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The Heights vs Midtown

Greater Houston, TX: ACS figures, FEMA flood zone, and commute for both

Should you live in The Heights or Midtown? The Heights and Midtown are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Midtown has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 37%. The Heights is $609,300 against $384,100 for Midtown. On FEMA maps The Heights is not one single zone and Midtown is Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD). Every figure is sourced and linked.

Cost and Demographics

Both columns below come from the same Census ACS tables, so The Heights and Midtown are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricThe HeightsMidtownSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$609,300 (2023)$384,100 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,567 (2023)$1,320 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$142,414 (2023)$65,901 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population40,155 (2023)35,866 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps The Heights as more than one flood zone and Midtown as Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD). Where the zone varies, whether flood insurance is federally required depends on the specific address rather than the community.

FEMA flood zoneVARIES (AE, X)X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD)
Special Flood Hazard AreavariesNo

Each designation was sampled at the community centroid and at four points about a mile out; "varies" means those samples disagreed, so the community genuinely has no single zone. Check a specific address on the FEMA Map Service Center before drawing an insurance conclusion either way.

Commute to Job Centers from Each

Estimated one-way minutes from each community's centroid to every major Houston employer campus, so the same commute is priced from both sides.

Job centerThe HeightsMidtownCloser
Chevron9 min3 minMidtown
NRG Energy10 min3 minMidtown
Memorial Hermann13 min4 minMidtown
Houston Methodist14 min5 minMidtown
MD Anderson14 min6 minMidtown
Devon Energy17 min23 minThe Heights
Halliburton24 min31 minThe Heights
SLB26 min31 minThe Heights
Baker Hughes27 min33 minThe Heights
ConocoPhillips27 min33 minThe Heights
McDermott International27 min33 minThe Heights
Sysco28 min33 minThe Heights
United Airlines30 min38 minThe Heights
HPE46 min56 minThe Heights
ExxonMobil47 min57 minThe Heights
NASA58 min48 minMidtown
Daikin70 min80 minThe Heights

Straight-line distance converted at ~45mph effective speed. Estimates are not measured drive times. Real I-10, 290 and 59 traffic can exceed them.

Want this scored against your actual constraints? Run the match engine →. It weighs commute, cost, housing and risk instead of leaving you to eyeball two columns.

Full The Heights data · Full Midtown data