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Shenandoah, Texas

Shenandoah is a suburb of about 3,800 people in Montgomery County, Texas, in the The Woodlands area. It has grown about 9% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Houston, is about 28 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of The Woodlands

Population
3,833
up 8.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$395,200
Montgomery County prices up 14% since 2022
Prices, Houston area
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
CHI St. Lukes Lakeside Hospital
To Houston
28 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.4% below the U.S. average in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Shenandoah to say.
  • A safer neighborhood11 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 51.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCHI St. Lukes Lakeside Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 28 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Shenandoah meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Shenandoah runs into the built-up area around The Woodlands (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$395,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,418 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,511 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
29%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.6U.S. average = 100 (the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, not Shenandoah alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,8332020: 3,526
Median age
60.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
45%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
7%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
50%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (20%); finance, insurance and real estate (13%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
22%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: CHI St. Lukes Lakeside Hospital, The Woodlands, TX, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Shenandoah, run by Conroe Isd and Texas College Preparatory Academies.

Colleges in or next to town: Lone Star College System (20,000 or more students); Grace School of Theology (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Texas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
43°F
July average high
94°F
Days 90°F or hotter
111 a year
Nights at or below freezing
14 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
140 feet

Weather stations: Houston Hooks Mem Ap (10 miles away) and Tomball (11 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Conroe, Houston.

Montgomery County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Big Thicket National Preserve42 miles

Campus life. Check Lone Star College System's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Shenandoah's history on Wikipedia.

Know Shenandoah?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Woodloch, TX177 people, 3 miles
  • Porter Heights, TX (unincorporated)987 people, 8 miles
  • Grangerland, TX (unincorporated)920 people, 9 miles
  • Deerwood, TX (unincorporated)2,366 people, 13 miles
  • Stagecoach, TX606 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.