{"id":7993,"date":"2023-09-16T20:37:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T20:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7993"},"modified":"2026-08-07T13:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:07:45","slug":"harris-county-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/harris-county-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Harris County, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harris County is a county in Texas, United States, anchored by Houston on the upper Gulf Coast
\nabout 50 miles inland from Galveston Bay. It had a population of 4,731,145 at the 2020 census, an
\nestimated 5,045,026 by 2025, and covers 1,777.36 square miles (4,603.34 km2) centred near
\n29\u00b051\u2032N 95\u00b024\u2032W — making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous
\nin the United States.<\/p>\n

Houston is the county seat and by far its largest city; its downtown postal code is 77002. The
\ncounty holds 34 incorporated cities and villages, all or partly within its borders, plus a dozen
\nlarge unincorporated communities and hundreds of smaller subdivisions, and it runs on Central
\nTime.<\/p>\n

Towns & Villages in Harris County<\/h2>\n

Harris County has 34 incorporated cities and villages on record, either wholly inside the
\ncounty or with part of their limits here. Several of the largest — League City, Pearland,
\nMissouri City, Friendswood, Stafford, Katy and Baytown — sit mostly in a neighboring county,
\nso the population figures below are citywide totals, not Harris County’s share alone. City · seat
\nmarks the seat of government; Village covers the six small residential municipalities that
\nincorporated under that name.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop. (2020)<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Houston<\/td>\nCity · seat<\/td>\n2,304,580<\/td>\n77002 (downtown)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pasadena<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n151,950<\/td>\n77501–77508<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pearland<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n125,828<\/td>\n77581<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
League City<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n114,392<\/td>\n77573<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baytown<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n83,701<\/td>\n77520–77523<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Missouri City<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n74,259<\/td>\n77459<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Friendswood<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n41,213<\/td>\n77546<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deer Park<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n34,495<\/td>\n77536<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La Porte<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n35,124<\/td>\n77571<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stafford<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n17,666<\/td>\n77477<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bellaire<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n17,202<\/td>\n77401<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Humble<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n16,795<\/td>\n77338<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Houston<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n16,153<\/td>\n77587<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Katy<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n21,894<\/td>\n77449<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West University Place<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n14,955<\/td>\n77005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seabrook<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n13,618<\/td>\n77586<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tomball<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n12,341<\/td>\n77375<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Galena Park<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n10,740<\/td>\n77547<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jacinto City<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n9,613<\/td>\n77029<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jersey Village<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n7,921<\/td>\n77040<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bunker Hill Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hedwig Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hilshire Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77055<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Piney Point Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spring Valley Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77055<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Taylor Lake Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77586<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Southside Place<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hunters Creek Village<\/td>\nVillage<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nassau Bay<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77058<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El Lago<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77586<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shoreacres<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77571<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Morgan’s Point<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77571<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Webster<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77598<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waller<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n77484<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Below the incorporated cities, Harris County lists 12 census-designated places — large
\nunincorporated communities with no city government of their own. The five largest are shown here;
\nBarrett, Mission Bend, Sheldon, Cinco Ranch and Crosby round out the rest of the twelve.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop. (2020)<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Atascocita<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n88,174<\/td>\n77346<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spring<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n62,559<\/td>\n77373<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Channelview<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n45,688<\/td>\n77530<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mission Bend<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n36,914<\/td>\n77083<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cloverleaf<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n24,100<\/td>\n77015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cinco Ranch<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n16,899<\/td>\n77450<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aldine<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n15,999<\/td>\n77039<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Highlands<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n8,612<\/td>\n77562<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Crosby<\/td>\nCDP<\/td>\n3,417<\/td>\n77532<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Beyond the CDPs, several hundred smaller subdivisions and unincorporated neighborhoods carry
\ntheir own place names across the county — too many for one page to list with population and
\nZIP data attached — and this page focuses on the 34 incorporated municipalities and 12
\nrecognised CDPs instead. One straddling case worth noting: The Woodlands, a large planned
\ncommunity, is primarily in Montgomery County, with only its southern edge reaching into Harris,
\nso it is not listed above as a Harris County place.<\/p>\n

ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n

Harris County spans well over 100 ZIP codes, radiating out from Houston’s central 770xx
\nblock. Rather than list every code, the principal ones by area are: 77002 and 77003–77007 for
\ndowntown and near-downtown Houston; 77024 for the Memorial Villages (Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Hilshire,
\nPiney Point, Spring Valley and Hunters Creek); 77401 for Bellaire and 77005 for West University
\nPlace and Southside Place; 77501–77508 for Pasadena; 77520–77523 for Baytown; 77536 for
\nDeer Park; 77571 for La Porte, Shoreacres and Morgan’s Point; 77586 for Seabrook, El Lago and
\nTaylor Lake Village; 77338 for Humble; 77346 for Atascocita; 77373 for Spring; and 77484 for
\nWaller. Smaller villages without a dedicated post office, such as Hilshire Village and Spring
\nValley Village, share their ZIP with a neighboring city rather than issuing their own.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

Harris County sits on the upper Texas Gulf Coast, a flat coastal plain crossed by bayous that
\ndrain southeast into Galveston Bay. Of its 1,777.36 square miles, 1,707.29 are land and 70.07 are
\nwater, about 3.9 percent — the Houston Ship Channel, Buffalo Bayou, and the San Jacinto
\nRiver’s reservoir system, Lake Houston, account for most of that surface water. Buffalo Bayou
\nruns through downtown Houston toward the ship channel and Galveston Bay; the San Jacinto River
\nforms part of the county’s eastern edge near Highlands and Crosby.<\/p>\n

Montgomery County lies to the north, Liberty County to the northeast, Chambers County to the
\neast, Galveston County to the southeast, Brazoria County to the south, Fort Bend County to the
\nsouthwest, and Waller County to the west. Montgomery
\nCounty<\/a>, Liberty County<\/a>, Chambers County<\/a>, Galveston County<\/a>, Brazoria County<\/a>, Fort Bend County<\/a> and Waller County<\/a> all border Harris directly.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

Harris County had a population of 4,731,145 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
\nthe county near 5,045,026 residents. Houston and Pasadena are by far its two largest communities;
\nHouston alone holds roughly half the county’s total population. Median household income runs
\n$73,104 (2023 ACS), below the Texas statewide figure of $75,780. Population density works out to
\nroughly 2,771 people per square mile of land — dense by Texas standards and reflecting the
\ncounty’s position at the core of the Houston metropolitan area. The county’s 2020 racial
\nmakeup was 43.0 percent Hispanic or Latino, 36.4 percent White, 19.2 percent Black or African
\nAmerican and 7.4 percent Asian.<\/p>\n

Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n

Energy dominates the county’s economy: Houston hosts dozens of energy-related Fortune 500
\ncompanies and thousands of oil, gas and petrochemical establishments, and the region accounts for
\nroughly a third of all U.S. oil and gas extraction jobs. The Houston Ship Channel, running through
\neastern Harris County past Deer Park, Baytown, Pasadena and La Porte, carries the nation’s
\nlargest petrochemical manufacturing complex and feeds the Port of Houston, the country’s
\nbusiest port by foreign tonnage. The Texas Medical Center, just south of downtown Houston, employs
\nmore than 65,000 health care professionals across its hospitals and research institutions —
\nthe largest medical complex of its kind in the world. NASA’s Johnson Space Center, in the
\nClear Lake area near Webster and Nassau Bay, anchors an aerospace cluster of several thousand
\nfederal and contractor jobs. Houston’s biggest annual event is the Houston Livestock Show and
\nRodeo each March, one of the largest rodeos in the world and a major draw for the whole county.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

The Republic of Texas Congress created Harris County on 22 December 1836, one of the
\nrepublic’s original counties. It was named for John Richardson Harris, who arrived in the
\narea in 1824 and founded the trading settlement of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. Houston,
\nfounded in 1836 by the Allen brothers just upstream of Harrisburg, became the county seat and grew
\ninto the region’s dominant city through the 19th and 20th centuries.<\/p>\n

Harrisburg itself was burned by retreating Mexican forces in April 1836, days before the Battle
\nof San Jacinto was fought on the county’s eastern edge, near present-day Highlands —
\nthe battle that won Texas independence. The county’s growth accelerated after the 1900
\nGalveston hurricane pushed shipping interests inland to Houston, and after the Houston Ship
\nChannel opened to deep-draft vessels in 1914, turning the bayou city into a major port far from
\nopen water.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

Interstate 10, Interstate 45 and Interstate 69 (US 59) all cross the county and converge in
\ndowntown Houston, along with the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) loop and the outer Grand
\nParkway (State Highway 99).<\/p>\n