Fort Bend County, Texas Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Fort Bend County, Texas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Fort Bend County, Texas. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Fort Bend County, Texas. The estimated population of Fort Bend County, Texas is 806,497 people, with a median age of 36.7.

We can look at the total population in Fort Bend County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
806,497
+1.97%
+13.36%
2020
790,892
+3.33%
-
2019
765,394
+3.52%
-
2018
739,342
+3.92%
-
2017
711,421
 - -

Population of Fort Bend County, Texas by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
31.1%
34.4%
 -9.59%
Black/African American
19.9%
20.2%
 -1.49%
Native
0.1%
0.2%
 -50.00%
Hispanic
24.9%
24.2%
 +2.89%
Asian
20.7%
19.2%
 +7.81%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.8%
1.7%
 +64.71%
Other
0.3%
0.2%
 +50.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Fort Bend County, Texas by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 36.7 +0.55% 36.1 +1.12% 37.3 +0.27%
2020 36.5 +0.55% 35.7 +0.56% 37.2 +0.54%
2019 36.3 +0.83% 35.5 +0.85% 37 +0.54%
2018 36 +0.56% 35.2 +0.57% 36.8 +0.55%
2017 35.8 - 35 - 36.6 -

The median age of Fort Bend County, Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 54,324 +5.58% 51,785 +8% 57,377 56,027
10 to 19 56,790 +16.21% 53,921 +14.47% 66,545 62,160
20 to 29 40,856 +8.64% 40,436 +10.99% 44,485 45,047
30 to 39 48,553 +7.45% 54,058 +9.54% 52,262 59,381
40 to 49 51,822 +18.48% 55,296 +12.98% 62,080 62,823
50 to 59 46,150 +7.93% 49,533 +2.91% 49,914 50,973
60 to 69 32,655 +22.12% 34,007 +21.5% 40,485 41,860
70+ 18,547 +29.26% 22,688 +30.78% 24,590 30,488

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Fort Bend County, Texas is $102,590.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Fort Bend County.

  • Under 25
    $46,228.00
  • 25 to 44
    $110,483.00
  • 45 to 64
    $113,712.00
  • 65 and over
    $69,032.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Fort Bend County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Fort Bend County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Fort Bend County, Texas is currently $128,974.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

17.12% of households in Fort Bend County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Fort Bend County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    9.06%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    13.04%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    14.77%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.01%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    20.55%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    13.45%
  • $200,000 or more
    17.12%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Fort Bend County is $41,883.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Fort Bend County by the total population of Fort Bend County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Fort Bend County, Texas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Fort Bend County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    22.26%
  • Bachelor's degree
    44.55%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    7.14%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    23.51%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.54%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Fort Bend County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Fort Bend County over the age of 16 is 610,143.

Of those people, a total of 67.00% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Fort Bend County is 63.30%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 45,755 28.60% 14.10%
20 to 24 years 45,548 73.30% 11.60%
25 to 29 years 43,984 80.90% 7.90%
30 to 34 years 50,916 81.30% 4.40%
35 to 44 years 124,717 83.50% 4.00%
45 to 54 years 113,742 83.70% 3.70%
55 to 59 years 48,058 77.70% 4.50%
60 to 64 years 46,044 63.00% 4.70%
65 to 74 years 61,536 28.30% 6.30%
75 years and over 29,843 7.90% 2.60%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Fort Bend County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 276,703 66.30% 4.40%
Black or African American 126,308 70.30% 8.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1,722 70.20% 5.90%
Asian 129,144 65.60% 5.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 356 50.30% 0.00%
Other 31,885 67.30% 4.10%
Two or more races 44,025 65.80% 5.50%
Hispanic or Latino 144,847 68.50% 5.10%
Not Hispanic or Latino 197,750 64.60% 3.90%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Fort Bend County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Fort Bend County is 386,467, with median earnings of $52,181.00.

