Baytown, Texas

Area Profile

85,205 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Baytown, in Harris County.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 15% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,519th of 4,199 cities measured39
Schools2,888th of 4,162 cities measured35
Growth2,812th of 4,224 cities measured43
Housing affordabilityTop 35% of 4,218 cities measured72
ClimateTop 27% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilience3,345th of 4,226 cities measured25
AccessTop 47% of 4,226 cities measured93
Economic stability3,560th of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 7.7% and the Opportunity signal places Baytown in the bottom 16%.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 138 units authorized over the past twelve months, 76% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
85,205
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,910
Bottom 39% nationally
Density
2,104/sq mi
40.5 sq mi of land
Median age
34.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
EFD
16 mi · Ellington
Median home value
$197,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.7% — higher than in all but 2% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 37,689 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHarris County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$74,19753rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHarris County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$82,01967th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,2422024 ACS 5-Year$59,910Bottom 39%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5732024 ACS 5-Year$29,957Bottom 37%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.2%Bottom 26%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.5 minBottom 46%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%Bottom 34%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%59th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202637,689Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.0%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Top 32%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202640,84541st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.1%Bottom 43%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$67,610Bottom 48%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,410Bottom 36%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20267.7%Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.8%41st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/07115.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.7% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,910 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers105,810$27,570
General and Operations Managers97,320$119,600
Retail Salespersons78,960$31,340
Stockers and Order Fillers72,970$36,890
Registered Nurses65,910$99,830
Customer Service Representatives65,510$40,380

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.9 students for every full-time teacher across 28 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
29
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.9
across 28 of them
Math proficiency
46.9%
Bottom 35% in Texas
Reading proficiency
40.5%
Bottom 27% in Texas
The 12 largest of 29 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Goose Creek MemorialGOOSE CREEK CISD2,33516.135%42%
Sterling H SGOOSE CREEK CISD2,15016.762%44%
Lee H SGOOSE CREEK CISD1,74714.843%32%
E F Green Junior SchoolGOOSE CREEK CISD1,09518.9——
Gentry J HGOOSE CREEK CISD1,01316.657%47%
Cedar Bayou J HGOOSE CREEK CISD86916.156%40%
Stephen F Austin ElGOOSE CREEK CISD79216.251%41%
Banuelos ElGOOSE CREEK CISD76916.448%44%
Horace Mann J HGOOSE CREEK CISD76515.942%33%
Victoria Walker ElGOOSE CREEK CISD76316.243%46%
Jessie Lee Pumphrey ElGOOSE CREEK CISD74917.0——
Alamo ElGOOSE CREEK CISD74615.556%49%

73.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run at about the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 99.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area is up 33% over five years, and up 3.4% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,175 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,435, some 10% above the $1,307 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,435 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $57,400 a year, about 96% of the median household income here of $59,910.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,307 a month.

A median home at $197,300 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $73,076, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
99.7

Prices here run at about the national average. Where places do differ, housing drives most of it — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,435
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,307
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$197,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Baytown’s median household income of $59,910, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure202399.7Top 43%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%54th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+32.7%21st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+68.8%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year52.3%11th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,0042024 ACS 5-Year34,12599th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,205Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,930Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,435Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$392024 ACS 5-Year$1,307Bottom 27%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,2362024 ACS 5-Year$197,30053rd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2452024 ACS 5-Year$3,17575th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,2952024 ACS 5-Year$73,076Bottom 42%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.13%2024 ACS 5-Year1.61%82nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 39%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2002024 ACS 5-Year14792nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%59th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5092024 ACS 5-Year3,16199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

43/ 100
Ranks 2,812 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 1% since 2020, reaching 86,004 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 233 units authorized in 2025, 52% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 138 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Harris County, which contains Baytown, lost about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $74,197, below the $82,019 of households that moved out.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
138
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
−76%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202486k84k
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. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$74,197
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$82,019
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fort Bend County, TX 21,458 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Montgomery County, TX 13,365 people · 8.2% of arrivals
  3. Brazoria County, TX 6,317 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  4. Galveston County, TX 6,042 people · 3.7% of arrivals
  5. Travis County, TX 3,302 people · 2.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fort Bend County, TX 29,268 people · 16% of departures
  2. Montgomery County, TX 25,206 people · 14% of departures
  3. Brazoria County, TX 9,828 people · 5.4% of departures
  4. Galveston County, TX 8,050 people · 4.4% of departures
  5. Liberty County, TX 6,072 people · 3.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Harris County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025489140
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−18%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 46°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 55.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 61, in the Moderate band, and about 47 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HOUSTON HOBBY AP, 20.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year1082024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals55.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year472024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
61
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
108
90th percentile index
Days above 100
47
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

25 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 49% of it. Tornado is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingElevated
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, ice storm, heat wave, cold wave, strong wind, wildfire, hail, earthquake, coastal flooding, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
399
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,370
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Baytown's police department reported 399 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,370.

Harris County records 7.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 14.7 per 100,000 residents in Harris County.

Homicide
7.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Baytown’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Baytown (Harris County) rather than Baytown itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Ellington at 16 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year91.6%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle16 miTop 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%Top 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
EllingtonEFD16 mi9,001 ft
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH27 mi12,001 ft
Sugar Land RgnlSGR43 mi8,000 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
48
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Other cities in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
HoustonHarris County2,328,25355Houston vs Baytown
PasadenaHarris County149,43348Pasadena vs Baytown
PearlandBrazoria County127,51462Pearland vs Baytown
The WoodlandsMontgomery County121,00272
League CityGalveston County116,21572
Sugar LandFort Bend County110,01669
ConroeMontgomery County102,36065
AtascocitaHarris County99,35460
Missouri CityFort Bend County76,55857
SpringHarris County68,58053
Texas CityGalveston County55,36462
GalvestonGalveston County53,42455

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Baytown side by side with a similar place.

Baytown vs LakelandBaytown vs Tillmans Corner

Moving to Baytown from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Baytown

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Baytown with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7752169,038$73,629$231,40051
7752036,355$54,278$150,70045