Houston, Mississippi

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Houston has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.^[9]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Houston had a population of 3,797.^[12] There were 1,497 households, including 917 family households.^[13]

The median age was 36.3 years. 27.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 80.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.4 males.^[13]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[14]

Among households, 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.5% were married-couple households, 15.8% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 44.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[13]

There were 1,645 housing units, of which 9.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.^[13]

2000 census

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 4,079 people, 1,589 households, and 1,088 families residing in the city. The population density was 537.4 inhabitants per square mile (207.5/km²). There were 1,721 housing units at an average density of 226.8 per square mile (87.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.89% White, 36.58% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 2.70% from other races, and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.12% of the population.

There were 1,589 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,709, and the median income for a family was $31,979. Males had a median income of $27,214 versus $22,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,482. About 22.6% of families and 21.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.

Solar car program

Houston High School's solar car program, the Sundancer/Houston Solar Race Team, has been a successful program in the Solar Car Challenge, a national high-school engineering competition founded in 1993 and sponsored by Texas Instruments, Oncor, and Lockheed Martin.

The Houston Public Schools system is home to 11-time National Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge Championships.^[21] The team won the Open Division of the competition (known through 2010 as the Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge) for 14 consecutive years, and claimed its 15th consecutive national championship in 2018.^[22]

In October 2015, the team's car, "Sundancer", became the first high school vehicle to complete and win the Adventure Class of the World Solar Challenge in Australia, a roughly 1,800-mile intercollegiate and international race, and set a World Solar Challenge single-day distance record of 252 miles.^[23] The Mississippi State Legislature commended the team in a 2016 concurrent resolution.^{[24] [25]} In April 2017, the team and "Sundancer" traveled to Washington, D.C., for the premiere of the IMAX film Dream Big: Engineering Our World, narrated by Jeff Bridges and directed by Greg MacGillivray, in which the car was featured; "Sundancer" was also displayed at the Smithsonian Institution as part of the event.^{[26] [27]}

Transportation

Houston was once served by both the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad and Okolona, Houston and Calhoun City Railway. In the early 21st century, both of these rail lines were abandoned. Sections of the former have been converted to a recreational trail.

East Washington Street in Houston