Race and Ethnicity

Houston’s Black, Asian, and Hispanic populations have grown substantially over the past 10 years, while the white population has stagnated. The region has also seen a surge in residents identifying as being of more than one race.

Hispanics now comprise the largest racial/ethnic community in the region. However, no single group constitutes a majority of Houston’s population. It’s been that way since the late ’90s.

The demographic shifts which began here 20 years ago have started to filter through to the rest of the nation. Houston today resembles what the U.S.  will look like 40 years from now.

Foreign-Born Population

Individuals born outside the U.S. represent a larger share of the region’s population than they did a decade ago—22.3 percent in ’12 versus 23.9 percent today. By comparison, the foreign-born population for the nation was 13.9 percent in ’22, up marginally from 13.0 percent in ’12.

Houston’s foreign-born population grew by 370,000 residents over the decade. International migration accounted for about one-third of the region’s gains. Our foreign-born population now exceeds the total population of metros like Jacksonville, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; Milwaukee, Wis.; or Oklahoma City, Okla.

Well over half (61.2 percent) of Houston’s foreign-born residents came from Latin America, 25.9 percent came from Asia, 6.8 percent from Africa, 4.9 percent from Europe, 1.0 percent from North America, and 0.2 percent from Oceania.

Nearly two-thirds (62.6 percent) of Houston’s foreign-born entered the U.S. prior to ’10 while the remainder (37.4 percent) entered after ’10.

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Note: The geographic area referred to in this publication as “Houston,” "Houston Area” and “Metro Houston” is the nine-county Census designated metropolitan statistical area of Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX. The nine counties are: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller.