Creek Crossing. Oct, 2008, 2008
Cinco Ranch’s story
Cinco Ranch in pictures
Census counts: 11,196 in 2000, 16,899 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 3 maps from 1955 on.
Explore the history →Cinco RanchTX
A town of 18,611.
Population
18,611
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$529K
−0.8% in a year
Household income
$162K
median
Median age
40.3
years
Jobs based here
1,527
A commuter town
TownGrade
A−
#47 of 640 in TX
Is Cinco Ranch a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cinco Ranch grades A− overall, ranked 47th of 640 in Texas. Residents are healthier than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household earns $162K and its schools outperform 86% of the state's. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $529K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Houston metro’s $82K median household income. 71% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Cinco Ranch, above both Texas’ towns (23%) and U.S. towns (29%).
What makes Cinco Ranch stand out
Where Cinco Ranch beats most towns.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Cinco Ranch for work
Where Cinco Ranch’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
1,527jobs based in Cinco Ranch
1%of working residents work in town
17 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Cinco Ranch grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Cinco Ranch is from typical.
HealthMemorial Hermann Katy Hospital 4.2 miles awayAOpen →Cost of livingDOpen →Jobs & incomeAOpen →SchoolsAOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 47% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listC+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 9.5 of 20; 2% of households have no car; 0.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
ClimateMild winters, 95° summer afternoons–Open →Housing market14 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 40.3–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Cinco Ranch: who provides what
Cinco Ranch is unincorporated, so Fort Bend County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerCenterPoint EnergyEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterCinco MUD 2No health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesFort Bend CountyFort Bend County provides services here
Register to voteIn personTexas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereFort Bend County Early Voting ClerkFort Bend County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Oct 2024
ZIP codes77450, 7749477450 67% · 77494 33%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Cinco Ranch.
Cinco Ranch has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has less food insecurity than most of Texas, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Texas.
HousingCost of living grade D
For cost of living, Cinco Ranch earns a D
At 6.4 years of the Houston metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $529K) costs more against local pay than in 91% of Texas towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Home values rose 26% in five years, to about $529K, against 10% across Texas.
Cinco Ranch’s median rent is $1,986 a month. The typical Cinco Ranch home is worth about $529,000, down 0.8% in a year, 79% above the Texas typical home.
$529KZillow home value
| Cinco Ranch | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,986 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 69% | 73% |
Typical home value
Cinco Ranch$529K
Texas$296K
Market temperature
14
days on market
98.8%
sale-to-list price
−0.8%
value change, 1 year
20
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
SchoolsA
For schools, Cinco Ranch earns an A
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $529K.
Its public schools are run by Katy ISD. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Cinco Ranch H S, with 3,740 students.
86%of TX districts it outscoresASchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinco Ranch J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,455 | A+ |
| Cinco Ranch H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,740 | A+ |
| Joella Exley ElTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 868 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
HealthA
For health, Cinco Ranch earns an A
Its widest gap with Texas is food insecurity: 8% of its 12,435 adults worry about having enough food, against 19.3% statewide. Against the 2,047 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cinco Ranch’s, it is healthier than 60%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Cinco Ranch. Cinco Ranch beats the Texas average on 20 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Cinco Ranch.
94%healthier than U.S. townsAHealth Grade
| Cinco Ranch | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 24% | 19% |
31 measures vs. Texas
20 better10 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Cinco Ranch | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 19.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.3% | 19.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 6.1% |
Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital
4.2 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
95th
percentile among TX towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
More than half of Cinco Ranch’s working residents commute to Houston
Cinco Ranch has 1,527 jobs for its 7,907 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 3,681 in 2013 to 1,527.
Most working residents leave Cinco Ranch for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Cinco Ranch is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Cinco Ranch fell to 1,527 in 2023, 2,154 fewer than in 2013.
1%work in town
| Cinco Ranch | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $162,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 12% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Cinco Ranch1%
Houston57%
Katy7%
Sugar Land3%
Austin2%
17 mi
median commute distance
1,527
jobs based in Cinco Ranch
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Cinco Ranch has mild winters and hot summers
January nights average 43.2°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 94.2°.
Cinco Ranch has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
95°summer high
| Cinco Ranch | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
Winter45–66°
Spring60–80°
Summer74–94°
Fall60–82°
Dec 13
typical first frost
Feb 9
typical last frost
+1.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
95°
typical summer high
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Cinco Ranch faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cinco Ranch.
47risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesTornadoes
9
paid flood claims since 1981
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.2%conserved
| Cinco Ranch | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
0.2%
conserved · 7 of 2,955 acres
0.3 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cinco Ranch South Lake Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Willow Fork Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Greenway Village Gazebo Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Nearby attractions
All 52 attractions →Reliant Stadium and 44 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cinco Ranch. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaReliant Stadium
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaDaikin Park
22 mi MuseumRothko Chapel
24 mi Stadium & arenaToyota Center
25 mi Stadium & arenaShell Energy Stadium
25 mi Stadium & arenaTDECU StadiumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Reliant Stadium: User eschipul on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Daikin Park: Delaywaves, CC BY 3.0 · Rothko Chapel: Unknown, Public domain · Toyota Center: Ed Uthman from Houston, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Shell Energy Stadium: HDFC PR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · TDECU Stadium: Brian Reading, CC BY-SA 4.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Cinco Ranch
17pages on Cinco Ranch
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Cinco Ranch
Denver College of Nursing-HoustonUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Houston9.6 miNorth American UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Stafford12.2 mi$15,436 tuitionAmerican InterContinental University-HoustonUniversity or college · Private for-profit · Houston12.8 mi$14,829 tuition
About 4 of every 100 Cinco Ranch residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Texas.
About Cinco Ranch
Place in Texas, United States
Cinco Ranch is a planned community located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city of Houston within Fort Bend and Harris counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It lies approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the Harris County seat of Houston and 10 miles (16 km) north of the Fort Bend County seat of Richmond. Cinco Ranch is considered to be part of the Greater Katy area and is roughly 10 miles southeast of the city of Katy. Cinco Ranch was defined as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census but has since grown to include additional area. As of the 2020 census, Cinco Ranch had a population of 16,899.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 112 ft
Cinco Ranch’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Cinco Ranch.
HoustonCinco Ranch
How the neighbors grade
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinco Ranch | #47 | A− | D | — | A | A |
| Houston | #606 | D− | C− | D− | C− | C+ |
Cinco Ranch reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Cinco Ranch with a neighbor →
Questions about Cinco Ranch
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Cinco Ranch, TX a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cinco Ranch grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #47 of 640 in Texas. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Cinco Ranch, TX expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.