BRF · MISSION BRIEFING · CHECKED SEPTEMBER 2026

Know before you go.

The practical side of Houston: how to get in from the airport, how to get around a city built for cars, what the weather is really like, what the tax adds, and how not to get caught by a flash flood.

Population, city2,397,315
Population, metro7,904,627 in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area
AreaAbout 641 square miles of land plus 31 square miles of water, roughly 672 square miles in all
LanguagesAt least 145 languages are spoken by city residents, and 90 nations have consular representation
FoundedAugust 30, 1836, by brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen on Buffalo Bayou
ElevationAbout 50 feet at City Hall downtown
Port HoustonNo. 1 US port for foreign waterborne tonnage
Texas Medical CenterCalls itself the largest medical complex in the world: about 10 million patient encounters a year, more than 120,000 employees, 54 million developed square feet, and a baby born about every 20 minutes

01 · ARRIVE

Two airports, two different trips.

Houston has two major airports. Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is north of downtown and is a United Airlines hub; Hobby (HOU) is closer, southeast of downtown, and is dominated by Southwest Airlines. METRO's 500 Downtown Direct bus now links both airports with downtown for $4.50.

IAH

George Bush Intercontinental Airport

22.5 MILES TO DOWNTOWN BY ROAD

Drive: About 35 minutes without traffic; allow an hour or more at rush hour
Airlines: One of United Airlines' largest hubs; five terminals, A through E, with 116 gates linked by an automated people mover
Taxi: Taxis load outside baggage claim on the Arrivals Level at doors A-115, C-105 and E-103. Fares follow a posted zone map, plus a $2.75 departure fee and a $1 late-night surcharge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; seniors get 10 percent off.
Rideshare: Uber and Lyft pick up at Terminal A west side door A-114, Terminal C south side doors C-103 and C-104, and Terminal E west side, Level 2, Zone 5. Terminal B passengers walk to A or C.
Bus: 500 Downtown Direct: $4.50 one way ($2.25 discounted). About 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Every 30 minutes
Bus: 102 Bush IAH: $1.25 local fare ($0.60 discounted). Before 5 a.m. to after midnight daily. Every 15 minutes weekdays, every 30 minutes weekends

HOU

William P. Hobby Airport

13.2 MILES TO DOWNTOWN BY ROAD

Drive: About 25 minutes without traffic
Airlines: An operating base for Southwest Airlines, which carried about 94.6 percent of passengers; also Delta, American Eagle, JSX, Allegiant and Sun Country. Southwest flies internationally from HOU to Mexico, Central America and South America.
Taxi: Taxis load at Curb Zone 2 outside baggage claim. The airport lists approximate fares before tip of $29 to downtown, $35 to the Medical Center or NRG Park, $41 to the NASA Space Center area, $59 to the Galleria and $76 to IAH, plus a $1.25 departure fee and $1 late-night surcharge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Rideshare: Uber, Lyft and other ride apps pick up at Curb Zone 5 on the Arrivals Level.
Bus: 500 Downtown Direct: $4.50 one way ($2.25 discounted). About 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Every 30 minutes (METRO's Hobby page says every 15 to 30 minutes)
Bus: 40 Telephone/Heights, 50, 73 and 88 Sagemont: $1.25 local fare. Varies by route. Every 12 to 30 minutes depending on route

02 · GET AROUND

A car city with a rail spine.

Three light rail lines meet downtown. The Red Line is the one most visitors use.

Red Line Northline Transit Center/HCC to Fannin South Park & Ride. Near Northside, downtown, Midtown, the Museum District, Hermann Park and the Houston Zoo, the Texas Medical Center and NRG Park. About every 6 minutes weekdays, 12 minutes weekends
Green Line Theater District to Magnolia Park Transit Center. Downtown, the Theater District, EaDo and the Second Ward and East End. About every 12 minutes weekdays, 18 minutes weekends
Purple Line Theater District to Palm Center Transit Center. Downtown, the Theater District, EaDo and the Third Ward near the University of Houston and Texas Southern. About every 12 minutes weekdays, 18 minutes weekends

Fares. $1.25 regular; $0.60 discounted for eligible students, seniors 65 to 69 and people with disabilities The Q Card is gone. METRO launched the RideMETRO fare system in January 2026 and ended Q cards on April 4, 2026. Tap a RideMETRO card (physical cards cost $2), the virtual card in the RideMETRO app, a contactless credit or debit card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay; ticket machines sell paper tickets, and exact cash works on buses.

The tunnels. Downtown's climate-controlled pedestrian tunnel system runs about six miles and links about 95 city blocks roughly 20 feet below the street, connecting office towers, hotels, food courts and shops. Normally weekdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Built for office workers, it largely shuts down after business hours and on weekends; do not plan a Saturday around it. Go at weekday lunchtime when the food courts are open. Access is usually from the lobbies of connected buildings, and each building controls its own hours.

