Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 28,373, settled in 1945.
Katy grades C+ overall, 225th among Texas's 640 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 89% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 86% of Texas towns. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $330K, 4 years of the Houston metro’s $82K median household income. Katy’s property crime rate is 29.6 per 1,000 residents, against 10.7 in Texas’ towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Katy has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them B. Ray and Charlotte Woods House.
Where Katy beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Robertson El | PK–5 | 1,508 |
| Woodcreek El | PK–5 | 1,301 |
| Russell & Cindi Faldyn El | PK–5 | 1,263 |
14,102 counted in 2010 and 21,894 in 2020; an estimated 28,373 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 29.7% since 2020, after 55.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Katy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 849 in 1950, 21,894 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 4 maps from 1915 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Katy, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Katy.
Katy draws workers from Houston and beyond, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values still below their peak.
28,202 jobs are based in Katy, 2.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 7,851 in 2013 to 28,202.
Most working residents leave Katy for work: only 13% work in town. The median household income in Katy is $115,000. Since 2013, Katy has added 20,351 jobs, to 28,202 in 2023.
| Katy | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $115,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 9.6% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $330K.
Its public schools are run by Katy ISD. Three of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodcreek J HLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,566 | A+ |
| Katy H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,543 | A |
| Woodcreek ElTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,301 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Texas is food insecurity: 11.8% of its 15,914 adults worry about having enough food, against 19.3% statewide.
11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Katy. Katy beats the Texas average on 21 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults get no exercise outside work in Katy.
| Katy | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 24% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Katy | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.8% | 19.3% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 7% | 10.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7% | 6.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 959 to 898 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
6.5 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve, at 69 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Katy | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Katy Boardwalk Nature Preserve | 1.4 mi | 69 |
| 2. Mary Jo Peckham Park for All Children | 1 mi | 33 |
| 3. Beckendorff Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 43°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 94.3°.
Katy has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Katy’s January low is 43°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Katy | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 37°F | 22°F |
| July high | 94°F | 95°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $330K, is 8% below its August 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $7,207, against $4,232 across Texas, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
81% of Katy households own their home. The typical Katy home is worth about $330,000, down 3.2% in a year, 11% above the Texas typical home.
| Katy | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,602 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
458 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 86 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 458 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Katy.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Katy. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaReliant Stadium
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaDaikin Park
27 mi MuseumRothko Chapel
29 mi Stadium & arenaToyota Center
29 mi Stadium & arenaShell Energy Stadium
30 mi Stadium & arenaTDECU StadiumReliant 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Katy
About 6 of every 100 Katy residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
Where Katy’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Katy on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Katy.
City in Texas, United States
Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, approximately centered at the tripoint of Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. The population was 21,894 at the 2020 census. It is the center of the urban Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. First formally settled in the mid-1890s, Katy was a railroad town along the Missouri–Kansas–Texas (MKT) Railroad which ran parallel to U.S. Route 90 (today Interstate 10) into downtown Houston. Katy obtained its name when the MKT Railroad dropped its Missouri waypoint and the junction became known as the "KT stop". The fertile floodplain of Buffalo Bayou, which has its source near Katy, and its tributa…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Katy.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Katy grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #225 of 640 in Texas. It grades A for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
13 notable people were born here, including Renée Zellweger and Andy Dalton.
