Neighborhood Guide for The Heights, Houston, Texas
“The Heights” includes Houston Heights and the surrounding areas. Houston Heights was one of the first planned communities in Houston. Homes built in the early 1900s are found on wide, tree-lined streets making the area feel like a vintage small town.
Location
The Heights is an area in northwest Houston close to the Houston Center. It is only four miles from downtown Houston. The boundaries of the Houston Heights area are Interstate Highway 610 to the northern side, North Main and Studewood on the eastern side, Interstate Highway 10 on the southern side, and North Shepherd Drive on the western side.
Cost of Living
Because this area is desirable, the cost of living there is higher. The cost of living in The Heights is 19% higher than the Houston average, 17% higher than the average city in Texas, and 7% higher than the average city in America.
Schools
There are plenty of great schools in The Heights area that are rated either nine or ten by GreatSchools.org, with a rating of ten being the highest ranking possible. The Oak Forest Elementary School (PK-5) and Project Chrysalis Middle School (6-8) are ranked ten out of ten by Great Schools. The Perfor & Vis Arts High School (9-12) is the best high school in the area. It has the ranking of nine out of ten.
Crime
Houston Heights has the same crime rate when compared to other parts of Houston and about the same rate as the rest of the state of Texas.
Weather
The weather in Houston Heights is nice with the experience of all the seasons. The coldest it ever gets in winter during December through January is 32°F. The hottest is June through August where it can reach up to 102°F. The average high for the year is 85°F. The average low for the year is 53°F. The makes the weather enjoyable for most of the year. Rainfall is similar to other parts of Houston at three or four inches of rainfall each month of the year, except for July and October, when it rains about double the rest of months of the year.
Livability Index and Amenities
The livability index for The Heights is 72, which is the same as the average for other cities in Texas. There are plenty of nice amenities in the area and many things for families to do. There is a huge shopping center called Houston Center, which is less than a ten-minute drive from The Heights in normal traffic.
Median Income
The median income per person is $27,029, which is higher than the average city in Texas of $25,809 and slightly lower than the national average of $28,051. The median income per household is $44,648, which is lower than the average city in Texas of $51,563, and lower than the national average of $53,046.
Home Types
A little less than half of the homes in Houston Heights are owner-occupied (45.9%). The median listing price for a home is $124,700. This is lower than the average listing price for all cities in Texas of $128,000. It is lower than the national average of $181,400.
It is possible to find fixer-upper homes in bad condition that need many repairs selling for under $100,000. Nice single-family homes start at $175,000 for a three-bedroom/two-bath home of around 1,500 square feet and go up to $3,900,000 for a four-bedroom, six-bath, with over 6,500 square feet. Because 54.1% of the homes are rental properties, investors looking to buy real estate to rent it to others, can expect to get a median rent of $837 per month. This is the same as the Houston average of $837 and just barely higher than the Texas average of $834.
Summary
The Heights is a very desirable area. It is close to downtown Houston, which means the commute is a short one for those working downtown and it takes only about ten to twenty minutes in traffic. People who live in The Heights enjoy the quality of the neighborhood, the proximity to the downtown Houston commercial areas, and the large vintage mansion homes there.