⚖️ Side by side

Kingwood vs The Woodlands

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

Should you live in Kingwood or The Woodlands? Kingwood and The Woodlands are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Kingwood has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 37%. Kingwood is $301,206 against $479,400 for The Woodlands. On FEMA maps Kingwood 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 Kingwood and The Woodlands are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricKingwoodThe WoodlandsSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$301,206 (2023)$479,400 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,797 (2023)$1,792 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$114,560 (2023)$141,353 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population146,515 (2023)116,916 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps Kingwood 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 centerKingwoodThe WoodlandsCloser
ExxonMobil36 min14 minThe Woodlands
HPE36 min15 minThe Woodlands
United Airlines21 min37 minKingwood
Halliburton25 min42 minKingwood
Chevron47 min67 minKingwood
NRG Energy47 min67 minKingwood
Daikin89 min50 minThe Woodlands
Memorial Hermann54 min72 minKingwood
Houston Methodist55 min72 minKingwood
MD Anderson56 min73 minKingwood
Baker Hughes67 min61 minThe Woodlands
ConocoPhillips68 min61 minThe Woodlands
Devon Energy61 min61 mintie
McDermott International68 min62 minThe Woodlands
SLB69 min65 minThe Woodlands
Sysco70 min65 minThe Woodlands
NASA73 min111 minKingwood

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 Kingwood data · Full The Woodlands data