Katy, TX

Start with one question: which Katy is this address in?

The City of Katy is a real municipality. It was incorporated in 1945, with C.L. Baird as its first mayor, and covers about 15 square miles. It has grown from 849 people in 1950 to 11,775 in 2000 and 21,894 in the 2020 Census. “Greater Katy” is something else: an informal name for a much larger suburban area, roughly the Katy ISD footprint, across parts of Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties. Most of it is unincorporated, but the Postal Service still gives it Katy addresses.

So two “Katy, TX” houses can sit in different counties, appraisal districts and flood maps, and pay different sets of taxing entities. For each home you tour, write down three things: the county, whether it’s inside city limits, and which special districts it belongs to. Don’t assume the school district from the mailing address, either.

Rice, rail and gas: the short history

Katy was first called Cane Island. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad reached the site by the end of 1893. J.E. Cabaniss became the first railroad agent in 1895, a post office opened in 1896, and the depot was finished in 1898. The name may come from the “Katy” railroad or from a saloonkeeper’s wife; nobody is certain. William Eule introduced rice farming in 1901. The discovery well of the Katy gas field came in 1934, and the Humble plant began operating in 1943. The city bought the depot in 1977, and by 1990 it was a museum.

You can still see that history downtown. Katy Heritage Park (5990 George Bush Dr.) has a bandstand and a brick-paved patio. Every October the City of Katy holds the Katy Rice Harvest Festival on the Historic Town Square in front of Katy City Hall, benefiting the Rotary Club of Katy.

Master-planned subdivision or open land

Many buyers around Katy weigh two kinds of property. One is a newer home in a planned subdivision, which may come with an HOA, amenity centers and a municipal utility district (MUD). The other is a larger lot or acreage farther out, where the land itself is the draw.

Near Katy, some of that open land is protected for good. The Coastal Prairie Conservancy’s Katy Prairie Preserve covers about 19,500 acres, and in July 2025 the conservancy added 220 acres at Three Oaks Farm. The conservancy says that tract helps safeguard natural floodplains and provides habitat for grassland and water birds.

Before you write an offer on land near Katy, find out:

• the county, school district and appraisal district for the parcel;
• whether any part of it sits in a mapped floodplain, and whether it has flooded;
• whether it’s inside a MUD or other taxing district, and that district’s rate and bonded debt;
• which utilities reach the land, and what the deed restrictions allow.

Getting to work: I-10, the Grand Parkway and the park-and-ride

Katy sits on I-10 (the Katy Freeway) and US 90. The Handbook of Texas puts it about 25 miles west of downtown Houston; other sources give closer to 30, depending on where you measure from.

Memorial Hermann Katy (23900 Katy Fwy.) is in Katy and had 303 beds as of 2025. Farther east on the Katy Freeway, in west Houston, are Texas Children’s West Campus (18200 Katy Fwy.), which opened in 2011 with 64 beds, and Houston Methodist West (18500 Katy Fwy.). The Energy Corridor District covers more than 2,000 acres along I-10 and puts itself 17 miles, or about 30 minutes, from downtown by I-10. That is measured from the Energy Corridor, not Katy.

The Grand Parkway (SH 99) is the north-south route. Its Segment E runs 15.2 miles from I-10 near Katy to US 290 and opened in 2013. TxDOT plans to widen it from four main lanes to six, a project of about $157 million; its project page estimated construction would begin in mid-2026, so check TxDOT for the current status.

If you’d rather not drive downtown, METRO’s Route 221 leaves from the Kingsland Park & Ride. It runs weekdays only, about every 15 minutes for most of its operating hours, with first buses between 4 and 5 a.m. The fare is $4.50, and there is no weekend service.

Commute times depend on the subdivision and the hour, so drive the route at rush hour before you commit.

Schools: Katy ISD, and why you still check the address

Katy ISD formed in 1919, more than 25 years before the city incorporated. For 2025-26 it reported more than 97,000 students, about 14,000 staff and more than 100 campuses and facilities, and it opened Boudny and Cross elementary schools in August 2025.

Katy ISD reported that it earned a B (88) in the Texas Education Agency’s 2025-26 ratings, released August 17, 2026, and that 62 of its campuses were rated A or B. Results vary by campus, and a growing district redraws zones, so confirm the zoned elementary, junior high and high school for the exact address with the district before you make an offer.

Taxes: count every line on the bill

A Katy-area tax bill is a stack of separate rates that depends on where the address falls. Inside city limits, the City of Katy’s rate was $0.425 per $100 of value for fiscal year 2025-26, as proposed in August 2025. Rates are set every year, so check the current one with the city. Outside city limits there’s no city line, but the county, the school district and any other entities covering the property still apply.

In newer subdivisions on either side of the city line, the extra line to look for is a MUD or other special district. Get that district’s current rate and bonded debt, and put them in your monthly payment math before comparing two houses on price.

Once you live in the home, file the homestead exemption with the appraisal district for whichever county it’s in: Harris, Fort Bend or Waller. The Texas Comptroller says school districts must give a $140,000 homestead exemption, plus another $60,000 for owners who are 65 or older or disabled, and the general filing deadline is before May 1.

Flood: Katy’s reservoir history, and today’s maps

Katy-area buyers should know about the Addicks and Barker reservoirs. Both were built in the 1940s to protect downtown Houston, and during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 they held about 140 billion gallons of water. In December 2019, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government’s operation of the reservoirs during Harvey was a taking of private property upstream, entitling those owners to compensation. Community Impact reported about 10,000 private properties in those upstream areas.

Since September 1, 2019, SB 339 has required most home sellers to disclose whether the home is in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, in a flood pool, or in or near a reservoir, and whether it has flooded before. Some kinds of transfers are exempt, so ask whether the disclosure applies to the home you’re buying, and read it closely when it does.

The maps are changing. In Harris County, FEMA is building new flood maps from the Harris County Flood Control District’s MAAPnext data. The drafts are for information only and can’t be appealed yet; FEMA will release preliminary maps after federal review. The district’s own advice is blunt: “Every structure in Harris County should have flood insurance.” For homes in Fort Bend or Waller County, check that county’s maps. Either way, get a flood insurance quote early in your option period.

Everyday Katy: parks, shopping and UH at Katy

Katy City Park (5850 Franz Rd.) has lit ball fields and six tennis courts, and Katy Dog Park is down the street at 5414 Franz Rd. On Gardenia Lane, Katy Play Station (5611) is a 13,000-square-foot accessible playground built for children with disabilities, and Mary Jo Peckham Park (5597) covers 32 acres with a fishing lake and mini golf. Paul D. Rushing Park (9114 Katy Hockley Rd.) has bird observation blinds on 32 acres, and Willow Fork Park (23440 Cinco Ranch Blvd.) has a lake, paved trails and disc golf.

At the northeast corner of I-10 and the Grand Parkway, the Katy Asian Town retail center opened in September 2018 with 150,000 square feet of shops, anchored by an H Mart supermarket. Nearby, the University of Houston at Katy began classes in August 2019.

Working with Angie in Katy

Angie Maxwell Montier helps buyers and sellers across Katy, Fulshear and west Houston, from master-planned communities to land and acreage west of town. Katy homes she has listed or sold appear below. If you’re weighing two addresses and aren’t sure which county, district or flood map each one falls under, send her both and she’ll help you find out.