# Houston, Delaware > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Houston,_Delaware > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Houston,_Delaware.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Delaware > Source revision: 1328805294 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Houston** (/ˈhaʊstən/ HOW-stən) is a town in [Kent County, Delaware](/source/Kent_County,_Delaware), United States. It is part of the [Dover metropolitan area](/source/Dover_metropolitan_area). The population was 381 in 2020. It was named for [John W. Houston](/source/John_W._Houston).[2] The town was named after [John W. Houston](/source/John_W._Houston) who was Delaware's [Secretary of State](/source/Secretary_of_state_(U.S._state_government)) from 1841 to 1844.[3] ## History The Town was first incorporated in 1913, right before a local election was to be held. A total of five [Commissioners](/source/Commissioner) were elected for a total of a two-year term. Other positions within the town were also voted on, including a [clerk](/source/Clerk), [treasurer](/source/Treasurer), [tax collector](/source/Tax_collector), [alderman](/source/Alderman), and town [constable](/source/Constable). From then on, these elected figures would meet four times every year, to pass ordinances and rules to govern the town, including tax regulations.[3] The town's "incorporated" status was amanded various times throughout the years.[3] ## Geography According to the [United States Census Bureau](/source/United_States_Census_Bureau), the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), all land. ## Demographics At the [2000 census](/source/2000_United_States_census) there were 430 people, 151 households, and 115 families living in the town. The population density was 1,144.4 inhabitants per square mile (441.9 /km2). There were 166 housing units at an average density of 441.8 /mi2. The [racial makeup](/source/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#2000_census) of the town was 89.30% White, 8.37% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.47% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.65%.[4] Of the 151 households 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 22.5% of households were one person and 10.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.24. The age distribution was 30.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. The median household income was $39,545 and the median family income was $46,563. Males had a median income of $29,643 versus $20,208 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,919. About 1.7% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the [poverty line](/source/Poverty_line), including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over. ## Education Houston is in the [Milford School District](/source/Milford_School_District).[5] ## Infrastructure ### Transportation Front Street and School Street are the main east–west streets in Houston. Broad Street runs north–south through the center of Houston and leads north to an intersection with [Delaware Route 14](/source/Delaware_Route_14). DE 14 heads west toward [Harrington](/source/Harrington,_Delaware) and east toward [Milford](/source/Milford,_Delaware). Deep Grass Lane passes to the west of the Houston and heads south toward [Williamsville](/source/Williamsville,_Kent_County,_Delaware) and north as Killens Pond Road toward [Felton](/source/Felton,_Delaware).[6] The [Delmarva Central Railroad](/source/Delmarva_Central_Railroad)'s Indian River Subdivision line passes east–west through Houston.[7] ### Utilities [Delmarva Power](/source/Delmarva_Power), a subsidiary of [Exelon](/source/Exelon), provides electricity to Houston.[8] [Chesapeake Utilities](/source/Chesapeake_Utilities) provides natural gas to the town.[9] ## References 1. Gannett, Henry (1905). [*The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States*](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ). Govt. Print. Off. pp. [161](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n160) 1. ["Houston"](https://archives.delaware.gov/town-and-city-histories/houston/). *Delaware Public Archives - State of Delaware*. Retrieved 2025-07-24. 1. ["U.S. Census website"](https://www.census.gov). [United States Census Bureau](/source/United_States_Census_Bureau). Retrieved January 31, 2008. 1. ["2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Kent County, DE"](https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st10_de/schooldistrict_maps/c10001_kent/DC20SD_C10001.pdf). [U.S. Census Bureau](/source/U.S._Census_Bureau). Retrieved June 16, 2021. 1. ["Delmarva Central Railroad"](http://carloadexpress.com/railroads/delmarva-central-railroad/). Carload Express. November 8, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2017. 1. ["Service Territory"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140525061222/http://www.delmarva.com/connect-with-us/about-us/service-territory/). Delmarva Power. Archived from [the original](http://www.delmarva.com/connect-with-us/about-us/service-territory/) on May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2017. 1. ["Delmarva Service Territory"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170815063806/http://www.chpk.com/delmarva-service-territory/). Chesapeake Utilities. Archived from [the original](http://www.chpk.com/delmarva-service-territory/) on August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2017. ## External links - [Official website](https://houston.delaware.gov/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Houston, Delaware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Delaware) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Delaware?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.