• HOUSTON - The Fourth Largest City in U.S. with 5.58 million people that live in the
   Houston MSA (2008). It is the 4th most populous city in the U.S. behind New York,
   Los Angeles and Chicago.

• The Texas Medical Center, the Largest Medical District in the World, with a Local
   Economic Impact of $15 Billion.

• 18 Fortune 500 Companies and more than 5,000 Energy-Related Firms; known as the
   Energy Capital of the Western World. Only New York City is home to more Fortune
   500 headquarters.

• If Houston were an independent nation, it would rank as the world's 30th largest
   economy.

• Houston has an unemployment rate of 7.3%, one of the lowest in the US.

• The Port of Houston ranks 1st in the United States and 10th largest port
   in the world in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo
   tonnage handled.

• Houston ranks 8th in the Nation for ‘America’s Fastest-Recovering Cities’ by
   Forbes magazine (November 2009) due to diversified industries and relatively stable
   housing give residents in Houston a measure of economic security.

• Houston has the second-lowest cost of living among American cities. The ACCRA
   Cost of Living Index shows that Houston's overall after-taxes living costs are 12
   percent below the nationwide average, largely due to housing costs that are 26
   percent below the average.

• The three-airport system served over 51 million passengers in 2006, including over
   seven million international travelers.

• The Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown MSA's Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2006 was
   $325.5 billion, slightly larger than Austria's, Poland's or Saudi Arabia's Gross
   Domestic Product (GDP).

• The Largest Rodeo in the World, the Houston Livestock Show (more than 1.8
   million visitors each year).

• More than 40 Colleges, Universities and Educational Institutions, with more than 90
   languages are spoken throughout the Houston area.

• Astronauts - Houston's Johnson Space Center Leads NASA's Efforts in Human Space    Exploration.