Baytown is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Harris and Chambers counties. Located in the metropolitan statistical area of Greater Houston, it lies on the northern side of the Galveston Bay complex near the outlets of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou. It is the sixth-largest city within this metropolitan area and seventh largest community (including The Woodlands CDP). Major highways serving the city include State Highway 99, State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. At the 2020 U.S. census, Baytown had a population of 83,701, and it had an estimated population of 84,324 in 2022.

History

White American settlers first arrived in the now-Baytown area in 1822. One of its earliest settlers was Nathaniel Lynch, who set up a ferry crossing at the junction of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou. The still-operating ferry service is known as the Lynchburg Ferry. Other early settlers of Baytown included William Scott, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, and Ashbel Smith, who owned a plantation in the area.

The city now known as Baytown was originally three separate towns. The first of these was Goose Creek, named for the bayou of the same name where Canada geese wintered and whose name is still reflected in the area's Goose Creek school district, whose establishment dates back to before 1850. With the discovery of the Goose Creek Oil Field, the rival communities of Pelly in the late 1910s, and East Baytown in the early 1920s, developed as early boomtowns. The "East" in East Baytown was later dropped because it was west of Goose Creek.

Serious talk of merging the three cities began shortly after World War I, but the community of Baytown was opposed to this idea. However, in 1947, the three cities finally agreed to consolidate. The citizens settled on the name Baytown for the new combined city. Baytown as it is known today was officially founded January 24, 1948.

In 1916, the Humble Oil and Refining Company, founded by one-time Texas governor Ross S. Sterling and his associates, in developing the Goose Creek Oil Field, built the first offshore drilling operation in Texas and the second in the United States. The company later built the Baytown Refinery, which would become one of the largest Exxon refineries in the world. Since then, many other refineries have been built in the area. Exxon-Mobil is still one of the major employers in the city and now runs over 10 plants in the area including a newly announced 2 billion dollar expansion to its chemical facilities in 2019.

Following the discovery of oil nearby, the population of Baytown and the tri-cities boomed. Many immigrants arrived in Baytown, among them a number of Jewish families who founded a synagogue, K’nesseth Israel, in 1930.Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, "Baytown, Texas"

Steel manufacturing in Baytown began in 1970 when United States Steel opened the Texas Works near the city. The plant was officially closed in July 1986, due to a poor economic climate and the decline of American steel in the 1980s. The mill was later purchased by Jindal Steel and now operates as JSW Steel USA, Inc.

Geography

The city of Baytown is located at the mouth of the San Jacinto River on Galveston Bay, by road east of Houston. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , 2.92%, is covered by water.

Baytown is located on the Gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and marshes. The municipalities have been built on reclaimed marshes, swamps, and prairies, which are all still visible in undeveloped parts of the Galveston Bay area.Blackburn (2004), p. 40."The acreage of swamps and bottomlands ... found in the Galveston Bay system ... [is] about 36,000 acres..."Eubanks (2006), p. 10. Baytown is bordered by water on three sides. Along the south and west is Galveston Bay. On the east is Cedar Bayou. The city is roughly bordered along the north by Interstate 10. Portions of the city to the east of Cedar Bayou lie in Chambers County.

Flatness of the local terrain and proximity to the bay have made flooding a recurring problem for the area. Baytown and surrounding communities once relied on groundwater for its needs, but severe land subsidence has forced much the city to turn to ground-level water sources.

Geology The land beneath Baytown consists of layers of sand and clay to great depths. These layers were created by millennia of river-borne sediments which gradually incorporated plant and animal matter, creating the petroleum deposits for which the Gulf Coast is now known.

The region around the city has numerous faults, many considered active, but none have produced significant earthquakes in recorded history. These faults tend to move at a smooth rate in what is termed "fault creep", which reduces the risk of an earthquake. The one significant earthquake that has been reported in the area was the result of an underground water and petroleum extraction.Garcia, T.D. "Subsidence and Surface Faulting at San Jacinto Monument, Goose Creek Oil Field, and Baytown, Texas". Field Trip Guidebook on Environmental Impact of Clays along the Upper Texas Coast. Prepared by Theron D. Garcia, Douglas W. Ming, and Lisa Kay Tuck for the Clay Minerals Society, 28th Annual Meeting. Held October 5–10, 1991, in Houston, TX. pp. A33-A44. Hosted with National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Climate

Baytown's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa in Köppen climate classification system). Spring supercell thunderstorms sometimes create tornadoes (but not to the extent found in tornado alley). Prevailing winds from the south and southeast bring heat from the deserts of Mexico and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Melosi (2007), p. 13.

Summer temperatures typically have highs near though higher temperatures are not uncommon. The city's proximity to the bay and the winds that it generates moderate the area's temperatures and ease the effects of the humidity, creating a more pleasant climate than inland communities like Houston. Winters in the area are temperate with typical January high of and lows are near . Snowfall is rare. Baytown’s annual rainfall averages are around or exceed , making it one of the wetter cities of the lower 48.

Excessive ozone levels can occur due to industrial activities; nearby Houston is ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States. The industries located along the ship channel and the bay are a major cause of the pollution.

Hurricanes are a substantial concern during the fall season. Though Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula provide some shielding, Baytown still faces more danger than Houston and other inland communities, particularly because of storm surge, as well as severe land subsidence in some low-lying areas of town due to excess pumping of groundwater in the 1960s (see Brownwood subdivision) by area refineries and municipalities. Hurricanes Carla (1961), Alicia (1983), Ike (2008), and Harvey (2017) were the four most damaging hurricanes to affect Baytown.

Demographics

+Baytown city, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)33,32827,80324,13750.17%38.72%28.84%Black or African American alone (NH)8,72610,75913,65213.14%14.98%16.32%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1811802330.27%0.25%0.28%Asian alone (NH)6341,0221,4470.95%1.42%1.73%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)3224420.05%0.03%0.05%Other race alone (NH)491325260.07%0.18%0.63%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)7327262,2501.10%1.01%2.69%Hispanic or Latino (any race)22,74831,15641,41434.24%43.39%49.48%Total66,43071,80283,701100.00%100.00%100.00%

The 2020 United States census determined Baytown had a population of 83,701, up from 71,802 people at the 2010 United States census. In 2010, its population density was . There were 26,203 housing units at an average density of in 2010, and 28,802 housing units in 2019. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 83,701 people, 26,592 households, and 18,169 families residing in the city.

In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 31.8% non-Hispanic white, 17.2% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% from some other race, and 2.0% from two or more races. Approximately 47.0% of the local population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race. Of the Hispanic or Latin American population, the largest group was Mexican Americans. At the 2010 U.S. census, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 62.9% White, 15.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 14.42% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 43.4% of the population.

Of the 2010 population, 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were not families. About 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.32. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated the average family size declined to 2.83.

In 2019, Baytown's population had a distribution of 95.3 males per 100 females aged 18 and older, and 68.2 males per 100 females aged 65 and older. In 2010 the city's population was distributed as 29.2% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,191, and for a family was $45,346 in 2010, and the median income in 2019 was $57,765. Residents of Baytown had a per capita income of $26,978 in 2019, and an estimated 14.0% lived at or below the poverty line. According to 2010's census, males had a median income of $38,039 versus $25,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,641. About 13.0% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $133,900 in 2019 and the median monthly cost with a mortgage was $1,360. The median cost without a mortgage was $422. Baytown had a median gross rent of $938. In 2010 the American Community Survey determined the median owner-occupied housing unit value at $101,700.

As of 2010, the property crime rate in the community was 4.6% compared to 5.45% for Harris County as a whole. The violent crime rate was 0.5% compared to 1.03% for Harris County.

Christianity is the most prevalent religion in Baytown and the Greater Houston area. The Latin Church's Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston of the Catholic Church is the largest Christian body in the city, followed by Baptists of the Southern Baptist Convention and Texas Baptists, the Assemblies of God USA, and United Methodist Church. Other prominent religions include Judaism and Islam.

Economy