Houston is the fourth most populous city in the nation (trailing only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago), and is the largest in the southern U.S. and Texas. The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston CMSA) consists of eight counties Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller. Founded in 1836, the City of Houston has a 2006 estimated population of 2.14 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — www.census.gov. The metro area’s population of 5.54 million in 2006 is 6th largest among U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, according to www.census.gov .
