Missouri City is a city located in Texas, partially in Fort Bend County and partially in Harris County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 52,913.

First started as a railroad town in the early 1900's along US-90A, Missouri City is a sprawling bedroom community of Houston, Texas. The extreme north part of the community is where the city first took shape but has since fallen in great disrepair. However, the western and eastern sections, namely the parts closest to Sugar Land and Texas Hwy 6 have seen tremendous economic growth as this growth appears to be spreading rapidly to the east. It sould be noted that unlike neighboring Houston, Texas - Missouri City has been a zoned city since 1981. Multifamily complexes e.g. apartments and condominums are a rare find because of the current zoning ordinance. Missouri City's up-scale master-planned community is known as Sienna Plantation.

It has been known as the model city for middle-class African Americans by BET in 2000; a majority are former renters from the Southwest Houston area. Somewhere in the mid-1970s, the influx of middle-class African Americans - most of them first-time homeowners - were attracted to undeveloped communities south and west of Loop 610.

Two zip codes - 77459 and 77489 coexist, where the 77489 zip code extends into a section of the City of Houston east of Fondren Road with the eastern terminus at Chimney Rock Road. Fondren Road is the current demarcation between Missouri City and Houston, Texas - since the late 1970s, communities east of Fondren Road and north of FM 2234 - including Willowridge High School - have been part of the City of Houston since late 1979. Some residents refer to this "disputed" section - a nine-square mile section of Fort Bend County as Missouri City because of the 77489 zip code; in 1998, the City of Houston Super Neighborhood Council refers to this "disputed" section as the Fort Bend-Houston Super Neighborhood #41.

Geography

Missouri City is located at 29°34'58" North, 95°32'22" West (29.582799, -95.539423)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 78.8 km² (30.4 mi²). 76.9 km² (29.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.37% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 52,913 people, 17,069 households, and 14,645 families residing in the city. The population density is 687.9/km² (1,781.7/mi²). There are 17,481 housing units at an average density of 227.3/km² (588.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 44.29% White, 38.35% African American, 0.20% Native American, 10.60% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.46% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 10.88% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 17,069 households out of which 48.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 14.2% are non-families. 11.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.09 and the average family size is 3.36.

In the city the population is spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $72,434, and the median income for a family is $77,762. Males have a median income of $51,013 versus $36,786 for females. The per capita income for the city is $27,210. 3.3% of the population and 2.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Missouri City official website (http://www.ci.mocity.tx.us/)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=29.582799&longitude=-95.539423&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=29.582799&lon=-95.539423&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-95.539423&lat=29.582799&w=750&h=500)