The city of Houston covers 581 square miles and lies 50 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico on a flat coastal plain. Greater Houston (Houston and its suburbs) covers about 1,900 square miles, making it the fourth largest city in the U.S. It is peaceful and green, with luxurious, wooded areas. Houston has a mild, sunny climate year-round. The temperature averages 83ºF in the summer with humid Gulf Breezes. (Days can be warmer). The winters are relatively mild and comfortable. Houston only has about 20 days a year with low temperatures near freezing. The rest of the winter is cool and comfortable, averaging 56ºF.
     
    • 23 companies on the Forbes 500 list
    • 4 companies of the 10 fastest- growing companies on the Fortune 500 list
    • 3,588 foreign-owned companies
    • 69 foreign government consular offices
    		 Houston, Texas
    Two million people from many different cultures live in Houston, and more than 3.7 million live in the 7-county metropolitan region. Houston is the fourth largest city and has the tenth largest metropolitan area among cities in the U.S. Houston's booming economy relies on the energy, petrochemical, medicine and space industries. More than 1.63 million people are employed in the Houston region. The following statistics were taken from 1993 as an example of Houston's business community:

    Houston is home to the third-largest concentration of working artists in the U.S. and over 500 arts organizations. Houston has 500 parks encompassing over 40,000 acres. There are 38 miles of bike trails. Houston has the largest medical center in the world. It is an academic center of the Southwest with over 230,000 students in local universities, colleges, and institutions.

    City of Houston

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