Port Neches is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, on the west bank of the Neches River in the heavily industrialized upper Gulf Coast region known as the Golden Triangle. It sits within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, between Port Arthur to the south and Groves and Nederland to the west. With a 2020 population of 13,692, it is a mid-sized Southeast Texas city whose identity is tied to the river and the industries that grew up along it. The area was long inhabited by the Karankawa and Atakapa peoples, and early Anglo settlement clustered around sites such as Smith's Bluff. Port Neches' modern history is inseparable from petroleum: beginning in the early 1900s, refineries and petrochemical plants—including long-standing Texas Company (Texaco), Sun Oil, and Union Oil operations—rose along the Neches, drawing workers and their families and transforming the town into an industrial community. Today Port Neches balances its industrial base with a strong sense of community. The Port Neches-Groves Independent School District is a focal point, and the annual Port Neches RiverFest, held each spring in the city's riverfront park, brings the region together for carnival rides, live music, and the signature "Thunder on the Neches" powerboat races. The Neches River and nearby Sabine Lake provide fishing, boating, and outdoor access. The city's residential streets, churches, and school-centered events give it a small-town feel despite its place in one of the nation's most industrialized corridors. Port Neches suits workers in the petrochemical, maritime, and energy sectors who want a close-knit, family-oriented hometown with deep roots in Southeast Texas, easy access to Port Arthur and Beaumont, and the river at the center of community life.