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Katy vs Montrose

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

Should you live in Katy or Montrose? Katy and Montrose are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Katy has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 37%. Katy is $376,800 against $599,500 for Montrose. On FEMA maps Katy 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 Katy and Montrose are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricKatyMontroseSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$376,800 (2023)$599,500 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,609 (2023)$1,761 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$107,332 (2023)$102,003 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population23,900 (2023)23,927 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps Katy 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 centerKatyMontroseCloser
Chevron63 min4 minMontrose
Memorial Hermann60 min4 minMontrose
NRG Energy64 min4 minMontrose
Houston Methodist60 min5 minMontrose
MD Anderson61 min5 minMontrose
Devon Energy40 min21 minMontrose
SLB32 min29 minMontrose
Baker Hughes30 min31 minKaty
ConocoPhillips30 min31 minKaty
McDermott International30 min31 minKaty
Sysco30 min30 mintie
Halliburton70 min31 minMontrose
United Airlines73 min38 minMontrose
Daikin40 min78 minKaty
NASA107 min50 minMontrose
HPE71 min55 minMontrose
ExxonMobil71 min56 minMontrose

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 Katy data · Full Montrose data