinct elects aCommissioner to represent them on the commissioners court and oversee county government functions in the precinct.
TheUniversity of Houston System's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy as of 2011 equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated.[80][81] This is in addition to the over 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas. These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston; after five years, 80.5% of graduates are still living and working in the region.[81]
In 2009, 20% of the office space in northwest Harris County was vacant. As of that year, more office space was 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 nearFarm to Market Road 1960 andTexas State Highway 249 in north Harris County was 53% in 2009.[82]
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.[83]Hewlett-Packard formerly operated its United States region office in a complex northwest unincorporated Harris County; the complex formerly belonged toCompaq prior to Compaq's merger with HP.[84][85] The HP offices, which are now occupied byHewlett Packard Enterprise, are now in a limited purpose annexation in Houston.[86]Smith International has its headquarters in theGreenspoint district and in an unincorporated area in Harris County.[87][88]BJ Services Company has its headquarters in theSpring Branch district and in unincorporated Harris County.[89][90]Cybersoft Technologies has its headquarters in an unincorporated area.[91] In 2012,Noble Energy announced that it was consolidating its headquarters and two otherGreater Houston offices into a 10-story building on the formerCompaq headquarters property in unincorporated Harris County.[92] In 2022,ExxonMobil announced it was moving its headquarters to Harris County fromIrving, Texas.[93]Goya Foods previously had its Texas offices in an unincorporated area in the county.[94]
In 2008,KBR announced that it will open a new office facility in an unincorporated area in western Harris County.[98] In December KBR said that it would not continue with the plans due to a weakened economy.[99] In January 2009 KBR announced that it will not open the new office facility.[100]
TheHarris County Department of Education, a county division overseeing education by local school districts, with a 2011 budget around $100 million, is headquartered in the Ronald W. Reagan Building in theNorthside district in Houston. It has an Adult Education Center in the Northside and an office in the North Post Oak Building inSpring Branch.[90][101][102]
Severalschool districts serve Harris County communities. Among the 26 districts are:[103]
Four separate and distinct state universities are located in Harris County. TheUniversity of Houston is a nationally recognized Tier One research university, and is the flagship institution of theUniversity of Houston System.[107][108][109] Thethird-largest university in Texas,[110] the University of Houston counted 43,774 (fall 2016)[111] students on its 667-acre campus in southeast Houston. TheUniversity of Houston–Clear Lake and theUniversity of Houston–Downtown arestand-alone universities; they are not branch campuses of the University of Houston. Located in the historic community of Third Ward isTexas Southern University, one of the largest historically black colleges and universities in the United States.
Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized research university—are located within Harris County.Rice University is one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States and ranked the nation's 17th best overall university byU.S. News & World Report.[112]
Five community college districts exist with campuses in and around Harris County:[113]
TheHouston Community College System serves Houston ISD (including the former North Forest ISD), Katy ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Alief ISD, and Stafford MSD. This includes most of the City of Houston.
TheLone Star College System (formerly North-Harris Montgomery Community College District) serves Aldine ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Tomball ISD, Humble ISD, and Klein ISD. This constitutes the northwestern through northeastern parts of the county.
San Jacinto College serves Pasadena ISD, Galena Park ISD, Sheldon ISD, Channelview ISD, Deer Park ISD, La Porte ISD, and the Harris County part of Clear Creek ISD. This constitutes southeastern and eastern portions of the county
Lee College serves Goose Creek ISD, Crosby ISD, and Huffman ISD, far east to northeast sections
Blinn College is the community college for portions of Waller ISD in Harris County, far northwestern parts.
Incorporated cities operate their own police departments, though Harris County operates theHarris 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.
The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office operates an Investigative Branch, an Emergency Response Branch (Hazardous Materials Response) and Prevention Branch (Inspections). The office is headquartered at 2318 Atascocita Road in anunincorporated area.[114] Incorporated cities operate their own fire departments. The city of Houston operates theHouston Fire Department which provides fire and emergency medical coverage to the city of Houston.
Areas outside of municipal city limits (and some smaller municipalities) have fire and emergency medical services provided by Emergency Service Districts, distinct governmental units with the ability to levy property and sales taxes. ESD's may provide fire service, EMS service or both (dual services) and the services they provide determine the limits on their adoptable tax rate.
ESD's may provide services directly or may contract with an agency or agencies for services. ESD's may overlap one another to ensure both fire and EMS services are provided.
Within Harris County, hospital services for the indigent and needy are provided by theHarris Health System (Harris County Hospital District), a separate governmental entity. Harris Health System operates two hospitals: LBJ General Hospital andBen Taub General Hospital, as well as many clinics and the former Quentin Mease Community Hospital.
Harris County is a key hub for both traditional and emerging transportation systems, including public transit, highways, and autonomous vehicle technology. With its proximity to major cities and a rapidly expanding infrastructure, the county plays a significant role in shaping the future of transportation in Texas.
Harris County Transit offers services to communities outside of METRO’s coverage area, such as Baytown and Channelview, ensuring that more rural parts of the county have access to reliable transportation.[125]
As of recent reports, the average one-way commute for a Harris County resident using an automobile is approximately 25 minutes, while those relying on public transportation face a commute of 44 minutes—a significant disparity that emphasizes the importance of continued investment in mass transit infrastructure.[126] In fact, the county has seen a steady increase in the adoption ofautonomous vehicles (AVs), which are expected to play a key role in future transportation patterns, offering safer and more efficient alternatives to traditional methods. As autonomous vehicles become more integrated into the county's transportation network, it will be essential to track safety, traffic, and incident data. A recent study on Texas autonomous vehicle crash analysis (2023-2024) found that Harris County accounts for 28% of all reported AV crashes in Texas,[127] indicating the county’s prominence in AV testing and integration.
^"Contact InformationArchived July 25, 2010, at theWayback Machine." Texas First Court of Appeals. Retrieved on September 12, 2011. "NEW ADDRESS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 First Court of Appeals 301 Fannin Houston, Texas 77002-2066"
^"Contact InformationArchived July 26, 2010, at theWayback Machine." Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Retrieved on September 12, 2011. "NEW ADDRESS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 Fourteenth Court of Appeals 301 Fannin, Suite 245 Houston, Texas 77002"
^"Contact Information." Texas First Court of Appeals. Retrieved on March 9, 2010. "Physical Location First Court of Appeals 1307 San Jacinto Street, 10th Floor (intersection of Clay and San Jacinto Streets) Houston, Texas.Contact Information." Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Retrieved on March 9, 2010. "Physical Location Fourteenth Court of Appeals 1307 San Jacinto, 11th Floor Houston, TX 77002 "
^"Highpoint Schools," and Academic & Behavior Centers East and West (ABC-E) and (ABC-E). Harris County Department of Education. Retrieved on July 17, 2011.
.JPG)
