Houston: From bust to boom
Houston’s history is one of boom and bust, with the last decade decidedly in the boom category, practically bursting the region’s seams in terms of population, housing and economic growth. Yet it might be the shared experiences of the region’s 7 million people that define the decade in Houston. The uncertainty of a looming national recession receded quickly in Houston as health care and energy jobs surged. New neighborhoods, to handle all those new neighbors, sprang up in every direction, adding to the diversity of places and people who could call Houston home.
It was certainly a decade of ups and downs for the region and its people, from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to the Astros’ first World Series win months later. Here are some of the changes of the past decade, as reflected in the numbers:
55
Percentage of Houstonians who identify as Hispanic or Latino in census reporting, according to estimates. That’s an increase from 43.6 percent during the decennial census and the surest sign the Bayou City is bigger and more diverse than it was at the start of 2010. The city’s population has grown by 9.5 percent to roughly 2.3 million people, and Harris County now claims 4.7 million residents.
3.5
Houston’s unemployment rate, which hit its lowest point in two decades in late 2019, after starting the decade at 8.3 percent in the throes of the Great Recession. Manufacturing employment, possibly benefiting from trade disputes and tariffs, helped fuel growth in the region. The region added 654,000 jobs from October 2009 to October 2019, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Nearly a quarter of those jobs were in professional and business services. Education and health services added roughly 105,200 over the decade.
$113.39
Peak price of oil, reached in April 2011. The boom, bust and ongoing recovery of the oil and natural gas industry dominated the decade in Houston’s business world. Horizontal drilling coupled with hydraulic fracturing unlocked massive reserves of crude oil and natural gas in shale formations across the United States. Drilling activity and employment in the sector peaked during the summer of 2014 when crude oil prices were well above $100 per barrel, but the boom didn’t last. Saudi Arabia flooded global markets with crude oil. That move sent crude oil prices plummeting to as low as $26 per barrel. The price Monday was a shade below $62.
59.2 million
Total passengers who passed through Houston’s airports in fiscal 2019, leading to some crowded jet bridges. That was a leap of 10.8 million passengers during the decade. About 47.4 million passengers traveled domestically in 2019 and 11.8 million traveled internationally, with the latter jumping more than 50 percent since 2009.
$242,005
The median house price in the Houston area, which hit an all-time high in late 2019. That’s up from a $151,000 median sales price in 2009, or $181,033 in 2019 dollars, according to Houston Multiple Listings data. There are also fewer homes on the market now. Inventory peaked in 2010 with 51,097 active listings and fell to its lowest point of the decade in 2014 with just 28,363 listings. The 12-month total that ended in October 2019 had 42,213 active listings.
50.8
Current rain total in inches for 2019, slightly above average for the decade. Of course, the city recorded an astronomical 79.7 inches in 2017, the year Hurricane Harvey drenched the area, according to National Weather Service totals.
The mean temperature was 72.2 degrees in 2019, an increase from 2009’s 70.5 degrees. The average high also ticked up by 1 degree to 81.8 degrees during that span, NWS figures show.
1.8 minutes
Increase in the average one-way commute to work or school in the Houston metro area, to 30 minutes. Over the decade, the number of people with commutes of 45 minutes or more jumped from 20 percent of workers to 22.6 percent. Over the same period, folks with a commute of less than 10 minutes dipped from 9.3 percent of workers to 8 percent.
99
Identified flash flooding, flooding and heavy-rain events in Harris County, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the decade. That is up from 66 in the previous decade, though some of the increase has to do with more targeted storm monitoring.
468
Wins so far this decade by the Rockets, making this the winningest decade in the franchise’s history, despite backto-back titles in 1994-95.
7,114
Runs scored by the Astros from 2010-2019, down from 7,648 in the previous decade. But hey, the team won its first World Series.