EarthScore — Harris County, TX

Overall score

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Overall

54 / 100

Bottom 28% of Texas counties · Below US average of 67

↑

Improving
slowly

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Your overall score is a C — but where you live in Harris County matters enormously. Unlock domain scores, metric detail, zip-code comparisons, trend charts, and a printable PDF.

6 domain scores (air, water, urbanization…)

30 metric-level breakdowns

5-year trend sparklines

Zip-code comparison (77 zips)

Key homebuyer findings

Address-level flood zone

All data source citations

Printable PDF report

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Why this matters for homebuyers: Harris County's overall C score hides enormous variation by location. Air quality is the county's biggest challenge — two simultaneous federal nonattainment designations driven by the Ship Channel petrochemical corridor. Flooding is the defining risk: 1 in 4 properties sits in a FEMA floodplain, and new MAAPnext maps (2026) will expand that further. Northwest suburbs like Katy, Cypress, and Spring score significantly better than eastern areas near industrial corridors.

Domain scores

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Detail

5-year metric trends

Actual measurements · 2020 → 2025 · Red = worsening · Green = improving

What homebuyers need to know

4 key findings

🌊 Flood risk

FEMA is redrawing flood maps in 2026. Many properties currently outside flood zones will be reclassified under MAAPnext. Harvey (2017) flooded ~154,000 structures and caused $125B in damage — the costliest flood event in US history. Always check the specific address flood zone before buying.

💨 Air varies sharply by location

The worst air is along the Ship Channel and I-10 East corridor. Northwest neighborhoods — Katy (77494), Cypress (77429), Spring (77388) — score 15–20 points higher on air quality than eastern zip codes. Check the EPA AirNow monitor nearest to any address.

💧 Water is safe but evolving

Most Harris County utilities pass current EPA standards. However, PFAS monitoring under UCMR 5 (2023–2025) is not yet fully published. The Gulf Coast Aquifer is under increasing subsidence stress — some areas have sunk up to 10 ft historically.

📈 Growth pressure is extreme

Adding 106,000 residents in one year is unprecedented. Impervious surface exceeds 40% in the urban core. This intensifies flooding, urban heat, and green space loss — all trends that worsen with each development cycle and have no near-term reversal in sight.

Zip-code comparison

Select neighborhoods · Harris County

Zip / Area	Overall	Air	Water	Flood risk	Urbanization	Verdict
77494 — Katy (NW)	B+ 77	67	74	Low	Moderate	Best overall in county
77429 — Cypress (NW)	B 72	63	71	Moderate	Moderate	Strong northwest suburb
77388 — Spring (N)	B– 68	58	70	Moderate	Moderate	Good value area
77002 — Downtown Houston	C+ 55	48	61	High	Very high	Urban core tradeoffs
77015 — East Houston	D+ 38	24	55	High	High	Near Ship Channel — avoid
77082 — Westchase (W)	C+ 58	52	65	Moderate	High	Mid-range, flood watch
77584 — Pearland (S)	B– 66	57	68	Moderate	Moderate	Growing south suburb

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Full 12-page report · All data cited · Ready for your closing package or realtor

Data sources