Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas. The metropolitan area is colloquially referred to as "Greater Houston" and is situated in Southeast Texas—west of the Golden Triangle.

Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 5.7 million as of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate. The population of the metropolitan area is centered in the city of Houston—the largest economic and cultural center of the American South with a population of 2.2 million.

Houston is among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. The area grew 25.2 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses—adding more than 950,000 people—while the nation's population increased 13.2 percent over the same period. From 2000 to 2007, the area grew by 912,994 people. From 2000 to 2030, the metropolitan area is projected by Woods & Poole Economics to rank fifth in the nation in population growth—adding 2.66 million people.