Houston, Alaska

Houston is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located roughly 33 miles from downtown Anchorage "as the crow flies", although it is a 58-mile drive by car between the two points. The population was 1,912 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Houston is located at 61°36′30″N 149°46′25″W / 61.60833°N 149.77361°W / 61.60833; -149.77361 (61.608309, -149.773719).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.5 square miles (61 km²), of which, 22.4 square miles (58 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (4.89%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	69		—
1980	370		436.2%
1990	697		88.4%
2000	1,202		72.5%
2010	1,910		58.9%
Est. 2015	2,206	^[4]	15.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 1,202 people, 445 households, and 292 families residing in the city. The population density was 53.7 people per square mile (20.7/km²). There were 581 housing units at an average density of 25.9 per square mile (10.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.03% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 8.24% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 5.49% from two or more races. 2.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 445 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the age distribution of the population shows 30.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,615, and the median income for a family was $46,818. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $30,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,213. About 13.1% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

Houston Siding was first listed on a blueprint map of the Alaska Railroad in 1917. Houston was incorporated as a fourth-class city in 1966. It remained an incorporated city after Alaska overhauled its local government structure in 1972, which saw the elimination of the fourth-class city designation and the dissolution of many cities so incorporated.

Also in 1972, George Boney, the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court and at the time the youngest chief justice of any U.S. state supreme court, died in Houston (at Cheri Lake) in a boating accident which resulted in drowning.

In June 1996, a wildfire, known as the Miller's Reach fire, covered more than 37,500 acres (15,176 ha) in Houston and adjacent Big Lake. Property losses included 433 buildings and homes valued at $8.9 million.

Notable people

Medal of Honor recipient James Bondsteel lived in Houston until his death in 1987.

References

↑ 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League/Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. January 1996. p. 68.
↑ 2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League. 2015. p. 74.
↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

Municipalities and communities of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States

Borough seat: Palmer

Cities	Houston Palmer Wasilla

CDPs	Big Lake Buffalo Soapstone Butte Chase Chickaloon Eureka Roadhouse Farm Loop Fishhook Gateway Glacier View Knik-Fairview Knik River Lake Louise Lakes Lazy Mountain Meadow Lakes Petersville Point MacKenzie Skwentna Susitna Susitna North Sutton-Alpine Talkeetna Tanaina Trapper Creek Willow

Unincorporated communities	Alexander Creek Curry Dinglishna Hills

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