Montgomery County, TX

County Profile

684,432 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Montgomery 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.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 12% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 26% of 1,463 counties measured67
SchoolsTop 18% of 1,377 counties measured75
GrowthTop 9% of 1,453 counties measured75
Housing affordabilityTop 43% of 1,462 counties measured75
ClimateTop 41% of 1,463 counties measured71
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured62
AccessTop 32% of 1,463 counties measured88
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 1,463 counties measured72
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.8% and median household income $97,701, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 54% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 18% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 11,755 units authorized over the past twelve months, 17% 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
684,432
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$97,701
Top 6% nationally
Density
657/sq mi
1,042.2 sq mi of land
Median age
37.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Montgomery County
Texas
Nearest major airport
IAH
24 mi · George Bush Intcntl/Houston
Median home value
$346,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% — higher than in all but 26% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 354,464 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $97,701 is higher than in 94% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$91,27089th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$86,87892nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,3662024 ACS 5-Year$97,701Top 6%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0972024 ACS 5-Year$49,479Top 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$78,799Top 10%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.5 minBottom 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year38.8%Top 10%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year72.3%22nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026354,464Top 7%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.1%Top 5%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Top 36%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026372,21193rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year78.2%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%80th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Bottom 17%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.8%Bottom 26%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year15.9%89th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.73.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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

202120222023202498k89k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $97,701 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.

54% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 53% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 131 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
140
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across 131 of them
Math proficiency
54.5%
Top 19% in Texas
Reading proficiency
52.7%
Top 10% in Texas
The 12 largest of 140 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Conroe H SCONROE ISD5,25216.447%45%
The Woodlands H SCONROE ISD4,44417.963%86%
Grand Oaks H SCONROE ISD3,83618.358%73%
College Park H SCONROE ISD3,31316.665%74%
Willis H SWILLIS ISD2,80919.632%44%
Caney Creek H SCONROE ISD2,78316.435%34%
Oak Ridge H SCONROE ISD2,75816.362%60%
Magnolia West H SMAGNOLIA ISD2,35615.443%55%
Magnolia H SMAGNOLIA ISD2,29217.134%65%
New Caney H SNEW CANEY ISD2,22616.240%32%
McCullough J HCONROE ISD2,19517.687%84%
Porter H SNEW CANEY ISD2,09415.356%37%

47.6% 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 $5,268 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,573, close to the $1,532 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,573 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $62,900 a year, about 64% of the median household income here of $97,701.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,532 a month.

A median home at $346,200 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $118,877, 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
28.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,573
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,532
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$346,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Montgomery County’s median household income of $97,701, 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 figure202399.7Bottom 28%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.4%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+32.7%11th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+68.8%14th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 32%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year71.8%36th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±982024 ACS 5-Year266,01997th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,323Bottom 21%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,116Bottom 21%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,573Bottom 22%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$382024 ACS 5-Year$1,532Bottom 7%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,7472024 ACS 5-Year$346,20086th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1482024 ACS 5-Year$5,26897th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5842024 ACS 5-Year$118,877Top 6%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.52%90th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year28.9%Bottom 38%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±6922024 ACS 5-Year2,68688th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%25th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.9%24th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,5762024 ACS 5-Year18,47896th percentileof 3,2222024 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

75/ 100
Top 9% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, 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 20% since 2020, reaching 749,613 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 749,613 residents in 2024, up 4.8% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 11,755 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 6% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Montgomery County gained about 3.3% 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 $91,270, above the $86,878 of households that moved out.

At 17.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
12K
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
17.2
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
−17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024750k625k
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
+3.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
30%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$91,270
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$86,878
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Harris County, TX 25,206 people · 46% of arrivals
  2. Fort Bend County, TX 1,315 people · 2.4% of arrivals
  3. Walker County, TX 913 people · 1.7% of arrivals
  4. Liberty County, TX 896 people · 1.6% of arrivals
  5. Travis County, TX 590 people · 1.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Harris County, TX 13,365 people · 37% of departures
  2. Walker County, TX 1,257 people · 3.4% of departures
  3. Liberty County, TX 1,232 people · 3.4% of departures
  4. Fort Bend County, TX 637 people · 1.7% of departures
  5. Travis County, TX 586 people · 1.6% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202515k10k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+34%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 55, in the Moderate band, and about 21 days a year pass 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 CONROE MONTGOMERY CO AP, 6.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year862024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year212024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
55
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
86
90th percentile index
Days above 100
21
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

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 43% of it. Tornado and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneElevated
Winter weatherModerate
DroughtModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Montgomery County records 3.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.4 per 100,000 residents in Montgomery County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.0
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.

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 Montgomery County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 George Bush Intcntl/Houston at 24 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year94.8%Top 2%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle24 miTop 32%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%Top 2%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH24 mi12,001 ft
Sugar Land RgnlSGR48 mi8,000 ft
EllingtonEFD52 mi9,001 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
71
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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 areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.