As data from the 2010 Census is released for states across the country, the figures released yesterday for Texas show that Houston remains the fourth largest city in the U.S.

Buildings in downtown Houston Texas - Image by Murat Taner/Corbis

As Chicago, the country’s third-largest city, reported on Tuesday a decrease in population of over 200,000 residents, experts speculated that the booming Houston metropolis may overtake Chicago’s rank as No. 3. According to www.Forbes.com, the official tally for Houston’s population is at 2.09 million, still below Chicago with just under 2.7 million residents.

In Chicago, a high cost of living and poor job market has sent many of its residents to surrounding suburban counties. Houston’s relatively low cost of living has been a great attraction to residents throughout Texas and the rest of the country.

“If Chicago doesn’t change direction, it’s obvious Houston could overtake Chicago and become bigger sometime in the next decade,” former U.S. Census Bureau Director Steve Murdock tells SeattleTimes.NWSource.com.