City Characteristics

City Characteristics - Sugar Land Overview - Population History - Census 2000

Founded as a sugar plantation in the mid 1800s and incorporated in 1959, Sugar Land is located in Fort Bend County, 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston. Sugar Land is a full-service municipality providing police and fire protection, water/wastewater utilities, solid waste collection, curbside recycling, a regional airport, parks and recreation, public works, planning/zoning and other services.

Census 2000 figures ranked Sugar Land #1 in growth in the Houston metro area and #1 among the state's 45 largest cities. The City's population jumped from 24,529 in 1990 to 63,328 in 2000 - a 158 percent increase. By race, the City's breakdown is 60.84 percent, White; 23.75 percent, Asian; 7.98 percent, Hispanic or Latino; and 5.12 percent, Black or African American.

Estimated January 2009 Population: 79,573

Form of Government: Council/Manager

Property Tax Base: $8.61 Billion

City Employees: 641

Professional Firefighters: 100

Sworn Police Officers: 146

2008-2009 Fiscal Year Annual Budget: $169.74 million

2008-2009 Property Tax Rate: 30 cents

Total Households: 22,374 (as of 9/30/08)

Average Residential Value: $262,019

Developed Land-Use Mix: 70.8% Residential/15.6% Commercial/13.5% Industrial

Bond Ratings: Moody's, Aa; S&P, AA; Fitch, AA+