⚖️ Side by side

The Heights vs The Woodlands

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

Should you live in The Heights or The Woodlands? The Heights and The Woodlands are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. The Woodlands has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 21%. The Heights is $609,300 against $479,400 for The Woodlands. On FEMA maps The Heights is not one single zone and The Woodlands is not one single zone. Every figure is sourced and linked.

Cost and Demographics

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

MetricThe HeightsThe WoodlandsSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$609,300 (2023)$479,400 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,567 (2023)$1,792 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$142,414 (2023)$141,353 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population40,155 (2023)116,916 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps The Heights as more than one flood zone and The Woodlands as more than one flood zone. Where the zone varies, whether flood insurance is federally required depends on the specific address rather than the community.

FEMA flood zoneVARIES (AE, X)VARIES (AE, X)
Special Flood Hazard Areavariesvaries

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 HeightsThe WoodlandsCloser
Chevron9 min67 minThe Heights
NRG Energy10 min67 minThe Heights
Memorial Hermann13 min72 minThe Heights
ExxonMobil47 min14 minThe Woodlands
Houston Methodist14 min72 minThe Heights
MD Anderson14 min73 minThe Heights
HPE46 min15 minThe Woodlands
Devon Energy17 min61 minThe Heights
Halliburton24 min42 minThe Heights
SLB26 min65 minThe Heights
Baker Hughes27 min61 minThe Heights
ConocoPhillips27 min61 minThe Heights
McDermott International27 min62 minThe Heights
Sysco28 min65 minThe Heights
United Airlines30 min37 minThe Heights
Daikin70 min50 minThe Woodlands
NASA58 min111 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 The Woodlands data