Galveston County, TX

County Profile

358,990 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Galveston County, TX.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

69out of 100
Area Score
Top 24% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 43% of 1,255 counties59
SchoolsTop 40% of 973 counties60
GrowthTop 11% of 1,226 counties73
Housing affordability752nd of 1,255 counties89
ClimateTop 6% of 1,254 counties81
Physical resilience656th of 1,255 counties60
AccessTop 44% of 1,255 counties84
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 1,255 counties66
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.2% and median household income $86,105, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

In the public schools here, 45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

2,702 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

At a glance

Population
358,990
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,105
Top 12% nationally
Density
946/sq mi
379.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Galveston County
Texas
Metro area
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Nearest major airport
EFD
31 mi · Ellington
Median home value
$314,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.2% is lower than 17% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 0.4% over the past year, to 173,850 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 88% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,507$86,105Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$965$44,946Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.7%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute30.0 minTop 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher34.8%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment173,850Top 16%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.7%Top 22%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.4%Top 41%June 2026
Labor force183,369Top 16%June 2026
Labor force participation63.9%Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.7%Top 18%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.2%Top 17%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.24.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.2% 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.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202486k79k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $86,105 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

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.

45% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
87
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.5%
Top 39% in Texas
Reading proficiency
44.7%
Top 30% in Texas
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
DICKINSON H SDICKINSON ISD3,81016.2
CLEAR SPRINGS H SCLEAR CREEK ISD2,66817.4
CLEAR FALLS H SCLEAR CREEK ISD2,50818.7
CLEAR CREEK H SCLEAR CREEK ISD2,46917.3
FRIENDSWOOD H SFRIENDSWOOD ISD2,01416.4
BALL H SGALVESTON ISD1,90516.3
TEXAS CITY H STEXAS CITY ISD1,68913.8
FRIENDSWOOD J HFRIENDSWOOD ISD1,53018.077%59%
SANTA FE H SSANTA FE ISD1,31416.4
DICKINSON J HDICKINSON ISD1,06014.1
LEAGUE CITY INTCLEAR CREEK ISD1,04616.372%72%
SANTA FE J HSANTA FE ISD1,00317.350%45%

55.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,404 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
19.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,404
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$314,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.65Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate67.6%Bottom 22%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±113161,868Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$28$1,404Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,354$314,600Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.6%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate13.1%Bottom 44%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
73/ 100
Top 11% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 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 4% since 2020, reaching 367,407 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

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

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 7.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
2,702
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.5
Top 15% nationally
Year over year
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024367k352k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k2k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−23%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 49°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and about 8 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 GALVESTON SCHOLES FLD, 3.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index67.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation47.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low49°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10082024 calendar year
Median air quality index44.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing30°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
67
90th percentile index
Days above 100
8
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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

60 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and coastal flooding.

LightningModerate
HurricaneElevated
DroughtModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Galveston County records 6.1 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 15.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 15.5 per 100,000 residents in Galveston County.

Homicide
6.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
15.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Galveston County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Galveston County rather than Galveston County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 31 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
EllingtonEFD31 mi9,001 ft
Sugar Land RgnlSGR53 mi8,000 ft
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH59 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
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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

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.