Pearland, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Categories: Articles with trivia sections from February 2008 | Brazoria County, Texas | Harris County, Texas | Fort Bend County, Texas | Cities in Texas | Greater Houston
Pearland is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is partially in Brazoria County, partially in Fort Bend County, and partially in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 37,640. As of 2006, Pearland is estimated to have a population of 79,322 [9]. By 2011, Pearland is expected to have 96,000 residents [10]. The city's name is pronounced "pear" land (like the fruit), not "peer-land" or "pearl-land". In 2007, Forbes Magazine ranked Pearland as the 34th fastest growing suburb in the nation. It is therefore the fastest growing suburb in the Greater Houston area, and the 10th fastest growing in the state of Texas.[11]
GeographyPearland is located at (29.554349, -95.295959)[1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.4 square miles (101.9 km²), of which, 39.3 square miles (101.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.08%) is water. DemographicsAs of the census[2] of 2000, there were 37,640 people, 13,192 households, and 10,659 families residing in the city. The population density was 957.0 people per square mile (369.5/km²). There were 13,922 housing units at an average density of 354.0/sq mi (136.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.62% White, 5.33% African American, 0.42% Native American, 3.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.12% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.22% of the population. There were 13,192 households out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.17. In the city the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $64,156, and the median income for a family was $70,748. Males had a median income of $49,359 versus $34,570 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,306. About 3.4% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over. HistoryThe area that is now Pearland had its humble beginnings near a siding switch on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in 1882. When a post office was established in 1893, the community was originally named Mark Belt. The name was changed to Pearland in November of that year because of the abundance of pear trees in the community. Pearland was promoted by some developers as an "agricultural Eden." The Galveston hurricane of 1900 destroyed most of the fruit trees and slowed growth for a considerable period of time, as well as desertificated the area. In 1914, with agriculture rebounding and the end of desertification, Pearland had a population of 400, but a devastating freeze in 1918 was another setback to the local farming enterprises. Oil was discovered nearby in 1934, though this did not spur a large amount of growth, as the population fluctuated from 150 and 350. From the 1960's the town has grown steadily to today's population. EconomyPearland does not have any major industry. The largest employers are a reflection of Pearland's suburban economy, with some businesses related to the oil industry. The largest employer is the Pearland Independent School District, employing 1800 people. The second largest employer is Wal-Mart, which operates several stores in town and employs 800 people. The H-E-B plus is the third largest employer in town employing more than 500 people. The City of Pearland is the fourth largest employer in town at 429 employees. Rounding out the top 10 are Randall's (Grocery), 250; Kemlon (Oil field services), 275; TurboCare (Turbo machinery manufacturing and repair), 175; Target Stores (Retail) 150, Tele-Flow (Heating/ventilation/air conditioning) 140, Lowe's (Building materials), 132.[2] Though formerly an agriculture-based town, Pearland is now predominantly white-collar(71%). "Professional and Related Occupations", "Sales and Services", and "Management, Business, and Financial Operations" are the three primary fields of employment (23%, 30%, and 18 respectively).2 Many residents in Pearland work in the Texas Medical Center (as Pearland has the highest percentage of TMC workers). Growth & DevelopmentCurrent Large-Scale Projects include:
EducationPrimary and secondary schoolsPublic schoolsMost of Pearland is a part of the Pearland Independent School District. Other portions of Pearland are part of Alvin Independent School District (including most of Shadow Creek Ranch), Fort Bend Independent School District (including some of Shadow Creek Ranch), Clear Creek Independent School District, and Pasadena Independent School District. The small portion in the Houston Independent School District has no residents. Since Pearland is located in several school districts, the school assignments are explained below.
Private schoolsSt. Helen Catholic School, a K-8 Roman Catholic School operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the Carden-Jackson School (http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/tx/private/8244) are located in Pearland. Colleges and universitiesThe Pearland ISD and Alvin ISD portions are served by Alvin Community College (ACC), and the Pasadena ISD portion is served by San Jacinto College. ACC operates the Pearland College Center in Pearland. Public librariesThe Pearland Library is a part of the Brazoria County Library System. A second library has been proposed in the area of the Shadow Creek Ranch master-planned community. NeighborhoodsEighty-three percent of Pearland is residential, which is the one big contributing factor to the high population. The city is home to many master-planned communities—Silverlake, Sunrise Lakes, Southern Trails, Southdown, and Shadow Creek Ranch are among the most popular master-planned communities in Brazoria County. TransportationPearland Regional Airport is located in unincorporated Brazoria County south of the Pearland city limits. Postal serviceThe United States Postal Service operates two post offices in Pearland:
Community information
Trivia
Notable People from Pearland
Sister CitiesReferences
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
