Harris County, Texas

Harris County is a located in the  of  within the  metropolitan area. As of 2000, the county had a population of 3.4 million (though a 2006 estimate placed the population at nearly 3.9 million), making it the most populous county in Texas and the in the United States. Its is.

Harris County is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area.

History
The county was founded on December 22, 1836 as Harrisburg County and Harrisburgh County. The name was changed to Harris County in December 1839.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,604 (1,778 ). 4,478 km² (1,729 sq mi) of it is land and 127 km² (49 sq mi) of it (2.75%) is water.

Major Highways
See for more roadways in Harris County.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families residing in the county, making it the largest county by population in Texas. The was 759/km² (1,967/sq mi). There were 1,298,130 housing units at an average density of 290/km² (751/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 58.73%, 18.49% or , 0.45% , 5.14% , 0.06% , 14.18% from , and 2.96% from two or more races. 32.93% of the population were or  of any race.

In 2006 Harris County had 3,886,207 residents. This represented 14.3% growth since 2000.

2005 saw Harris county with 37.5% of its population Latino. This represented an increase of over 120,000 in the number of Latinos in the county. 5.5% of the population was Asian. African Americans constituted 18.4% of the county's population, representing a slight decline in percentage. It however meant the total number of African-Americans in the county had risen. .

In 2000 There were 1,205,516 households out of which 37.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were living together, 13.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the county, the population was spread out with 29.00% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 19.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,598, and the median income for a family was $49,004. Males had a median income of $37,361 versus $28,941 for females. The for the county was $21,435. About 12.10% of families and 14.97% of the population were below the, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

United States Congress
List above took effect January 4, 2007.

Education
Several s serve Harris County communities.

Harris County operates its own system, the.

In addition, Houston has the, a city-controlled public library system.

The cities of, , , and have their own city-controlled libraries.

Police services
Incorporated areas operate their own police departments.

Harris County operates the, which serves unincorporated areas and supplements police forces of incorporated areas.

Harris County also has a constable for each of its eight precincts and hundreds of deputies assigned to each. They mainly serve in a patrol function, established to maintain peace in the county as well as providing security to county buildings such as court houses and district attorney's offices.

Fire services
Harris County maintains the Harris County Fire Marshall office to assist with fire investigations.

Incorporated cities operate their own fire departments; some cities share fire departments.

Fire departments serving unincorporated areas:
 * Aldine
 * Atascocita VFD
 * Champions VFD
 * Channelview VFD
 * Cloverleaf VFD
 * Community VFD (covers unincorporated southwest Harris County and unincorporated northeast Fort Bend County)
 * Crosby VFD
 * Cypress-Fairbanks VFD
 * Cypress Creek VFD and EMS
 * Easttex FD
 * Forest Bend VFD (Southeast unincorporated Harris County)
 * Huffman VFD
 * Little York VFD
 * Northwest VFD
 * Ponderosa VFD
 * Rosehill FD
 * Spring FD
 * Tri-County FD
 * West I-10 FD
 * Westfield

Political organization
The head of a Texas County, as set up in the, is the , who sits as the chair of the county's. As of 2007, this position in Harris County is held by Judge. The county is split into 4 geographical divisions called. Each precinct elects a to sit as a representative of their precinct on the commissioners court and also for the oversight of county functions in their area.

Other elected positions in Harris County include a, a , a , a , a , 8 s, a Tax Assessor-Collector, a , and every in the county except s, who are appointed by the officials of their respective cities.

Hospital services
Within Harris County, hospital services for the indigent and needy are provided by the, a separate governmental entity. Harris County Hospital District operates three hospitals:  LBJ General Hospital, Quentin Mease Community Hospital, and, as well as many clinics.

Additionally, numerous private and public hospitals operate in Harris County, including institutions in and throughout the county.

Transportation
Many areas in Harris County are served by (METRO), a public transportation agency headquartered in.

Two commercial airports, and, are located in Houston and in Harris County.

Trivia

 * Harris County receives more than any other county.
 * Harris County has sent more people to the than any other county.