• county
  • FIPS 48201
  • Largest town: Houston

Harris County, Texas

Harris County had 5,009,302 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,707.3 square miles of land. It is the most populous of Texas's 254 county-equivalents.

Population
5,009,302
#1 of 254 in Texas · #3 in US
Area
1,707.3 sq mi
#14 of 254 in Texas · #352 in US
Density
2,934 / sq mi
#2 of 254 in Texas · #38 in US
Median household income
$72,348
#50 of 254 in Texas · #829 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Harris County within Texas. Pin: Austin.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Harris County

Harris County population, land area and income

Harris County had 5,009,302 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 1,707.3 square miles of land. It is the most populous of Texas's 254 county-equivalents. That works out to 2,934.1 people per square mile, 30.5 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Texas has 19,267 residents, so Harris County is 260.0 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $72,348 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

5,009,302

3144th1st

3rd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

1,707 sq mi

3144th1st

352nd of 3,144 (US)

Density

2,934.1 / sq mi

3144th1st

38th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$72,348

3143rd1st

829th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Texas (254)

Population

5,009,302

254th1st

1st of 254 (TX)

Land area

1,707 sq mi

254th1st

14th of 254 (TX)

Density

2,934.1 / sq mi

254th1st

2nd of 254 (TX)

Median household income

$72,348

254th1st

50th of 254 (TX)

How Harris County's population changed since 2020

Harris County gained 273,919 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 5.8%. That ranks 69th of 254 in Texas for growth. The median Texas county changed by +2.1%, and the state as a whole by +7.0%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Harris County recorded 274,840 births and 138,772 deaths, a natural change of +136,068. Net international migration added +260,290 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -118,626. The largest single component was international migration, which added 260,290 people.

4.74M20204.74M20214.81M20224.90M20235.01M2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
274,840
Deaths
138,772
Net international migration
+260,290
Net domestic migration
-118,626
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+105,852

