Houston and Fort Bend County
We price the neighborhood, not the city.
Across the eight cities below, the total property tax rate runs from 1.64% to 3.19%. On a $500,000 home that is the difference between $683 and $1,329 a month in taxes on the identical house. Pick your city and see the real number for your neighborhood before you write an offer.
Pick your city
Eight cities, priced neighborhood by neighborhood.
Every page below carries that city's real districts, its own payment calculator preloaded with local rates, and what it takes to qualify there. None of it is a template with the city name swapped in.
Katy
1.64% to 3.19%
Lowest: Older Katy, outside a MUD. Highest: Elyson.
See Katy numbersPearland
1.71% to 2.77%
Lowest: Pearland ISD, outside city limits. Highest: Shadow Creek Ranch, BFB MUD 1.
See Pearland numbersSugar Land
1.84% to 2.81%
Lowest: Sugar Creek. Highest: Imperial.
See Sugar Land numbersCypress
1.84% to 2.84%
Lowest: Cypress, no MUD. Highest: Bridgeland, newer sections.
See Cypress numbersRosenberg
1.87% to 2.74%
Lowest: Seabourne Meadows. Highest: Seabourne Landing.
See Rosenberg numbersFulshear
2.03% to 3.17%
Lowest: Weston Lakes. Highest: Cross Creek West.
See Fulshear numbersRichmond
2.05% to 2.93%
Lowest: Waterside Estates. Highest: Harvest Green, MUD 134F.
See Richmond numbersMissouri City
2.15% to 2.94%
Lowest: Missouri City, no MUD. Highest: Sienna, MUD 6 or 7.
See Missouri City numbersThe number nobody quotes you
What the same $500,000 house costs in taxes, by city.
Total tax rate means every taxing entity added together: county, school district, city, MUD, and any levee or improvement district. Sorted by the lowest rate available in each city.
| City | Median price | Total tax rate | Tax per month on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KatyThe widest spread of any city on this list. Older Katy outside a MUD pays 1.64%. Elyson pays 3.19%. | $350,000 | 1.64% to 3.19% | $683 to $1,329 |
| PearlandThree counties and four school districts under one city name. The city line alone is worth $210 a month, because a Pearland mailing address does not always mean a City of Pearland tax bill. | $400,396 | 1.71% to 2.77% | $712 to $1,154 |
| Sugar LandSugar Creek pays no MUD and no levee district at all. Riverstone and Avalon carry a Sugar Land address but sit outside the city limits. | $467,450 | 1.84% to 2.81% | $767 to $1,171 |
| CypressHarris County's base is 1.84% before any MUD, because the county funds a hospital district and a port. Cy-Fair ISD is at its lowest rate in forty years. | $425,000 | 1.84% to 2.84% | $767 to $1,183 |
| RosenbergThe lowest in-city rate in Fort Bend County. Rosenberg levies $0.30 where Richmond levies $0.63. Parts qualify for zero-down USDA. | $359,990 | 1.87% to 2.74% | $779 to $1,142 |
| FulshearMost Fulshear MUDs offer no homestead exemption at all, which almost nobody tells you. The city rate rose 13.49% on September 1, 2026. | $460,000 | 2.03% to 3.17% | $846 to $1,321 |
| RichmondThree different markets under one name, from $361,250 to $440,000 depending on the zip. Harvest Green alone has three separate MUDs. | $440,000 | 2.05% to 2.93% | $854 to $1,221 |
| Missouri CitySienna is not inside the city limits. Quoting it with the city rate overstates the payment by about $240 a month. | $406,000 | 2.15% to 2.94% | $896 to $1,225 |
Lowest in the metro is $683 a month. Highest is $1,329. Same house, same price.
That is $646 a month, or $7,750 a year, and it is decided entirely by which side of a district line the house sits on. It is also the single most common reason a Houston buyer gets pre-approved online and then cannot close on the house they picked.
A high-MUD house is often priced lower to begin with, and a new district's rate usually steps down as the neighborhood fills in. The mistake is not buying in a MUD. The mistake is finding out about it after your offer is accepted.
We pull the exact rate for your address before you write an offer. Not the community average. Not the builder's estimate. The rate on that parcel.
Tools and guides
Everything here is free and nothing asks for your credit.
Start with the payment calculator on any city page. It runs real county rates, it knows what a MUD does to your payment, and it prices mortgage insurance off what buyers actually pay rather than a list card.
Get pre-approved
What lenders actually look at, and what makes a pre-approval hold up when you write an offer.
How much cash you really need
Down payment, closing costs and prepaids, separated out so the number is not a surprise.
FHA or conventional
Which one fits, and what the mortgage insurance actually costs on each.
VA loans
Zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and the parts of the benefit most people never use.
Self-employed and 1099
Write-offs make your income look smaller than it is. There is more than one way to document it.
Investor and DSCR loans
Qualify on the property's rent instead of your tax returns.
First step for a first-time buyer
What to do first, before you look at a single house.
Buying after a credit event
Bankruptcy, foreclosure or a short sale. The waiting periods are shorter than most people think.
Should you refinance
A checklist that answers it with math instead of a rate headline.
Every guide and video
The full library for Houston and Fort Bend buyers.
Straight answers
Questions we get about buying around Houston.
What areas around Houston do you lend in?
Why does the same house cost more in one suburb than another?
What is a MUD and why does it matter so much here?
Do MUD rates ever come down?
Can you tell me the exact tax rate for a specific address?
Do I have to use the builder's preferred lender?
How fast can you get me pre-approved?
Do you charge lender fees?
Tell us the address. We will tell you the payment.
Not a range, not a community average, and not a number that falls apart at underwriting. The real one, with the district's tax rate in it, before you write the offer.
Steve Kyles NMLS #330894 | ProLending Mortgage NMLS #262563 | Equal Housing Opportunity