Counties / Texas / Washington County

Washington County, TX

FIPS 48477 · population 36,647 · part of Brenham, TX

$376k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$376k
▲ 0.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
Median asking rent
$1,713
▼ 0.6% year over year
Zillow ZORI · direct
Gross yield
5.5%
annual rent ÷ price, before costs
derived: rent × 12 ÷ price ✓
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,309
market rent is 1.31x the standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+46.8%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+0.6%FHFA HPI2025+1.9%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$288k
Surveyed gross rent$1,165
Rent burden 30%+44.2%
Median year built1989
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
12.3%vacant
17,642estimated housing units
Occupied tenure30.2% renter
owner 69.8%renter 30.2%
Structure mix75.1% single-family
Single-family 75.1%20+ units 5.3%Mobile home 9.9%Other 9.7%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs16,704▲ 0.3% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,086annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,021▲ 4.6% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities28.4% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.3%WEEKLY WAGE+4.6%Trade, transportation, and utilities28.4%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Washington County’s underwriting tension is a $375,991 Zillow median home value at 2026-06, paired with a supplied 5.47% gross yield before costs. Income-oriented buyers should investigate whether property expenses preserve that return, while buyers relying on appreciation should be cautious. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 1.89% annually; it is an index, not a dollar home value. Its separate vintage and method prevent combining it with Zillow into one growth rate.

02Housing economics

Zillow’s measured median asking market rent was $1,713 per month, down 0.58%. That rent, rather than HUD’s two-bedroom FMR, supports the reported gross-yield measure; FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate. The effective property-tax rate was 1.09%, with median annual tax of $3,143. Gross yield is before taxes, insurance, flood coverage, repairs, vacancy and debt. Property-level operating costs and lease or occupancy evidence are not published, preventing a net-yield or cash-flow conclusion.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS listing-market evidence gives a mixed liquidity read: active listings fell 10.08%, but median marketing time was 83 days and 20.64% of listings had price reductions. These are visible supply, asking-market time and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale prices or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return households produced net migration of 264, while average AGI per moving household was higher for arrivals than departures by $59,036; this does not establish renter demand. Investors made 38 of 361 purchases, indicating participation but not price support.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled annual climate-loss ratio is 0.12% of building value. That county-level model does not identify parcel flood zone, insurance pricing, prior losses or mitigation needs. QCEW’s 2025 annual average was 16,704 covered jobs at county workplaces; it is not resident employment, unemployment or a forecast. Trade, transportation, and utilities was the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Obtain parcel flood records, insurance quotes, rent comps, leases, operating statements, closed-sale comps and financing terms; without them, underwriting cannot establish net income, property value or exit liquidity.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Washington County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Brenham city18.6KBurton city174
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

2 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Brenham cityIncorporated place
    18,641
  2. 02
    Burton cityIncorporated place
    174

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.116% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.09%

$3,143 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+264

1,091 in · 827 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$59,036

$121,685 arriving · $62,649 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors10.5%

38 of 361 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings170▼ 10.1% year over year
Median days on market83▲ 11.9% year over year
Listings price-reduced20.6%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 0.6% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. County climate modeling may understate parcel-specific inland-flood exposure, insurance costs or mitigation needs.
  2. Gross yield may not translate to net income because operating costs, occupancy and financing terms are unpublished.
  3. MLS reductions and marketing time may not match realized sale prices or exit timing.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Does the record distinguish market rent from HUD Fair Market Rent?

Yes. It publishes median asking market rent separately, while HUD FMR is identified as a two-bedroom payment standard.

Does the record establish property-level net cash flow?

No. It supplies gross yield but not property-specific operating expenses, lease performance, occupancy or financing terms.

Does the record provide closed-sale evidence for valuation or exit pricing?

No. Realtor.com provides MLS listing-market evidence; closed-sale comparables are not published.