⚖️ Side by side

Pearland vs Sugar Land

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

Should you live in Pearland or Sugar Land? Pearland and Sugar Land are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Pearland has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 19%. Pearland is $330,900 against $406,600 for Sugar Land. On FEMA maps Pearland is not one single zone and Sugar Land is Zone X (AREA WITH REDUCED FLOOD RISK DUE TO LEVEE). Every figure is sourced and linked.

Cost and Demographics

Both columns below come from the same Census ACS tables, so Pearland and Sugar Land are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricPearlandSugar LandSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$330,900 (2023)$406,600 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,759 (2023)$1,939 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$112,470 (2023)$137,511 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population125,983 (2023)109,735 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps Pearland as more than one flood zone and Sugar Land as Zone X (AREA WITH REDUCED FLOOD RISK DUE TO LEVEE). 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 WITH REDUCED FLOOD RISK DUE TO LEVEE)
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 centerPearlandSugar LandCloser
MD Anderson25 min36 minPearland
SLB49 min25 minSugar Land
Sysco50 min25 minSugar Land
Houston Methodist26 min36 minPearland
Memorial Hermann26 min36 minPearland
Baker Hughes53 min29 minSugar Land
ConocoPhillips53 min29 minSugar Land
McDermott International53 min29 minSugar Land
Devon Energy45 min30 minSugar Land
Chevron31 min43 minPearland
NASA31 min73 minPearland
NRG Energy31 min43 minPearland
Halliburton59 min65 minPearland
United Airlines66 min71 minPearland
Daikin104 min76 minSugar Land
HPE85 min81 minSugar Land
ExxonMobil85 min82 minSugar Land

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 Pearland data · Full Sugar Land data