As the omicron variant spreads, new daily cases of COVID-19 have hit new highs in the United States. To date, 62,973,416 Americans have been infected with the virus — and 839,043 have died as a result. On a per capita basis, the U.S. has one of the highest known infections rates in the world.
In the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area, located in Texas, a total of 1,225,454 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 18,077 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 19,248 cases per 100,000 people.
The lower than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land is being driven by one area in particular.
The broader Houston metro area comprises nine counties or county equivalents — and of them, Austin County in Texas has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 4,384 infections in Austin County, or 14,828 for every 100,000 people.
Not only does Austin County have the lowest per capita infection rate in the Houston metro area, it also has a relatively low per capita fatality rate.
There have been a total of 196 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Austin County, below the 211 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Jan. 14, 2022.
These are all the counties in Texas where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).
| Rank | Geography | COVID cases per 100,000 people | Total cases | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin County, TX | 14,828 | 4,384 | 196 | 58 |
| 2 | Waller County, TX | 15,958 | 7,977 | 178 | 89 |
| 3 | Harris County, TX | 16,840 | 775,079 | 214 | 9,850 |
| 4 | Liberty County, TX | 18,215 | 14,911 | 447 | 366 |
| 5 | Fort Bend County, TX | 19,175 | 141,767 | 145 | 1,074 |
| 6 | Montgomery County, TX | 20,200 | 111,998 | 208 | 1,156 |
| 7 | Brazoria County, TX | 21,867 | 77,408 | 248 | 878 |
| 8 | Chambers County, TX | 24,799 | 9,992 | 156 | 63 |
| 9 | Galveston County, TX | 25,051 | 81,938 | 226 | 738 |
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