of Gulfton was about 75.9. Of the residents, 95% rented their residences. Rose-Ann Aragon of
KPRC-TV wrote that "The culture of the neighborhood is rich but it’s dwindling in economic wealth."
2000s By 2005, 60% of Gulfton residents were not native born and represented citizenship from forty-two countries. Many residents were
illegal immigrants. More than 20% of the households did not own cars. Starting in the mid-1980s, the Gulfton population experienced increases in female and children populations. Peg Purser, an urban planner who directed a 1991
University of Houston Center for Public Policy study commissioned by the
Houston Chronicle, identified that the Hispanic population growth in the Gulfton area was almost entirely from Central American countries. According to the study, between the 1980 and 1990 U.S. Censuses, Hispanic population density increased by 3,500 persons per square mile. Between 1990 and 2000, the population of the area within the Gulfton Super Neighborhood increased by 13,347, from 33,022 residents to 46,369 residents or 40%. The 2000
census identifies Gulfton as a "hard to enumerate" tract with the densest neighborhood in the City of Houston, estimated at 45,000 people in approximately . Some community leaders believed that the actual population was closer to 70,000. In a 2006 National Center for School Engagement report, Susana Herrera, the program coordinator for Houston's Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, indicated that social service agencies and government officials estimated Gulfton's population to be 60,000, with 20,000 juveniles. Under-representation in the census was likely as many of the area's immigrants, especially those residing in the country illegally, may have been distrustful of the government's attempt to obtain personal information. Jaime de la Isla, the assistant superintendent of the
Houston Independent School District, said in 2000 that it was possible that the district lost significant amounts of money because residents of Gulfton were not counted in the
1990 United States census, and that the district receives federal funds for bilingual programs, free and reduced lunch, and special education based on numbers in the U.S. census. Steve Murdock, a demographer for the state of Texas, said that "[t]he major problem in an undercount is not an immigration issue. It's always difficult to count any population that is highly mobile, poor and living in a diversity of households." , 31% of residents in Gulfton had an annual income of less than $15,000 ($ in today's money). By January 30, 2007, some 45% of the families included small children. By that same date, many Gulfton families earned less than $25,000
U.S. dollars ($ in today's money) per year and were dependent on public assistance. By 2006, the median family income in Gulfton was $18,733 ($ in today's money) or 30% less than the city of Houston's median income level. By 2000, many Gulfton residents had recently immigrated from Mexico or other
Latin American countries. In 2000 the super neighborhood reported a population of 46,369 people, of whom 34,410 (74%) were
Hispanic, 5,029 were
white, 4,047 were black, 2,081 were Asian, 61 were
Native American, 13 were Native Hawaiian, and 97 were of other races and were not Hispanic. 631 were of two or more races. , Gulfton has citizens of 82 countries, and 16 languages are spoken in the community. Gulfton had a density of 16,000 people per square mile, while as a whole the area within the
610 Loop has a density of 3,800 people per square mile. Of the 32,298 reported residents older than 18, 22,941 (71%) were Hispanic, 4,064 were non-Hispanic white, 2,980 were black, 1,715 were Asian, 38 were Native American, 10 were Native Hawaiian, and 65 were of other races and were not Hispanic. 485 were of two or more races. The super neighborhood contained 17,467 housing units, with 15,659 occupied units, 14,865 rental units, and 794 owner units. Super Neighborhood #27 had 9,930 families with 36,019 individuals counted in the census. The super neighborhood's average family size was 3.63, compared with a city average of 3.39. The St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities 2007 Community Health Report on Gulfton, which includes some areas north of Gulfton, notes the U.S. Census reported the area to have 60,637 people in 2000. Since 1990, that area's population has increased by 16,000 people (over 26%) and the area's Hispanic population increased by nearly 16%. In a twenty-year span ending in 2000, the non-Hispanic
white population decreased by 50%. In 1980 only about 15% of the area population consisted of children, by 2000 that had risen to nearly 30% of the population. == Government ==