List of mayors of Houston

The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.

Mayor of Houston
Seal of the City of Houston
Flag of the City of Houston
Incumbent John Whitmire since January 1, 2024
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, renewable once (effective 2016)
Inaugural holder	James S. Holman 1837
Formation	Houston City Charter
Salary	$236,189 (2019)
Website	Official website

Qualifications, election, and terms

To file to run for mayor, a person must be a qualified voter of the city of Houston, and have has resided in the city for at least 12 months immediately preceding the election day; to serve, the person must continue to be a qualified voter and resident.^[1] Elections for mayor are held every other odd-numbered year. To serve as mayor of Houston, a person must be a qualified voter and resident of the City.^[1] To win the election, a candidate is required to receive the majority of votes; if no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election between the top two ^[2]

Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years.^[1] Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on officeholders of no more than three terms (six years total).^[1] On November 3, 2015, voters approved Proposition 2, which extended the terms of the Mayor, City Controller and City Councilmembers to four years, while imposing a limit of two terms.

List of mayors of Houston

No.	Term	Mayor		Party affiliation
63	2024–present	John Whitmire		Democratic
62	2016–2024	Sylvester Turner		Democratic
61	2010–2016	Annise Parker		Democratic
60	2004–2010	Bill White		Democratic
59	1998–2004	Lee Brown		Democratic
58	1992–1998	Bob Lanier		Democratic
57	1982–1992	Kathy Whitmire[3]		Democratic
56	1978–1982	Jim McConn		Republican
55	1974–1978	Fred Hofheinz		Democratic
54	1964–1974	Louie Welch		Republican
53	1958–1964	Lewis Cutrer		Democratic
52	1956–1958	Oscar F. Holcombe (5th)		Democratic
51	1953–1956	Roy Hofheinz		Democratic
50	1947–1953	Oscar F. Holcombe (4th)		Democratic
49	1943–1947	Otis Massey		Democratic
48	1941–1943	Neal Pickett		Democratic
47	1939–1941	Oscar F. Holcombe (3rd)		Democratic
46	1937–1939	Richard H. Fonville
45	1933–1937	Oscar F. Holcombe (2nd)		Democratic
44	1929–1933	Walter E. Monteith
43	1921–1929	Oscar F. Holcombe		Democratic
42	1918–1921	A. Earl Amerman
41	1917–1918	Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.
40	1917	J. J. Pastoriza (died in office)
39	1913–1917	Ben Campbell
38	1905–1913	H. Baldwin Rice (2nd)
37	1904–1905	Andrew L. Jackson
36	1902–1904	O. T. Holt
35	1901–1902	John D. Woolford
34	1898–1901	Samuel H. Brashear
33	1896–1898	Horace Baldwin Rice
32	1892–1896	John T. Browne
31	1890–1892	Henry Scherffius
30	1886–1890	Daniel C. Smith
29	1880–1886	William R. Baker
28	1879–1880	Andrew Jackson Burke
27	1877–1878	James T. D. Wilson (2nd)
26	1875–1876	I. C. Lord
25	1874	James T. D. Wilson
24	1870–1873	Thomas H. Scanlan
23	1868–1870	Joseph Robert Morris
22	1867–1868	Alexander McGowan (2nd)
21	1866	Horace D. Taylor
20	1863–1865	William Anders
19	1862	Thomas W. House
18	1861	William J. Hutchins
17	1860	Thomas W. Whitmarsh
16	1859	William King
15	1858	Alexander McGowan
14	1856–1857	Cornelius Ennis
13	1855–1856	James H. Stevens
12	1853–1854	Nathan Fuller
11	1849–1852	Francis W. Moore Jr. (3rd)
10	1847–1848	Benjamin P. Buckner
9	1846	James Bailey
8	1845	William Swain
7	1844	Horace Baldwin
6	1843	Francis W. Moore Jr. (2nd)
5	1841–1842	John Day Andrews
4	1840	Charles Bigelow
3	1839	George W. Lively
2	1838–1839	Francis W. Moore Jr.
1	1837	James S. Holman

See also

• Texas portal

• Timeline of Houston