In the money
Affluent Houston neighbor cashes in as No. 2 richest county in Texas, new report shows
One of Houston's most booming and blossoming suburbs is also one of the richest in Texas. Data analysis website Stacker compiled a list of the wealthiest counties in Texas based on median household income, and Fort Bend County came out at No. 2 at $97,743.
To come up with its list, Stacker used U.S. Census Bureau data from 2019 showing the five-year estimate for median household income in each of Texas’ 254 counties. Aside from Fort Bend County, six other counties from the Houston area made Stacker’s list of the 50 richest counties in Texas.
Those other counties, followed by their median household income, are:
- No. 4 Chambers County, $91,141
- No. 9 Brazoria County, $81,447
- No. 10 Montgomery County, $80,902
- No. 22 Galveston County, $73,330
- No. 34 Austin County, $66,206
- No. 48 Harris County, $61,705
By comparison, the median household income for all of the U.S. was $68,703.
As CultureMap previously reported, Fort Bend is in the midst of a boom. The county ranked No. 4 for numeric growth in one year, with an 29,895 additional residents between July 2020-2021. Fort Bend also grew a staggering 40 percent between 2010 and 2020 years, according to U.S. Census data.
In 2020, Fort Bend was named one of the best small cities in the U.S. and the best cost of living in Texas. Spreading its considerable wealth, the county was named the second-most charitable in Texas that same year.
Citing current presences of powerhouse companies, Fort Bend County judge K.P. George boldly invited Disney World to relocate to his area. He made a previous pitch to Tesla CEO Elon Musk before Musk moved his headquarters to Austin.
Among the state’s four major metro areas, DFW dominated in terms of the number of rich counties in Texas’ top 50. Here’s how the state’s three other major metros fared in the Stacker rankings for highest median household income by county.
Dallas-Fort Worth
- No. 1, Rockwall County, $100,920 (the only county in Texas to break the $100,000 mark)
- No. 3 Collin County, $96,913
- No. 6 Denton County, $86,913
- No. 14 Parker County, $77,503
- No. 15 Ellis County, $76,871
- No. 26 Kaufman County, $70,107
- No. 31 Tarrant County, $67,700
- No. 38 Wise County, $64,536
- No. 39 Johnson County, $64,359
- No. 40 Hood County, $64,041
Austin
- No. 5 Williamson County, $87,337
- No. 18 Travis County, $75,887
- No. 29 Hays County, $68,717
- No. 36 Bastrop County, $64,597
San Antonio
- No. 7 Kendall County, $84,747
- No. 11 Comal County, $79,936
- No. 16 Wilson County, $76,692
- No. 21 Guadalupe County, $74,496
- No. 46 Medina County, $62,599
