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Stafford, Texas

Stafford is a suburb of about 18,000 people in Fort Bend County, Texas, in the Houston area. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Houston, is about 15 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Houston

Population
18,043
up 3.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$257,700
Fort Bend County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$87,432
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Houston area
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Sugar Land, TX
To Houston
15 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 moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood75 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 25.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town14 public schools: 8 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close bySt. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital in Sugar Land, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 15 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 Stafford 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

Stafford runs into the built-up area around Houston (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
$257,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Fort Bend County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,519 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$87,432U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
39%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,311 a yearTexas: $4,232
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
17%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, not Stafford 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
18,0432020: 17,379
Median age
32.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
41%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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
Schools, health care and social services (23%); professional and business services (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (14%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital, Sugar Land, TX, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

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

14 public schools in Stafford, run by Fort Bend Isd and Stafford Msd.

Colleges in or next to town: North American University (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
84%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
45°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
112 a year
Nights at or below freezing
10 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.4 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
78 feet

Weather stations: Houston Sugarland Mem (5 miles away) and Houston-westbury (4 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: St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital, Sugar Land, Houston.

Fort Bend 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

Campus life. Check North American University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Stafford's history on Wikipedia.

Know Stafford?

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

  • Fifth Street, TX (unincorporated)1,453 people, 2 miles
  • Thompsons, TX186 people, 11 miles
  • Hilshire Village, TX843 people, 12 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.