Katy, Texas

Population

Growing. Up 26.5% since 2020.

28,373

people, the 120th-largest of Texas's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Texas's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.3%

of 29,728 jobs located in Katy are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in March: 4.7%.

5.3%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 5.0%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 58% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,602

a month. Texas's median is $1,403.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,567 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Harris County.

• $934 Tract 4216.02
• $3,501 Tract 4209

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,038–$1,557

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,602 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

46% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 4,772 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 13% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 46% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–3.5% to the 8,495 homes here.

23–297

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 42% more than Texas's.

$401,700

median home value in Katy.

• $401,700 Katy
• $283,800 Texas
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year