College Station, Texas

Area Profile

124,570 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for College Station, in Brazos County.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 17% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 45% of 4,199 cities measured58
SchoolsTop 17% of 4,162 cities measured76
GrowthTop 1% of 4,224 cities measured88
Housing affordability3,030th of 4,218 cities measured55
Climate2,377th of 4,225 cities measured69
Physical resilienceTop 26% of 4,226 cities measured79
Access3,964th of 4,226 cities measured60
Economic stability2,465th of 4,226 cities measured53
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $50,900, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 61% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 17% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,881 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 66% on 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
124,570
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$50,900
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
2,435/sq mi
51.2 sq mi of land
Median age
22.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
IAH
70 mi · George Bush Intcntl/Houston
Median home value
$346,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 40% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.1% over the past year, to 66,357 employed residents.

57% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $50,900 is lower than in 76% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsBrazos County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$62,97332nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftBrazos County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$62,72430th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,4002024 ACS 5-Year$50,900Bottom 24%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2862024 ACS 5-Year$31,948Bottom 44%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%Bottom 46%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.9 minTop 14%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year56.5%Top 8%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.5%27th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202666,357Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+5.9%Top 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Top 33%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202669,54952nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%Top 28%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCollege Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$57,060Bottom 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCollege Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,470Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year12.2%68th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.62.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% 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

202120222023202452k50k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $50,900 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 — 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

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.

61% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.8 students for every full-time teacher across 23 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.8
across 23 of them
Math proficiency
60.9%
Top 20% in Texas
Reading proficiency
55.8%
Top 21% in Texas
The 12 largest of 24 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
College Station H SCOLLEGE STATION ISD2,22616.083%67%
A & M Cons H SCOLLEGE STATION ISD2,16616.254%60%
Wellborn MiddleCOLLEGE STATION ISD84314.863%61%
Iltexas College Station El · charterINTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF TEXAS (ILTEXAS)79914.347%45%
Pecan Trail IntCOLLEGE STATION ISD77917.370%57%
Oakwood IntCOLLEGE STATION ISD72915.860%47%
Spring Creek ElCOLLEGE STATION ISD69616.259%48%
A & M Consolidated MiddleCOLLEGE STATION ISD68114.861%58%
Southwood Valley ElCOLLEGE STATION ISD65614.342%42%
Pebble Creek ElCOLLEGE STATION ISD62815.772%72%
College Hills ElCOLLEGE STATION ISD60015.438%36%
College Station MiddleCOLLEGE STATION ISD58213.565%60%

40.8% 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 about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.3, 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 College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area is up 42% over five years, but down 2.2% 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 $5,730 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.65% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,186, close to the $1,194 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,186 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,400 a year, about 93% of the median household income here of $50,900.

The typical renter household here spends 39% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,194 a month.

A median home at $346,700 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $117,905, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.3

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the College Station-Bryan, 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
39.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,186
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,194
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$346,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against College Station’s median household income of $50,900, 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 College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure202391.3Top 10%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2−2.2%1st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+42.4%48th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+80.8%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 36%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year35.4%3rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6962024 ACS 5-Year51,49499th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,082Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,649Top 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,186Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$232024 ACS 5-Year$1,194Bottom 32%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,5302024 ACS 5-Year$346,70077th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2262024 ACS 5-Year$5,73092nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,5982024 ACS 5-Year$117,905Top 16%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year1.65%84th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year39.4%Bottom 12%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2382024 ACS 5-Year58297th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%60th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6212024 ACS 5-Year5,28099th 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

88/ 100
Top 1% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of 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 6% since 2020, reaching 128,023 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 128,023 residents in 2024, up 0.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

61% of the 1,881 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Brazos County, which contains College Station, lost about 0.2% 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 $62,973, close to the $62,724 of households that moved out.

At 15.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,881
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
15.1
Top 5% nationally
Year over year
+66%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
61.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024128k121k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
30%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$62,973
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,724
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Harris County, TX 1,243 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. Montgomery County, TX 421 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  3. Travis County, TX 384 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  4. Burleson County, TX 365 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. Robertson County, TX 355 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Harris County, TX 1,394 people · 11% of departures
  2. Grimes County, TX 571 people · 4.6% of departures
  3. Travis County, TX 498 people · 4.0% of departures
  4. Montgomery County, TX 465 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Robertson County, TX 448 people · 3.6% 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 Brazos County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k689
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+11%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLLEGE STN, 4.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals41°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals95°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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

79 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 30% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 74% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

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

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
132
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
863
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.

College Station's police department reported 132 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 863.

Brazos County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.6 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 6.1 per 100,000 residents in Brazos County.

Homicide
2.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
11.0
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 College Station’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 College Station (Brazos County) rather than College Station 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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest George Bush Intcntl/Houston at 70 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.6%Bottom 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle70 miBottom 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH70 mi12,001 ft
Sugar Land RgnlSGR77 mi8,000 ft
Tstc WacoCNW86 mi8,600 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
69
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Where College Station ranks

Top-ten placements in AreaProfile’s standing rankings

Every ranking is a standing calculation over all published profiles, not an editorial selection. Each one states its cohort, its inputs and what it excludes.

Other cities in College Station-Bryan, TX

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BryanBrazos County87,93964Bryan vs College Station

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 College Station side by side with a similar place.

College Station vs MoscowCollege Station vs State College

Moving to College Station 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 College Station

2 ZIP areas

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7784576,764$88,851$365,10073
7784054,864$30,377$244,80063