The city of Sugar Land, Texas is located within the county of Fort Bend, that is also part of the Greater Houston Area, roughly 19 miles north east of Sugar Land. The city is situated right beside the Gulf Coast runes, the Brazos River and Oyster Creek. CNN/Money and Money Magazine ranked Sugar Land as 3rd in a list of the top 100 cities to reside in in the United States in 2006. It also ranked as the 5th safest cities in the country by CQ Press during the year 2007. Forbes.com selected Sugar Land as amongst the "Top Suburbs to Live Well" in 2008. The communities throughout the city are carefully planned and well-thought out. The type of weather throughout the year is considered as humid subtropical.
The Karankawa and Atakapa Indian tribes were the initial inhabitants to the area. The region was known for large plantations, with such cash crops such as corn, sugarcane and cotton as far back as the 1830s. The township was first named by Benjamin Terry in 1879 because of the large sugar refining plant which made up most of the economy at the time. Because of the generous amount of businesses, housing and healthcare that were offered to employees of the Imperial Sugar Company Sugar Land remained a "company town" from the years 1910 to 1959. In the year 1980, some bigger corporations began to open facilities and offices in the city allowing many inhabitants the opportunity to work near their houses. Presently, the city of Sugar Land is the center of economic activity for the county. It remains home to the headquarters of Imperial Sugar and Western Airways. Other industries that make up the economy consist of those involved with semiconductor, energy, technical services, electronics, communications, engineering and software.
Because of the city's diversity and corporate vitality, the economy of Sugar Land has remain quite stable and allowed for a high quality of life. Thus, it was ranked by both Texas Business and Outlook Magazine as amongst the "Top Cities in Texas" for relocating and expanding businesses.
Energy industries hold a really big presence in the city, in particular petroleum refining and exploration. The head office to Nalco's Energy Service division and Western Airways are both located within the city. The Imperial Sugar Company also has its headquarters situated in the city. Up until 2003, it also was the home of the companies only refinery and distribution center.
The big company Schlumberger began to move all of its offices within Houston during 1995, to a big campus in Sugar Land. One more company which moved from Houston was Minute Maid, that opened their head office on February 16, 2009, in Town Square.