1. Houston ranks 2^nd in hosting Fortune 500 Companies

Houston is headquarter to some 26 top corporates in the United States. This city ranks second after New York City, which is headquarter to 72 Fortune 500 Companies. Houston is well ahead of cities such as Washington D.C and Dallas with most Fortune 500 corporates in Houston dealing in gas and oil.

 2. 4^th Populous city in the United States

Houston comes fourth in terms of population in the U.S after New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. It is the largest city in Texas State as well as the southern United States region. As of 2010, the population of this city stood at 2.1 million people compared to a population 2396 people in 1850.

 3. A City Founded in 1836

Houston city was founded in 1836 by two brothers, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen. The city’s founding place was the land close to the banks of the Buffalo Bayou River.

 4. Home to the Biggest Medical Center Globally

The largest medical center in the globe, the Texas Medical Center is found in Houston. This Medical Center has 21 hospitals, 50 related not-for-profit organizations and 8 research and academic institutions. Texas Medical Center is the biggest single employer found in Houston. One of its affiliate institutions is the University of Texas, Anderson Cancer Center, a global top cancer research and treatment hospital. The Texas Medical Center is bigger than downtown Dallas.

 5. A Center of Lucrative Energy Industry

Houston city is the center of the petrochemical industry that is located near Latin America as well as the Texas oil fields. Houston’s energy sector focus on gas and oil provides approximately 3.4 percent of the jobs in the city according to 2013 statistics. Houston is also among cities that have the youngest population in the U.S.

 6. Home to the Johnson Space Center

The Lyndon Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, Texas. Houston is home to America’s astronaut corps where international astronauts are also trained in order to launch into space. The Space center serves as a research center, a mission control for all manned spaceflight explorations and is a significant employer.

 7. Houston would the 30^th Largest Global Economy if it was a Country

Houston would be the 30^th largest economy in the world is it was an independent country. According to 2010’s 3^rd Quarter ACCRA Index on Cost of Living, the general after tax living costs in Houston are about 9 percent below the national average largely because of the costs of housing that are about 21 percent below the average costs.

 8. Over 11000 Restaurants

Houston is a city that boasts of over 11000 restaurants which means that Houstonians enjoy eating out more than people residing in other cities. Restaurants in the city of Houston range from upscale, award-winning restaurants to the unforgettable deli shops. Over 90 languages are spoken in Houston and it is the city with the 3^rd largest Mexican and third-largest Hispanic populations in the U.S.

 9. Over 500 Visual, Cultural and Performing Arts Organizations

Houston’s Theater District is only second to New York City’s in terms of its seat concentration in a single geographical area. The Theater District is found in downtown Houston with a sitting capacity of over 12000. The theater hosts 8 performing art organizations each year. Houston is also home to over 500 performing arts, visual and cultural organizations. 90 of these organizations are devoted to minority and multicultural arts. Houston is among the 5 cities across the U.S that offers resident companies in each major performing art all year round.

 10. Home to Rodeo

Houston hosts the Rodeo and the Houston Livestock Show, the biggest livestock show in the world. The Rodeo Show attracts over 2.2 million visitors every year.