Where Harris County is

The Census internal point of Harris County is at 29.857300, -95.393000. It sits in UTM zone 15N. The map shades Texas's 254 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Harris County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Cass County: +0.6%Jackson County: +1.9%Lipscomb County: -5.2%Hall County: +1.0%Hemphill County: -6.9%Kent County: -7.4%Dallam County: +5.4%Bandera County: +8.7%Culberson County: +3.1%Howard County: -11.4%Lavaca County: +1.2%Zavala County: -4.7%Taylor County: +3.7%Ellis County: +19.6%McLennan County: +3.5%Parker County: +20.2%Kinney County: +2.1%Uvalde County: +2.3%Haskell County: -0.0%Coke County: +2.3%Dickens County: -2.0%Colorado County: +4.0%Hansford County: -4.7%Collingsworth County: -1.2%Comanche County: +5.4%Crosby County: -1.3%Andrews County: +1.6%Atascosa County: +7.1%Brooks County: -5.0%Burnet County: +12.6%La Salle County: +0.4%Terry County: -1.6%Throckmorton County: +5.6%Yoakum County: -1.2%Hockley County: +0.0%Rockwall County: +25.5%Schleicher County: -5.8%Swisher County: -1.0%Motley County: -4.6%Hale County: -1.6%King County: -19.5%Hays County: +19.7%Irion County: +0.9%Bastrop County: +17.2%Blanco County: +16.6%Kimble County: +2.5%Dawson County: -5.7%Loving County: -28.4%Scurry County: -4.2%Sterling County: +0.2%Garza County: -20.1%Shackelford County: +1.9%Stonewall County: -0.8%Titus County: +0.8%Hopkins County: +5.3%Callahan County: +6.3%Childress County: +0.3%Lubbock County: +5.1%Dimmit County: -4.7%Donley County: -2.7%Baylor County: +2.1%Johnson County: +16.4%Glasscock County: +3.2%Sutton County: -2.6%Runnels County: -1.7%Ector County: +2.7%Kaufman County: +34.4%Jack County: +10.7%Mitchell County: -0.5%Falls County: +4.7%Castro County: +0.6%Palo Pinto County: +6.3%Limestone County: +1.9%Kerr County: +2.3%Franklin County: +5.2%Roberts County: +1.7%Young County: +2.2%Erath County: +4.2%Cochran County: +0.7%Hutchinson County: -4.2%Floyd County: -6.2%Mason County: +0.5%Parmer County: -1.9%Eastland County: +2.8%McMullen County: -5.4%Randall County: +6.5%Armstrong County: -2.3%Hamilton County: +4.8%Hartley County: -6.4%Nolan County: -3.7%Lynn County: +6.2%Menard County: -2.5%Karnes County: +2.2%Cottle County: -7.4%Winkler County: -4.8%Jeff Davis County: -10.4%Stephens County: +4.2%Bell County: +7.3%Borden County: -13.2%Madison County: +3.1%Fisher County: -0.3%Camp County: +5.9%Gillespie County: +5.2%Liberty County: +24.4%Upton County: -5.3%Waller County: +13.7%Fort Bend County: +15.6%Montgomery County: +19.9%Crockett County: -9.5%Sherman County: -0.7%Rusk County: +2.2%Wichita County: +0.3%Moore County: +2.8%Pecos County: -3.1%Webb County: +2.0%Kleberg County: -1.8%Fayette County: +4.0%Aransas County: +6.9%Presidio County: -6.9%Archer County: +7.0%Cherokee County: +5.2%Galveston County: +4.5%Comal County: +23.2%Concho County: +0.3%Jim Hogg County: -5.4%DeWitt County: +2.1%Brewster County: -0.6%Tarrant County: +5.4%Caldwell County: +14.1%Hardin County: +4.1%Fannin County: +7.4%Guadalupe County: +12.4%Clay County: +4.6%Coryell County: +3.9%Medina County: +8.9%Potter County: -3.1%Brown County: +1.5%Marion County: -1.7%Denton County: +14.3%Bee County: +0.6%Wise County: +17.9%Leon County: +5.8%Zapata County: -0.4%Coleman County: +4.0%Reagan County: -8.3%Mills County: +2.5%Reeves County: -19.0%Live Oak County: +5.5%Gaines County: +5.5%Oldham County: +3.4%Trinity County: +6.2%Williamson County: +18.2%San Saba County: -3.8%Wilson County: +10.7%Van Zandt County: +9.3%Lamar County: +2.2%Willacy County: -0.6%Brazos County: +6.4%Llano County: +8.7%Refugio County: -0.0%Martin County: -1.6%Midland County: +7.5%Wilbarger County: -3.0%Briscoe County: +5.1%Gonzales County: +1.8%Kenedy County: -5.7%Cameron County: +2.4%Gregg County: +1.9%Hidalgo County: +4.8%Hunt County: +18.4%Jefferson County: -0.9%Delta County: +8.1%Harris County: +5.8%Carson County: +0.5%Hill County: +7.8%Shelby County: +0.6%Hood County: +11.4%Grayson County: +10.6%Walker County: +9.4%McCulloch County: -1.8%Orange County: +1.6%Lee County: +5.4%Houston County: +0.6%San Jacinto County: +6.5%Robertson County: +5.3%Real County: +0.8%Red River County: +1.2%Sabine County: +1.7%Starr County: +1.1%Lamb County: -2.5%Goliad County: +2.8%El Paso County: +1.0%Wharton County: +1.1%Wheeler County: -3.1%Bexar County: +5.6%Lampasas County: +8.5%Calhoun County: -0.6%Maverick County: +1.7%Henderson County: +6.1%Freestone County: +6.2%Hardeman County: -4.0%Tom Green County: -0.1%Tyler County: +3.7%Chambers County: +19.5%Morris County: +1.8%Burleson County: +14.1%Newton County: -2.1%Upshur County: +7.3%Deaf Smith County: -0.2%Edwards County: -2.6%Bosque County: +4.2%Bowie County: -1.0%Matagorda County: +0.3%Terrell County: -4.3%Knox County: -2.9%Milam County: +5.6%Bailey County: +2.4%Nueces County: -0.1%Victoria County: +0.7%Dallas County: +1.7%Jones County: +5.9%Angelina County: +1.8%Washington County: +5.6%Gray County: -1.4%Grimes County: +13.6%Ochiltree County: -2.4%San Patricio County: +3.8%Val Verde County: +0.8%Foard County: -3.4%Frio County: +6.0%Kendall County: +16.3%Somervell County: +9.7%Panola County: +2.3%Nacogdoches County: +1.7%Ward County: -5.5%Wood County: +8.2%Montague County: +9.2%Duval County: -2.3%Navarro County: +6.9%Anderson County: +2.7%Jim Wells County: -0.0%Cooke County: +6.0%Rains County: +9.3%Austin County: +8.0%Brazoria County: +10.6%Polk County: +7.4%Travis County: +5.2%Collin County: +16.6%San Augustine County: -2.0%Harrison County: +3.7%Smith County: +6.4%Hudspeth County: +13.0%Crane County: -1.7%Jasper County: -0.0%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.0%
  2. < +0.8%
  3. < +3.7%
  4. < +6.9%
  5. ≥ +6.9%
no data

Orange pin: Harris County internal point. Dark pin: Austin.

Internal point

Decimal
29.857300, -95.393000
DMS
29°51'26.28"N 95°23'34.80"W
UTM
15N 268837.1E 3305377.3N
Geohash
9vk1v72gm
Plus code
76X6VJ44+WQ

Towns in Harris County

32 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Harris County, 2,855,358 people together, or 57% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Harris County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Houston with 2,339,948.

  1. 01Houston (part)2,339,948
  2. 02Pasadena149,617
  3. 03Baytown (part)80,964
  4. 04La Porte38,046
  5. 05Deer Park34,495
  6. 06Bellaire17,439
  7. 07Humble16,561
  8. 08South Houston16,146
  9. 09Tomball15,152
  10. 10West University Place15,149
  11. 11Katy (part)14,755
  12. 12Seabrook13,976
  13. 13Webster12,548
  14. 14Friendswood (part)10,607
  15. 15Galena Park10,438
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Harris County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Harris County. The most populous is Fort Bend County, TX, with 958,434 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Austin and the nearest big city

Austin is 143.3 miles WNW of Harris County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Houston, TX (population 2,390,125), 5.0 miles away.

Harris County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Harris County is 48201: state code 48 for Texas plus county code 201. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $72,348.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Harris County, Texas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 5,009,302. That is up 273,919 people (5.8%) from the July 2020 estimate of 4,735,383.

What is the FIPS code of Harris County?

48201. The first two digits (48) are Texas; the last three (201) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Harris County?

Houston, with 2,339,948 residents inside Harris County in 2024 (2,390,125 across all 3 counties it spans).

Which counties border Harris County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Fort Bend County, TX; Montgomery County, TX; Brazoria County, TX; Galveston County, TX; Liberty County, TX; Waller County, TX; Chambers County, TX.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.