Houston (/ˈhjuːstən/ ⓘ; HEW-stən) is the most populous city in Texas and in the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the sixth-most populous city in North America. With a population of 2,302,878 in 2022, Houston is located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico; it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.