Washington County, TX

County Profile

36,647 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Washington 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.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 24% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 22% of 1,463 counties measured69
SchoolsTop 44% of 1,377 counties measured55
Growth756th of 1,453 counties measured49
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 1,462 counties measured79
ClimateTop 49% of 1,463 counties measured69
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 1,463 counties measured74
Access1,113th of 1,463 counties measured67
Economic stabilityTop 48% of 1,463 counties measured62
The quick read

Washington County ranks in the top 22% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.4% and median household income of $77,825.

In the public schools here, 51% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.2 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 103 units authorized over the past twelve months, 52% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
36,647
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$77,825
Top 21% nationally
Density
61/sq mi
604.2 sq mi of land
Median age
40.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington County
Texas
Micro area
Nearest major airport
SGR
61 mi · Sugar Land Rgnl
Median home value
$288,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 38% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.3% over the past year, to 17,205 employed residents.

31% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$121,68597th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$62,64963rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,6352024 ACS 5-Year$77,825Top 21%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,3442024 ACS 5-Year$43,255Top 17%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$71,069Top 16%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.6%Bottom 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.7 minTop 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.7%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year76.2%40th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,205Bottom 25%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+5.1%Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.3%Top 17%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,00625th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%Top 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.2%Bottom 27%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 38%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.3%48th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.43.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% 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

202120222023202478k66k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $77,825 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.

51% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.2 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
50.7%
Top 35% in Texas
Reading proficiency
43.8%
Bottom 41% in Texas
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Brenham H SBRENHAM ISD1,54414.248%44%
Brenham J HBRENHAM ISD75613.760%48%
Brenham MiddleBRENHAM ISD70313.357%45%
Krause ElBRENHAM ISD65516.055%42%
Brenham ElBRENHAM ISD51213.838%34%
Alton ElBRENHAM ISD46015.350%43%
Burton ElBURTON ISD38614.347%47%
Brenham Early Childhood Learning CenterBRENHAM ISD24222.0——
Burton H SBURTON ISD2379.942%47%
Trinity Charter School - Brenham Campus · charterTRINITY CHARTER SCHOOL3511.7——

57.5% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Texas is up 44% over five years, and up 2.9% 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 $3,143 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.09% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,309, some 12% above the $1,165 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,309 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $52,400 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $77,825.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,165 a month.

A median home at $288,100 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,302, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
26.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,309
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,165
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$288,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Washington County’s median household income of $77,825, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+2.9%33rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+43.8%43rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Texas’s figure2026 Q2+97.6%52nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 23%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.8%28th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±462024 ACS 5-Year17,64261st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$998Bottom 44%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,692Bottom 38%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,309Bottom 36%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$1,165Bottom 19%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,4362024 ACS 5-Year$288,10079th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2132024 ACS 5-Year$3,14386th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,5792024 ACS 5-Year$89,302Top 25%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.09%71st percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year26.2%Top 34%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3102024 ACS 5-Year1,09876th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%70th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.0%25th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3712024 ACS 5-Year2,16157th 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.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 756 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 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 37,810 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 197 units authorized in 2025, up 77% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 37,810 residents in 2024, up 1.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 103 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 17% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Washington County gained about 1.8% 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 $121,685, above the $62,649 of households that moved out.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
103
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 50% nationally
Year over year
−52%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
16.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202438k36k
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
+1.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
16%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$121,685
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$62,649
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Harris County, TX 486 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Austin County, TX 130 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  3. Brazos County, TX 123 people · 6.1% of arrivals
  4. Montgomery County, TX 70 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  5. Fort Bend County, TX 62 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Harris County, TX 212 people · 14% of departures
  2. Brazos County, TX 151 people · 10% of departures
  3. Austin County, TX 111 people · 7.5% of departures
  4. Burleson County, TX 81 people · 5.5% of departures
  5. Waller County, TX 67 people · 4.5% 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

2022202320242025197111
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+9%).

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, 26.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 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 48% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US counties.

HurricaneElevated
Cold waveModerate
DroughtModerate
HailModerate

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

Washington County has a modeled homicide rate of about 5.5 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 about 17.3 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 10.4 per 100,000 residents in Washington County.

Homicide
5.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
10.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
15.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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 Washington 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this 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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. 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 Sugar Land Rgnl at 61 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.0%Bottom 36%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle61 miBottom 20%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%Bottom 44%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Sugar Land RgnlSGR61 mi8,000 ft
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH66 mi12,001 ft
Austin-Bergstrom IntlAUS75 mi12,250 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
66
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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
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
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.

Cities in Washington County, TX

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.