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Montrose vs River Oaks

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

Should you live in Montrose or River Oaks? Montrose and River Oaks are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Montrose has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 25%. Montrose is $599,500 against $795,278 for River Oaks. On FEMA maps Montrose is Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) and River Oaks 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 Montrose and River Oaks are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricMontroseRiver OaksSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$599,500 (2023)$795,278 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,761 (2023)$1,865 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$102,003 (2023)$105,888 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population23,927 (2023)42,931 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps Montrose as Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) and River Oaks as Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD).

FEMA flood zoneX (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD)X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD)
Special Flood Hazard AreaNoNo

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 centerMontroseRiver OaksCloser
Chevron4 min7 minMontrose
Memorial Hermann4 min6 minMontrose
NRG Energy4 min8 minMontrose
Houston Methodist5 min6 minMontrose
MD Anderson5 min7 minMontrose
Devon Energy21 min17 minRiver Oaks
SLB29 min25 minRiver Oaks
Baker Hughes31 min27 minRiver Oaks
ConocoPhillips31 min27 minRiver Oaks
McDermott International31 min27 minRiver Oaks
Sysco30 min27 minRiver Oaks
Halliburton31 min31 mintie
United Airlines38 min38 mintie
NASA50 min53 minMontrose
ExxonMobil56 min54 minRiver Oaks
HPE55 min54 minRiver Oaks
Daikin78 min75 minRiver Oaks

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 Montrose data · Full River Oaks data