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We present measurements of organic aerosol (OA) in urban plumes from Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth as well as in industrial plumes in the Houston area during TexAQS‐2006. Consistent with the TexAQS‐2000 study, measurements show greater amount of aerosol mass downwind of the industrial centers compared to urban areas. This is likely due to higher emission and processing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the industrial sources along the Houston ship channel. Comparisons of the current measurements with observations from the northeastern (NE) United States indicate that the observed ratios of the enhancement above background in OA, ΔOA, to the enhancement above background in CO, ΔCO, downwind of urban centers of Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth are within a factor of 2 of the same values in plumes from urban areas in the NE United States. In the ship channel plumes, ΔOA/ΔCO …