Welcome to Houston ...
The city of Houston is located in Houston County<1>.
The location of Houston has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Houston, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
When the people of Houston refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Houstonian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Houston has a population of 973 people<4> (see below for details).
Houston is 690 feet [210 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Houston lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Houston: (507)
The ZIP code for Houston: 55943<6>
Websites for Houston ...
Official Website: www.houston.govoffice.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Houston had an population of 973 people. This is a decrease of 0.61% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 4.61% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Houston had a population of 979 people (or 5.15% of the total population of Houston County). This makes Houston the county's 4th most populous community.
The population of Houston represents 0.02% of the total population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 368th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 979 people, the population of Houston decreased 4.02% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,020 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Houston.
Communities Also Named Houston ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 28 communities that are also named Houston - they are located in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, British Columbia, California (2), Colorado, Delaware (2), Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi (2), Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina (2), Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Houston.
Communities near Houston ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Houston.
- La Crosse
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Onalaska
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast) - La Crescent
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Crescent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crescent
- La Crescent is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,037 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Crescent <7>
- Caledonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Caledonia is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,754 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caledonia <7>
- Rushford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushford
- Rushford is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,695 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rushford <7>
- Trempealeau
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trempealeau have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
- Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Spring Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Spring Grove is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Grove <7>
- Rushford Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushford Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushford Village
- Rushford Village is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
- Stoddard
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Mabel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Mabel is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabel <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Houston. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Houston.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Houston. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Houston.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Houston. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Houston.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Houston ...
Looking for more information about Houston? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Houston, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Houston.
Adding Houston to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Houston in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Houston was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Houston post office opened in 1856.
We also found Houston in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Houston.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Houston: www.houston.govoffice.com/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Houston, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Houston refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Houston may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Houston. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Houston - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Houston). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Houston or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |