Boom!

Fort Bend ranked one of the fastest-growing and affordable U.S. counties

Fort Bend is is tops for livability and economic success.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Land Town Square

In terms of population growth, Fort Bend County isn’t just bending. It’s contorting like a Cirque du Soleil performer.

From 2012 to 2017, Fort Bend County ranked among the top 10 counties in the U.S. for the number of new arrivals, according to a new study from rental website RentCafé. With a net gain of 92,000 residents, Fort Bend County appeared at No. 4 on the list.

“To figure out which counties saw the largest net changes in population due to moving in or out of the county, we subtracted the total outbound domestic migration from the total inbound domestic migration over a five-year period between 2012 and 2017,” RentCafé explained.

The low price to put a roof over your head almost certainly contributed a lot to the population spike. Fort Bend County was one of the top counties on the RentCafé list in terms of housing affordability, boasting an attractive home-price-to-income ratio and attractive rent-as-a-percentage-of-income ratio.

In Fort Bend County, the ratio for home prices was 3.1, meaning home prices are 3.1 times the median income, according to RentCafé. By comparison, the same ratio for Los Angeles County was 9.5. For apartment dwellers in Fort Bend County, the rent-to-income ratio was 14 percent; in Los Angeles County, it was 38 percent.

In Fort Bend, the median income exceeded $93,000, according to the RentCafé study, and the median home price was $293,000.

If one forecast is correct, even more newcomers might be drawn to Fort Bend County because of its affordable housing and other attributes.

A report from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs predicted that Fort Bend County will wind up being the state’s third-fastest growing county from 2010 to 2050.

The report’s highest-growth scenario envisions Fort Bend County’s population skyrocketing by 367.8 percent during the 40-year span, representing a surge of more than 2.1 million people. Under the report’s highest-growth scenario, the county’s population would be nearly 2.74 million in 2050, up from an estimated 764,828 in 2017.

As a point of reference, the population of the entire city of Chicago stood at 2.7 million in 2017.

“Fort Bend County has continued to top lists for livability and economic success — and there is no sign of slowing down,” according to the Fort Bend Economic Development Council. “Residents and businesses agree that there’s no place better to live or work.”

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want to ride my bicycle

Houston's citywide bike ride goes west with 3 routes for 2026

Courtesy of Houston First Corporation

Tour de Houston will take riders from downtown through West Houston.

Once again, Houstonians have the opportunity to explore their city on a lengthy bike ride. The Tour de Houston returns Sunday, April 26, Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced.

Presented by the Apache Corporation, an oil and gas company, the annual ride began in 2005 as a way to celebrate the beauty and diversity of Houston neighborhoods.

Similar to last year’s route, riders will begin and end at Discovery Green and the Avenida Plaza in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. With distances of 10, 20, and 45 miles, the ride is open to beginners, intermediates, and those training for te MS 150. Riders will travel west through downtown, Memorial Park, Tanglewood, Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, and Briar Forest — almost all the way to Highway 6 — before returning.

Along the route, cyclists will have the opportunity to take breaks at rest stops with music and entertainment, as well as medical support and on-site bike mechanics. Upon returning to downtown, riders can stay for a post-ride party at Discovery Green with food and drinks, music, and an expo with local bike shops and bike clubs.

“I’m grateful to Apache for their longstanding support of this event and our community. Tour de Houston is something that cyclists of all ages and abilities truly look forward to each year,” Mayor Whitmire said in a statement. “It’s a great way to experience our city from a new perspective while directly supporting our beautification and reforestation work through Re-Plant Houston. I encourage everyone to ride, volunteer, or support this year’s event.”

RePlant is a program through the Houston Parks and Recreation Department that increases the amount of canopy trees in the city. Since 2005, the event has raised more than $1.2 million for the RePLant project.

Registration is open now. Riders are encouraged to sign up before the price increases from $50 (kids 12 and under $35).

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