IV.

Population

Houston’s population climbed from 1,630,553 in 1990 to 1,953,631 in 2000. In 2005, its population was estimated at 2,016,582. The Houston Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area grew from 3,731,000 in 1990 to 4,670,000 in 2000.

Houston is a racially and ethnically diverse city. According to the 2000 census, whites constituted 49.3 percent of Houston’s population; blacks, 25.3 percent; Asians, 5.3 percent; Native Americans, 0.4 percent; Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, 0.1 percent; and people of mixed heritage or not reporting race, 19.6 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, represented 37.4 percent of the population.