Women in Fort Bend County, Texas earning approximately 65.70% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 386,467 $52,181.00
Male 208,578 $63,353.00
Female 177,889 $41,635.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 50,204 $97,616.00
Business and Financial 31,595 $75,247.00
Computer and Mathematical 17,313 $100,866.00
Architecture and Engineering 17,613 $119,232.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 4,410 $92,305.00
Community and Social Service 6,198 $51,910.00
Legal 4,996 $94,242.00
Educational and Library 26,498 $52,780.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 6,958 $44,268.00
Healthcare Practitioners 30,951 $75,877.00
Healthcare Support 8,913 $26,415.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 3,640 $24,870.00
Law Enforcement 3,613 $78,221.00
Food Preparation and Serving 14,676 $18,002.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 7,891 $25,431.00
Personal Care and Service 9,133 $20,196.00
Sales 44,953 $35,374.00
Office and Administrative Support 38,930 $37,023.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 771 $24,330.00
Construction and Extraction 12,990 $41,407.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 9,802 $50,437.00
Production 12,199 $40,052.00
Transportation and Material Moving 13,448 $40,517.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 31,670 $118,157.00 18,534 $72,068.00
Business and Financial 15,178 $94,614.00 16,417 $68,470.00
Computer and Mathematical 13,402 $102,068.00 3,911 $98,661.00
Architecture and Engineering 14,975 $126,339.00 2,638 $86,591.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 2,847 $118,669.00 1,563 $66,814.00
Community and Social Service 2,164 $57,544.00 4,034 $47,143.00
Legal 2,460 $142,108.00 2,536 $65,120.00
Educational and Library 6,186 $57,783.00 20,312 $49,484.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 3,992 $66,452.00 2,966 $27,423.00
Healthcare Practitioners 8,775 $96,931.00 22,176 $71,707.00
Healthcare Support 905 $24,919.00 8,008 $26,566.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 2,514 $22,857.00 1,126 $25,519.00
Law Enforcement 3,027 $79,310.00 586 $74,493.00
Food Preparation and Serving 7,461 $17,350.00 7,215 $18,508.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 4,016 $32,373.00 3,875 $18,439.00
Personal Care and Service 2,128 $22,418.00 7,005 $19,946.00
Sales 24,843 $44,190.00 20,110 $23,598.00
Office and Administrative Support 12,062 $40,383.00 26,868 $35,263.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 651 $26,250.00 120 $23,182.00
Construction and Extraction 12,741 $41,753.00 249 $22,607.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 9,362 $50,535.00 440 $41,429.00
Production 9,537 $44,264.00 2,662 $26,893.00
Transportation and Material Moving 11,862 $45,535.00 1,586 $21,452.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 259,106 households in Fort Bend County, with an average household size of 3.09 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 212,906 families in Fort Bend County with an average family size of 3.45 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 171,581 10,952 30,373 46,200
Average Household Size 3.54 3.17 3.4 1.2
Total Families 171,581 10,952 30,373 0
Average Household Size 3.52 2.92 3.24 0

Poverty

Of the 212,906 families in Fort Bend County, 5.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Fort Bend County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 271,768 housing units in Fort Bend County, Texas.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 259,106 95.34%
Vacant 12,662 4.66%

19.74% of the total 271,768 housing units in Fort Bend County are rental units. This is approximately 53,638 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 201,178 are occupied by the owner - or 74.03% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Fort Bend County is $1,526.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Fort Bend County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    4,290
  • Less than $500
    723
  • $500 to $999
    5,705
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    19,656
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    14,138
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    9,020
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    2,632
  • $3,000 or more
    1,764

Property Value

The median value of a property in Fort Bend County is $287,500.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Fort Bend County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    5,339
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    6,754
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13,034
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    24,886
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    57,903
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    68,529
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    21,733
  • $1,000,000 or more
    3,000

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Fort Bend County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Fort Bend County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    2,203
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,455
  • 1950 to 1959
    3,693
  • 1960 to 1969
    5,839
  • 1970 to 1979
    26,161
  • 1980 to 1989
    36,822
  • 1990 to 1999
    45,687
  • 2000 to 2009
    72,200
  • 2010 to 2013
    75,933
  • 2014 or later
    1,775

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Fort Bend County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    7,428
  • 1 vehicle available
    54,963
  • 2 vehicles available
    125,919
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    70,796

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Fort Bend County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Fort Bend County that commute to work in a particular way.

32.7 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Fort Bend County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    3,828
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    14,830
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    26,938
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    36,719
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    38,094
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    22,381
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    57,822
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    14,174
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    23,418
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    54,715
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    32,878
  • 90 or more minutes
    7,063

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Fort Bend County, Texas in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Fort Bend County, Texas

We have data for 35 places in Fort Bend County, Texas. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.