College Station-Bryan, TX

Metro Area Profile

278,335 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the College Station-Bryan, TX metropolitan area.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 29% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 44% of 379 published metros58
GrowthTop 1% of 821 published metros94
Housing affordability725th of 822 published metros69
ClimateTop 43% of 822 published metros69
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 822 published metros76
Access647th of 822 published metros60
Economic stability571st of 822 published metros37
The quick read

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 3,357 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 58% on the prior year.

Housing sits below most published city profiles for affordability: rent takes 24% of median household income and the median home is 4.7 times it — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing College Station-Bryan in the top 20% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
278,335
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,087
Bottom 27% nationally
Density
133/sq mi
2100.4 sq mi of land
Median age
28.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
College Station-Bryan, TX
Nearest major airport
CNW
70 mi · Tstc Waco
Median home value
$279,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% is lower than 41% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 145,379 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,900$60,087Bottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$806$34,582Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate22.7%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.9 minBottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher39.7%Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment145,379Top 42%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)5.6%Top 3%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.2%Top 35%June 2026
Labor force152,008Top 42%June 2026
Labor force participation61.9%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$57,060Bottom 27%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,470Bottom 17%2025 OEWS
Metro employment134,040Top 42%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.6%Top 17%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.4%Top 41%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.32.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — College Station-Bryan, TX
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,270$27,420
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary4,370$57,790
General and Operations Managers3,250$87,910
Retail Salespersons3,120$28,800
Registered Nurses2,950$83,090
Customer Service Representatives2,500$37,190

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,178 takes 24% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
23.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,178
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$279,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.65Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate51.1%Bottom 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±164119,017Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$17$1,178Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,361$279,700Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income23.5%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.2%Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
94/ 100
Top 1% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 7% since 2020, reaching 287,462 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 12.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
3,357
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.1
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+58%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
47.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024287k269k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 95°F and January a low of 41°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.8 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLLEGE STN, 13.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high95°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

76 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, drought and hail.

HailModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, tornado, lightning, heat wave, winter weather, strong wind, ice storm, inland flooding, wildfire, earthquake, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 70 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tstc WacoCNW70 mi8,600 ft
Austin-Bergstrom IntlAUS80 mi12,250 ft
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH87 mi12,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
69
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.