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Webster, Texas

Webster is a suburb of about 12,500 people in Harris County, Texas, in the Houston area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.6 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 24 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Houston

Population
12,507
up 0.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$281,400
Harris County prices up 9.6% since 2022
Household income
$61,264
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Houston area
98.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake
To Houston
24 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 4.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood60 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 41.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Clear Creek H S, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byHCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 24 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 Webster 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

Webster 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
$281,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.6%Harris County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,393 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,264U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
22%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,239 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 9.6% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, not Webster 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
12,5072020: 12,450
Median age
33.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
38%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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 (26%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); professional and business services (9%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake, Webster, TX, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

4 public schools in Webster, run by Clear Creek Isd. The nearest public high school is Clear Creek H S, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Remington College-Houston Southeast Campus (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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%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
46°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
76 a year
Nights at or below freezing
9 a year
Rain and melted snow
60.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
19 feet

Weather station: Houston Nwso (5 miles away). 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: League City, Houston.

Harris 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 Preserve58 miles

Read about Webster's history on Wikipedia.

Know Webster?

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

  • Hillcrest Village, TX684 people, 12 miles
  • Morgan's Point, TX272 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.