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Montrose vs The Woodlands

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

Should you live in Montrose or The Woodlands? Montrose 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 20%. Montrose is $599,500 against $479,400 for The Woodlands. On FEMA maps Montrose is Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) 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 Montrose and The Woodlands are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricMontroseThe WoodlandsSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$599,500 (2023)$479,400 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,761 (2023)$1,792 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$102,003 (2023)$141,353 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population23,927 (2023)116,916 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps Montrose as Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) 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 zoneX (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD)VARIES (AE, X)
Special Flood Hazard AreaNovaries

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 centerMontroseThe WoodlandsCloser
Chevron4 min67 minMontrose
Memorial Hermann4 min72 minMontrose
NRG Energy4 min67 minMontrose
Houston Methodist5 min72 minMontrose
MD Anderson5 min73 minMontrose
ExxonMobil56 min14 minThe Woodlands
HPE55 min15 minThe Woodlands
Devon Energy21 min61 minMontrose
SLB29 min65 minMontrose
Sysco30 min65 minMontrose
Baker Hughes31 min61 minMontrose
ConocoPhillips31 min61 minMontrose
Halliburton31 min42 minMontrose
McDermott International31 min62 minMontrose
United Airlines38 min37 minThe Woodlands
Daikin78 min50 minThe Woodlands
NASA50 min111 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 Montrose data · Full The Woodlands data