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Houston's Economy Back On Track
Since the dramatic fall of oil prices that occurred in late 2014, Houston’s economy slowed significantly and grew at a lesser pace in 2015, 2016 and 2017 than its’ average annual rate. Even though Houston’s economy experienced accelerated growth in 2017, it was well below Houston’s potential due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey, which paralyzed the city for several weeks in August 2017. Houston’s resiliency to overcome immense devastation led to an up-tick in consumer spending within weeks after the event and within a years time the city was back in growth mode.
Houston has historically been one of if not the top metro in population growth. Metro Houston area, which consists of nine counties, recorded the third largest numeric population gains in population growth between July 2017 and July 2018 of 91,689 people and added one million new residents between 2010 and 2018, an 18.2% increase. A recent study by the Greater Houston Partnership reports that nearly one in four residents in the Houston region was born outside of the United States. Metro Houston’s population forecasts show Houston’s population growth to increase to 7.1 million by 2020.
Houston’s strategic location and core strengths, including an expanding healthcare sector, cutting-edge medical advancements, technological breakthroughs across industries and strong import/export trade activity (No. 1 U.S. port in foreign tonnage), uniquely position it to play a vital role in meeting national and global market demands. Houston has and will continue to stand as a global leader among U.S. metros and the world.
Sections Covered:
Population Growth | Employment Sector | Business Climate | Global Energy Capital | Petrochemical & Plastics Industry | Port Houston | NASA/Johnson Space Center | Mobility Infrastructure | Airport System | Texas Medical Center | Biosciences & Biotechnology