Driving. Houston is built for cars, and three rings organize it: the 610 Loop around the urban core, Beltway 8 (the Sam Houston Tollway) farther out, and the Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) on the far edge of the metro. Radial freeways such as I-45, I-10, I-69/US-59 and US-290 run through them. Many Houston toll roads are cashless. Harris County's EZ TAG works statewide and is interoperable with TxTag, TollTag, K-Tag and PikePass. Rental cars usually carry the rental company's own toll program, so ask at the counter. The Tomball Tollway has no cash or pay-by-mail option at all; drivers without a tag elsewhere may be billed later with fees. Expect heavy traffic on weekday mornings and late afternoons, especially on I-45, I-10, I-69 and the 610 Loop.

Rideshare. Uber and Lyft cover the whole metro and are the easiest way to hop between neighborhoods that rail does not reach, like Uptown, the Heights and Asiatown.

Bikes. Houston currently has no citywide bike share. Houston BCycle shut down on June 30, 2024 after 12 years, and METRO shelved its planned replacement in September 2024. Bring or rent a bike from a local shop if you want to ride the bayou trails.

Parking. Most attractions have paid lots or garages, and downtown relies on garages and metered street parking. Read every street sign, avoid parking in flood-prone underpasses when storms threaten, and use rail for the Museum District, Medical Center and game days.

METRORAIL · RED, GREEN AND PURPLE LINES · DIAGRAM, NOT TO SCALE

03 · WEATHER

Humid all year, glorious in spring and fall.

March, April, October and November bring highs from the mid-70s to low 80s. December to February are mild with cool nights. June through September is hot and humid, with average highs of 90 to 95 degrees.

AVERAGE HIGH AND LOW °F, RAIN IN INCHES BELOW · HOUSTON INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT (IAH), NOAA 1991 TO 2020 MONTHLY NORMALS · BEST MONTHS IN GREEN

Humidity. Humid year round: mean relative humidity runs about 73 to 77 percent every month, which is why summer highs in the 90s feel hotter than they read.

Hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Its statistical peak is September 10, with most activity from mid-August to mid-October.

Heat. From June through September, plan outdoor time for early morning or evening, drink water before you're thirsty, wear light clothing and sunscreen, and never leave a person or pet in a parked car. Heat exhaustion can turn into heat stroke, a medical emergency; call 911.

04 · MONEY AND MANNERS

What the bill will really say.

8.25%

SALES TAX

6.25 percent Texas state tax plus 2 percent local (1 percent city of Houston and 1 percent METRO), the maximum combined rate allowed in Texas

17%

HOTEL TAX

6 percent state, 7 percent City of Houston, 2 percent Harris County and 2 percent Harris County-Houston Sports Authority

18 to 20%

TIP AT A SIT-DOWN RESTAURANT

Standard American tipping applies: 18 to 20 percent at sit-down restaurants, $1 to $2 per drink at a bar, 15 to 20 percent for taxis and rideshares, and a few dollars per bag for hotel porters. Counter service tip jars are optional.

Alcohol. Drinking age 21. Bars and restaurants may serve until 2 a.m. with a late-hours certificate, which Houston allows; on Sunday, drinks may be served from 10 a.m. with food and from noon without it. Package (liquor) stores may sell 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and are closed all day Sunday, plus New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Open containers. Texas bans open containers of alcohol in the passenger area of a vehicle. Houston also bans drinking in public within the downtown Central Business District.

Smoking. Houston's smoke-free ordinance, passed in 2007 and expanded in March 2022 to cover e-cigarettes and vaping, bans smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants, within 25 feet of building entrances, in outdoor seating areas at arenas, and at covered bus and light rail stops. Violations can bring fines up to $2,000. Smoking is also banned anywhere on the Galveston ferry, including inside your car.

05 · STAY SAFE

Turn around, don't drown.

Houston is a big, spread-out city, and ordinary big-city sense covers most of it: lock the car and keep valuables out of sight, stay on well-lit, busy streets at night, and use rideshare after late nights out. The bigger hazards here are weather and water.

Flooding. Houston floods fast in heavy rain, and underpasses and low roads can fill in minutes. Turn Around, Don't Drown: just 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and 2 feet can carry away SUVs and trucks. More than half of flood drownings happen when a vehicle is driven into floodwater. Check Houston TranStar for road conditions and closures, and watch National Weather Service Houston/Galveston warnings when storms roll in.

Hurricanes. If you visit between June and November, watch the National Hurricane Center forecasts and follow local official guidance if a storm approaches. Wildlife. At state parks, keep 30 feet from alligators and never feed them.

911Emergency (police, fire, ambulance)
(713) 884-3131Houston Police non-emergency
Dial 311 in Houston, or (713) 837-0311Houston 311 city services