In the money

Affluent Houston neighbor cashes in as No. 2 richest county in Texas, new report shows

Sugar Land is a prosperous hub in Fort Bend County.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Land Town Square

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

rankings

H-Town's Moo Deng

Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, an adorable pygmy hippopotamus

Akobi is Houston Zoo's newest pygmy hippoptamus

Photo by Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo

Houston Zoo welcomes itOH MY THAT IS ADORABLE

The Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, its newest pygmy hippopotamus right as the species is having a massive resurgence in popularity.

Thanks to Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo born Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi, Thailand this summer, pygmy hippopotami are more popular than ever. Moo Deng became a viral sensation thanks to cute videos of him playing and drinking from a spraying hose. He was even parodied on Saturday Night Live, where he was played by Bowen Yang.

Akobi is a four-and-a-half-year-old, 477-pound male pygmy hippopotamus who recently moved from San Francisco to Houston as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program. His name means “first born” in Yoruba. This is definitely one California transplant all Texans can agree on.

As their name suggests, pygmy hippos are quite a bit smaller than their more famous counterparts. Common hippos can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and are among the most dangerous megafauna in the world because of their fierce territoriality. By contrast, pygmy hippos rarely get above 500 pounds and are comparatively docile.

Unlike their larger cousins, pygmy hippos spend most of their time on dry land and live solitary lives rather than in large herds. Akobi is the first pygmy hippo in the Houston Zoo since the death of Silas, their previous pygmy hippo. Acquired in 2020, Silas quickly became a favorite of zoo visitors. He died in 2022 after a short illness.

Akobi comes at a time of massive expansion and progress for the Houston Zoo. The 55-acre zoological garden just opened its massive Birds of the World exhibit, featuring bird species across three continents. It also swept a series of industry awards for its innovative Galapagos Island area, which introduced penguins to the zoo among a host of other species. These were all part of the Houston Zoo’s centennial celebration.

Hopefully, Akobi will have an easier time than Moo Deng. Visitors to the viral star’s enclosure would sometimes spray water or throw items at the hippo, leading to the zoo having to build more security to protect Moo Deng. Houston Zoo visitors should remember that pygmy hippos (and all zoo animals) should not be disturbed or molested for their health and the visitor’s safety.

akobi houston zoo pygmy hippopotamus

In the money

Affluent Houston neighbor cashes in as No. 2 richest county in Texas, new report shows

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H-Town's Moo Deng

Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, an adorable pygmy hippopotamus

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