Richmond, Texas

Area Profile

12,582 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Richmond, in Fort Bend County.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 34% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity2,963rd of 4,199 cities measured47
SchoolsTop 13% of 4,162 cities measured79
Growth3,243rd of 4,224 cities measured36
Housing affordability3,631st of 4,218 cities measured44
ClimateTop 38% of 4,225 cities measured73
Physical resilience2,724th of 4,226 cities measured45
AccessTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability3,557th of 4,226 cities measured36
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Richmond in the bottom 29%. The unemployment rate is published for Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, rather than for Richmond alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 64% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 13% of published profiles for schools. Math proficiency is published for Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, rather than for Richmond alone.

Residential permitting has slowed: 2 units authorized over the past twelve months, 94% 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
12,582
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$50,337
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
2,923/sq mi
4.3 sq mi of land
Median age
36.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
SGR
7 mi · Sugar Land Rgnl
Median home value
$231,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, is 5.0% — higher than in all but 25% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, grew 0.2% over the past year, to 461,175 employed residents.

Median household income of $50,337 is lower than in 77% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsFort Bend County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$81,11062nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftFort Bend County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$85,42070th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$20,7592024 ACS 5-Year$50,337Bottom 23%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,7112024 ACS 5-Year$28,926Bottom 33%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year14.6%Bottom 36%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.4 minBottom 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year18.9%Bottom 46%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year66.0%20th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 2026461,175Top 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Fort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+4.6%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Fort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.2%Top 32%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceFort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 2026485,37182nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year67.7%Bottom 22%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-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Fort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateFort Bend County, TX’s figureJuly 20265.0%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year5.1%37th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k50k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $50,337 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Fort Bend County, TX, which contains this city.

64% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, rather than for Richmond alone.

There are 16.5 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Fort Bend County, TX, which contains Richmond, rather than for Richmond alone.

Public schools
—
Students per teacher
16.5
Math proficiency
64.2%
Top 12% in Texas
Reading proficiency
63.6%
Top 10% in Texas

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Fort Bend County, TX: too few schools in Richmond reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly.

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 $3,425 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.48% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,740, some 32% above the $1,319 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,740 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $69,600 a year, about 138% of the median household income here of $50,337.

The typical renter household here spends 46% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,319 a month.

A median home at $231,500 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,624, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

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
46.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,740
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,319
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$231,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Richmond’s median household income of $50,337, 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 ±12024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 32%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year53.5%12th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4672024 ACS 5-Year5,06389th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,460Bottom 46%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,340Bottom 41%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,740Bottom 45%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1852024 ACS 5-Year$1,319Bottom 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$67,1202024 ACS 5-Year$231,50061st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5742024 ACS 5-Year$3,42578th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$20,3412024 ACS 5-Year$74,624Bottom 44%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.50%2024 ACS 5-Year1.48%77th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±10%2024 ACS 5-Year46.0%Bottom 7%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±232024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%45th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1572024 ACS 5-Year30784th 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

36/ 100
Ranks 3,243 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling 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 15% since 2020, reaching 13,305 in 2024.

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

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 13,305 residents in 2024, up 2.1% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Fort Bend County, which contains Richmond, gained about 1.4% 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 $81,110, below the $85,420 of households that moved out.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
2
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 8% nationally
Year over year
−94%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k12k
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
+1.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$81,110
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$85,420
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Harris County, TX 29,268 people · 53% of arrivals
  2. Brazoria County, TX 1,931 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  3. Bexar County, TX 637 people · 1.1% of arrivals
  4. Montgomery County, TX 637 people · 1.1% of arrivals
  5. Los Angeles County, CA 624 people · 1.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Harris County, TX 21,458 people · 48% of departures
  2. Brazoria County, TX 2,889 people · 6.4% of departures
  3. Montgomery County, TX 1,315 people · 2.9% of departures
  4. Travis County, TX 824 people · 1.8% of departures
  5. Galveston County, TX 552 people · 1.2% 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 Fort Bend County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202534311
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−97%).

Weather & climate

7 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 45°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.7 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HOUSTON SUGARLAND MEM, 6.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals95°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

45 / 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.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneElevated
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, tornado, heat wave, cold wave, strong wind, ice storm, wildfire, hail, earthquake, landslide, winter weather, coastal flooding, 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
312
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,082
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.

Richmond's police department reported 312 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,082.

Fort Bend County records 2.9 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 8.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 5.3 per 100,000 residents in Fort Bend County.

Homicide
2.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
5.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.6
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 Richmond’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 Richmond (Fort Bend County) rather than Richmond 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.

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. 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Sugar Land Rgnl at 7 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year88.2%Bottom 43%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle7 miTop 15%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%Bottom 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Sugar Land RgnlSGR7 mi8,000 ft
EllingtonEFD36 mi9,001 ft
George Bush Intcntl/HoustonIAH38 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
54
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—

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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 Richmond
PasadenaHarris County149,43348Pasadena vs Richmond
PearlandBrazoria County127,51462Pearland vs Richmond
The WoodlandsMontgomery County121,00272
League CityGalveston County116,21572
Sugar LandFort Bend County110,01669
ConroeMontgomery County102,36065
AtascocitaHarris County99,35460
BaytownHarris County85,20548
Missouri CityFort Bend County76,55857
SpringHarris County68,58053
Texas CityGalveston County55,36462

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 Richmond side by side with a similar place.

Richmond vs StorrsRichmond vs Sun City

Moving to Richmond 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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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.