⚖️ Side by side

The Heights vs Montrose

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

Should you live in The Heights or Montrose? The Heights and Montrose are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Montrose has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 2%. The Heights is $609,300 against $599,500 for Montrose. On FEMA maps The Heights is not one single zone and Montrose 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 Montrose are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricThe HeightsMontroseSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$609,300 (2023)$599,500 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,567 (2023)$1,761 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$142,414 (2023)$102,003 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population40,155 (2023)23,927 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps The Heights as more than one flood zone and Montrose 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 HeightsMontroseCloser
Chevron9 min4 minMontrose
Memorial Hermann13 min4 minMontrose
NRG Energy10 min4 minMontrose
Houston Methodist14 min5 minMontrose
MD Anderson14 min5 minMontrose
Devon Energy17 min21 minThe Heights
Halliburton24 min31 minThe Heights
SLB26 min29 minThe Heights
Baker Hughes27 min31 minThe Heights
ConocoPhillips27 min31 minThe Heights
McDermott International27 min31 minThe Heights
Sysco28 min30 minThe Heights
United Airlines30 min38 minThe Heights
HPE46 min55 minThe Heights
ExxonMobil47 min56 minThe Heights
NASA58 min50 minMontrose
Daikin70 min78 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 Montrose data