Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0How is Houston run?
Houston’s city government spent $4.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $2,089 per resident. Water and other utilities ($4.4 million) and the airport ($358,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Houston is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $2,089 per resident a year, or $5.72 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Houston yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Houston’s 2022 operating figures are mostly a Census estimate, so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2023; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 445600% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Houston reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $0 · 2023: $2,089. Per resident it went from $0 to $2,089 (up 208800%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 2,085 to 2,134.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $628 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.55% of the home’s value, vs 0.85% across Missouri.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Houston’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Houston’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Houston →
Who’s in charge in Houston
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Houston’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on houstonmo.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 82 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (2,134).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Houston R-I School District
Houston’s K–12 school district, shared with Piney Township, Morris Township, Cass Township. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,981 per pupil, $7,090 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Missouri districts overall: 54% local, 35% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Houston’s votes are counted by county
Missouri reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Houston alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Texas County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican85.5%9,855 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat13.8%1,589 votesOthers: 0.7% (81 votes).
Most votes in Texas County: Donald J Trump
Missouri: Trump 58.5%, Harris 40.1%
100% of Houston lies in Texas County. Every 2024 race in Texas County is on the county’s page.
Texas County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Houston.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: houstonmo.org ↗
- 2Missouri HouseState representatives
- 3Missouri SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Missouri
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Houston’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Houston’s government
How much does Houston spend per resident?
About $2,089 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Houston?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $628 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.55% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.85% across Missouri. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see houstonmo.org.
Who runs Houston’s government?
See houstonmo.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Houston yet.
How did Houston vote in 2024?
Missouri counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Houston alone. Texas County, where 100% of Houston lies, voted Trump 85.5%, Harris 13.8% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Houston?
26 full-time and 16 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $137,759 (about $1.7M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Houston in the state legislature?
State Senate District 33 (Brad Hudson) and State House District 143 (Bennie Cook). The House district also covers 29 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Houston’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →