⚖️ Side by side

River Oaks vs Sugar Land

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

Should you live in River Oaks or Sugar Land? River Oaks and Sugar Land are both communities in the Greater Houston metro area. Sugar Land has the lower ACS median owner-occupied home value, by about 49%. River Oaks is $795,278 against $406,600 for Sugar Land. On FEMA maps River Oaks is Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) 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 River Oaks and Sugar Land are measured the same way and each side links its own source.

MetricRiver OaksSugar LandSource
Median owner-occupied home value (ACS)$795,278 (2023)$406,600 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median gross rent (ACS)$1,865 (2023)$1,939 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Median household income$105,888 (2023)$137,511 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS
Population42,931 (2023)109,735 (2023)US Census ACS, US Census ACS

Flood Zone in Each Community

FEMA maps River Oaks as Zone X (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD) and Sugar Land as Zone X (AREA WITH REDUCED FLOOD RISK DUE TO LEVEE).

FEMA flood zoneX (AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARD)X (AREA WITH REDUCED FLOOD RISK DUE TO LEVEE)
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 centerRiver OaksSugar LandCloser
Houston Methodist6 min36 minRiver Oaks
Memorial Hermann6 min36 minRiver Oaks
Chevron7 min43 minRiver Oaks
MD Anderson7 min36 minRiver Oaks
NRG Energy8 min43 minRiver Oaks
Devon Energy17 min30 minRiver Oaks
SLB25 min25 mintie
Sysco27 min25 minSugar Land
Baker Hughes27 min29 minRiver Oaks
ConocoPhillips27 min29 minRiver Oaks
McDermott International27 min29 minRiver Oaks
Halliburton31 min65 minRiver Oaks
United Airlines38 min71 minRiver Oaks
NASA53 min73 minRiver Oaks
ExxonMobil54 min82 minRiver Oaks
HPE54 min81 minRiver Oaks
Daikin75 min76 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 River Oaks data · Full Sugar Land data